“Are you willing to do the work?” is a question I’ve been asking myself over and over again lately.
Despite well-meaning aims, I often find myself with an abundance of ideas and intentions - ready to dive into the work without first unpacking what doing the work actually means. It is easy to claim a willingness to do the work before first considering the investment of time, money, energy, and relationship resources needed to bring a vision to life.
Whether you are considering learning a new role or taking on systemic racism, the question “are you willing to do the work” is an important one.
For a brief time in March, my calendar completely cleared, and I signed up for my favorite acting class at Jen Waldman Studio - Preparing a Role. In this class, students choose one role from a musical or play to work on for eight weeks. It is highly intensive, the equivalent of multiple college courses rolled into one.
Since our worldwide community was experiencing great change, exploring the role of “Mother” in Flaherty and Ahrens’ musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime seemed like an appropriate choice and an ideal piece for theaters to program upon reopening.
The story explores issues of suffrage, immigration, and racism and, in doing so, deals with themes central to the American dream, such as possibility, progress, equity, freedom, justice, peace, and legacy.
I imagined that digging into the script would help me to process what was going on in the world and to find greater hope and direction in my own life during the pandemic.
Little did I know how painfully resonant the story would be by the end of our last class together. A major plot point involves the murder of an unarmed black woman at the hands of the police.
Mother’s storyline is one of self-discovery and awakening as a white woman and mother of privilege. In her 11 o’clock number “Back to Before,” the pull of the sea calls her to a new life as she asserts her voice and drills home the lyric “we can never go back to before.”
My lightbulb moment came when I understood that this thrilling song is not one of peaceful release and acceptance, but rather one of determination to fight for a better future.
As wave upon wave crashes around us, 2020 America is experiencing its own national storm. The thunder has been rumbling for centuries, but today we’re faced with a reckoning. Will we engage in a futile attempt to go back to before, or will we commit to doing the work necessary to move civilization forward?
Through Mother, I learned that turmoil is a necessary part of progress, and doing the work means acknowledging that the waters ahead will be rough. It requires embracing the inconvenient and the uncomfortable in service of something greater.
Doing the work is a lifelong practice that requires daily commitment, courage, risk, and emotional labor.
It means breaking free from the corseted confines of our own experience to seek people, perspectives, and possibilities beyond our current world view. It is no longer allowing marginalized voices to be drowned out by those that dominate. It demands letting go of the good to make room for better.
Acting is all about action, and as my Preparing a Role class taught me, here is what doing the work means from an actor’s perspective:
Embrace a growth mindset: believe that better is possible
Lean into the process: build structure, community, and support
Identify the given circumstances: these are the irrefutable facts
Do your research: listen, read, and observe
Clarify your point of view and create your vision for change: know where you’re starting and where you hope to go
Clarify your super-objective: know what you really want and why
Analyze your character both inside and out: know your role’s function in the larger picture
Understand the stakes: ready yourself for the inevitable obstacles in your way
Turn thought into movement: take specific, intentional action
Connect the dots: find inspiration everywhere
Despite all of the hours spent preparing in the practice room, there comes a time to take your work public - to be of service and open yourself to criticism. Be present, follow your impulses, keep your eye on what matters most, and try new tactics when necessary.
I invite you to join me in doing the work. Comment below and share:
What is the work you feel called to do, and why is it important?
What is your role? What does doing the work actually entail?
Are you willing to do the work?
