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Traumas of Acting Physical and Psychological Violence: How Fact and Fiction Shape Bodies for Better or Worse
Abstract
Violation and injury (both physical and psychological) are aspects of life and therefore figure significantly; not only in much dramatic storytelling, but also in the life circumstances that doctors, nurses, emergency professionals and even the military encounter. However, in theatrical, cinematic or simulated performance of violence, little attention is paid to possible traumatization of participants and those who witness such dramatizations. Such performances are deemed merely fictions or simulations, and are therefore considered benign. However, experts in trauma have found that the body does not distinguish between cognitively understood fiction and perceived experience. Therefore, management of traumatization requires both cognitive awareness and embodied engagement with the possibilities of traumatization. What is needed is greater duty of care in preparing those participating in theatrical, cinematic and simulated performances of violence to become more resiliently vulnerable, so that they can support themselves and their peers in negotiating the inevitability of trauma.
... As a consequence of both the personal challenges and the issues they face when attempting to establish a sustainable and viable career in the creative industries, many artists are vulnerable to experiencing significant physical and mental health challenges (Jacobs, 2004;Elias & Berg-Cross, 2009;Seton, 2004Seton, , 2010Seton, , 2013Moyle, 2012Moyle, , 2013. ...
... This includes such conditions as depression and stress (Jacobs, 2004), addictive, codependent and destructive habits (Seton, 2004(Seton, , 2010(Seton, , 2013, and self-identity issues International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change www.ijicc.net Volume 3, Issue 3, Special Edition: Mental Health, December, 2017 92 (Moyle, 2012(Moyle, , 2013. ...
... More noticeably, there are a significant number of courses where there are no explicit references to professional wellbeing issues. This in fact reflects the status of current research literature, with very few studies identified that detail strategies for coping with stressful training programs and/or scenes, or that these studies are largely limited to the performing arts (Moyle, 2013(Moyle, , 2012Seton, 2013Seton, , 2010Seton, , 2004. While professional wellbeing issues may in fact be dealt with explicitly in more degree programs than the desktop analysis identified, the detail of how they are embedded in curricula is not publicly available through existing web and course material, hence at the very least International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change www.ijicc.net ...
It is well known in the literature that artists face particular challenges when attempting to establish a viable and sustainable career in the creative industries. Given extant research points to the precariousness of careers in the creative and performing arts, the capacity to be resilient, confident and determined appears to play a major influence on the extent to which graduates are successful. While the concept of resilience, for example, is well understood and taught in such areas as teacher training, it has received virtually no research attention or focus in the area of the creative and performing arts. This paper contextualises these various issues, argues the need for new research, and proposes that higher education providers should revisit their curricula in order to place a greater emphasis on the mental strength that graduates will require as they transition towards a career in the creative industries.
... Inhabiting and simulating the perspectives of malicious actors without protective practices after can lead to mental health impacts and changes in self-concept, stemming from a blurring between an individual's relation to their self and the perspective they inhabit during role-play. For instance, Seton [84] coins the term postdramatic stress, and describes how actors made to play patients with depression and progressing stages of cancer for medical trainees started to experience symptoms in daily life similar to the ones they were made to role-play [85]. Similarly, Bailey and Dickinson [8] and Seton [85] both describe cases in which professional actors begin to confuse their acted characters' thoughts as their own, have nightmares in which they experienced their acted characters' traumas, involuntarily integrated aspects of their characters' identities into their own, and even re-enacted aspects of their role in states of psychosis. ...
... For instance, Seton [84] coins the term postdramatic stress, and describes how actors made to play patients with depression and progressing stages of cancer for medical trainees started to experience symptoms in daily life similar to the ones they were made to role-play [85]. Similarly, Bailey and Dickinson [8] and Seton [85] both describe cases in which professional actors begin to confuse their acted characters' thoughts as their own, have nightmares in which they experienced their acted characters' traumas, involuntarily integrated aspects of their characters' identities into their own, and even re-enacted aspects of their role in states of psychosis. In technology-mediated contexts, this phenomenon has been observed among content moderators, who have been documented adopting the fringe viewpoints of the content that they are exposed to with repeated exposure [20,60]. ...
