Two Interesting Items: An Idea And Then A Brief Reflection (unrelated)

Two things that came to fruition tonight...

First, the idea...

It seems to me that in many cases, captivating thespians are often brooding, quiet people (at least, as seen by those who do not know them well. They mostly keep to themselves and do not say much. BUT, when they are on stage, immersed in the body and mind of their characters, they are able to portray convincingly most any personality. Having seen a production of the one-act play "Museum" this evening, many of the more talkative, center-of-the-action characters are portrayed by people of that same introverted personality I just mentioned.

I believe a couple factors may be at work here. Possibility #1 is that these people are so insecure about their "real" lives that they have no other outlet for self-expression other than the stage. This seems to me a backward form of escape; it is most intriguing. The only way they can escape their own insecurities is in front of a crowd. I would like to think that the introverted people who played extroverts do not fall under this insecurity category, but I am unsure.

Possibility #2 is that acting is a grand catharsis. These people bottle up all of their creative energy during the days (weeks, months) leading up to performances, and just publicly explode with energy and vigor when called to do so. This is my hope. I do not hope for other people to be insecure, as Possibility #1 mandates. Surely they have value to add to the lives of others off the stage, no? Yet this cathartic manifestation of themselves is all most people know of them. Is this what makes them so very effective?

Sorry, I don't have many answers, although I am somewhat certain that most great actors and actresses fall under one of these categories (hopefully moreso under #2, though I am unsure). All I know is that because I am such an oddball in real life, I would likely be an ineffective actor. I'll leave that to the professionals who know what they're doing, because as you can see, I do not have much of a clue in this matter.

Now, the reflection (If you're still with me, I thank and applaud you. This shall be brief).

On the way home from a golf match during my Sophomore year, I burst out in a fit of laughter. Uncontrollable laughter, multiplied by the sight of abit of ketchup on a teammate's shirt. When my astonished, frightened teammates looked at me to see the cause of my hysteria, all I could choke out was "TOO MUCH SUGARRR!!!!" I was exhibiting behavior of someone affected by some illegal substance or another. In terms of sugar, I had had that day a Powerade, and then a soda and Frosty™ Dairy Dessert from Wendy's.

I experienced similar giddiness earlier tonight, albeit on an far smaller scale. I'd call it "moderately sustained light giggling." It got me thinking about the phrase, "high on life." Some people just say it just to say it, but I think that it's actually somewhat true in my strange case. I believe that there is something wrong (I'd actually say right) with me which causes my body to manufacture a dosage of natural "happy drugs," from time to time. Which is great. I'll never have to waste my money on outside stuff; I've got my own stock with me. Weird, eh?