Red-teaming is a core part of the infrastructure that ensures that AI models do not produce harmful content. Unlike past technologies, the black box nature of generative AI systems necessitates a uniquely interactional mode of testing, one in which individuals on red teams actively interact with the system, leveraging natural language to simulate malicious actors and solicit harmful outputs. This interactional labor done by red teams can result in mental health harms that are uniquely tied to the adversarial engagement strategies necessary to effectively red team. The importance of ensuring that generative AI models do not propagate societal or individual harm is widely recognized -- one less visible foundation of end-to-end AI safety is also the protection of the mental health and wellbeing of those who work to keep model outputs safe. In this paper, we argue that the unmet mental health needs of AI red-teamers is a critical workplace safety concern. Through analyzing the unique mental health impacts associated with the labor done by red teams, we propose potential individual and organizational strategies that could be used to meet these needs, and safeguard the mental health of red-teamers. We develop our proposed strategies through drawing parallels between common red-teaming practices and interactional labor common to other professions (including actors, mental health professionals, conflict photographers, and content moderators), describing how individuals and organizations within these professional spaces safeguard their mental health given similar psychological demands. Drawing on these protective practices, we describe how safeguards could be adapted for the distinct mental health challenges experienced by red teaming organizations as they mitigate emerging technological risks on the new digital frontlines.
... In these various fields, resilience is seen as critical and essential for sustainable professional practice. For example, those working in medicine, nursing and the military are often exposed to violence, injury and trauma (Seton, 2013), hence resilience and other response strategies are a key part of their training and preparation. ...
... Similarly, Seton (2010:5-6) describes a ten-week period of observation in which he discovered that many of the actors believed that exposure to the concepts of seduction and rape represented 'a metaphor for the necessary struggle to 'make it' in the industry' (Seton 2010:9). In a follow-up study, Seton (2013) cites the potential for actors to not only be exposed to such traumas in their role, but also in simulations where they act as traumatized patients in nursing/medical training for example. Hence, Seton (2013: 27) cites an example of a college student in the United States who after repeated rehearsals and performances of the rape scene in the production 'A Streetcar Named Desire', had to 'spend time in psychiatric care as a consequence of her deep involvement in this role'. ...
Enrolments in higher education programs in the creative and performing arts are increasing in many countries. Yet graduates of these degrees, who enter the broad sector known as the creative industries, face particular challenges in terms of securing long-term and sustainable employment. In addition, creative and performing artists face a range of mental challenges, caused by such factors as: the solitary nature of much creative practice, critical feedback by audiences and gatekeepers, or the general pressures associated with maintaining artistic relevance or integrity. The concepts of resilience and professional wellbeing are therefore highly relevant to those who pursue a career in creative industries, and while there has been an emerging body of work in this area, to date it has focussed on the performing arts area (e.g. music, theatre). Hence, in order to expand knowledge relevant to resilience and artists, this paper sets out to explore the extent to which current educators in the Australian context specifically address these issues within higher visual arts curricula; specifically the areas of illustration, design, film and photography. This was achieved via interviews with seventeen current academics working in these areas. The findings propose that higher education providers of programs in the visual arts consider placing a stronger emphasis on the embedded development of resilience and professional wellbeing capacities.
The study aims to explore emotional labour strategies and the associated outcomes among stage actors. Data were gathered over one-to-one qualitative interviews with seven theatre actors. Acting experience ranged from three to 42 years. Five emotional labour strategies emerged, i.e. (1) technical work, (2) relying on inner resources, (3) empathizing with a character, (4) transforming self and (5) relying on others. The outcomes of emotional labour extended from benign to pernicious, encompassing four themes: (1) fusion of professional–personal identities, (2) overidentification with a character, (3) constructive outcomes (emotional intelligence and superior performance onstage) and (4) conditional factors (individual characteristics and peculiarities of the play). This article raises awareness of emotional labour strategies and outcomes. Interpretation of findings viewing from an organizational psychology perspective allows to identify potential impact of organizational factors and consider practices that address mental health at work, work–life balance and personal–professional identity fusion among stage actors.
A group of professional and preprofessional actors (n = 54) from South Africa, (n = 17), the United States (n = 9), and Canada (n = 25) were compared with a healthy and active nonclinical American control group (n = 57) for type of and total traumatic events (TEQ), vividness and extensiveness of fantasy proneness (ICMI), and type and frequency of dissociation (DES-II). All actors had received intensive training in Stanislavski-based acting and participated in theater-making projects that incorporated the creation and performance of testimonial theater. Based on this acting background, we hypothesized that fewer actors would endorse pathological dissociation. This hypothesis was contradicted. Our second hypothesis was found to be correct, that actors endorsed higher fantasy proneness. The last hypothesis was found to be partially correct; fantasy significantly explained some of the variance for dissociation for both the actor and the control groups. There were no significant differences for type and total past traumatic events between the actor and the control groups. Independent sample T tests, multivariate analysis of covariance (with age as a covariate), stepwise linear regression and logistic regression all supported the relationship between fantasy-dissociation in this study. While not minimizing the effect of past trauma, this study revealed that fantasy is significantly associated with the disorienting effects of dissociation. Rather than establishing an integrated self, for some actors, their sense of self remained dissociated.
Studied the degree to which the personality of the actor is related to and influenced by the character he or she develops. 14 student actors who were involved in a dramatic production completed the Adjective Check List (ACL) at 4 points in time: prior to the beginning of the play's rehearsal period, in the middle of the rehearsal period, during the performance period, and 1 mo after the production was over. The personality profiles acquired through the 22 ACL scale scores were compared with the profiles for each actor's fictional character. Support emerged for the hypothesis that the actor's self-perceived personality profile would become more similar to the character's during the rehearsal and production period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
‘At last, the past has arrived! Performing Remains is Rebecca Schneider‘s authoritative statement on a major topic of interest to the field of theatre and performance studies. It extends and consolidates her pioneering contributions to the field through its interdisciplinary method, vivid writing, and stimulating polemic. Performing Remains has been eagerly awaited, and will be appreciated now and in the future for its rigorous investigations into the aesthetic and political potential of reenactments.‘ - Tavia Nyong’o, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
Theatre Topics 9.2 (1999) 157-179
In "A Crucible for Actors: Questions of Directorial Ethics," which appeared in the first issue of Theatre Topics, Suzanne Burgoyne posed the question of what impact acting may have on student performers' personal lives. The article resulted from her own experience directing The Crucible, in which she observed what she called "psychological fall-out" from the show, including actors' reported nightmares. Since nothing in her training had warned her that acting might result in student emotional distress -- much less prepared her to deal with it -- she began researching the impact of acting on performers. She found that, though some theatre educators seemed aware of the issue, little research had been done. Indeed, Richard Schechner contends that theatre scholars have traditionally focused their attention on the production itself and that "aftermath," which he defines as "the long-term consequences or follow through," is the least studied aspect of performance (19).
Seeking a research methodology that would allow her to begin to understand and document the impact of acting, Burgoyne contacted Karen Poulin, a psychologist with expertise in a qualitative methodology known as grounded theory. Burgoyne and Poulin brought together backgrounds in theatre and counseling psychology to collaborate on a study. Burgoyne joined Poulin's research group to learn grounded theory; Poulin took an acting class and served as a consultant on several productions.
Our review of the (scanty) literature dealing with the impact of acting revealed that a voice conspicuously underrepresented was that of the university student actor. In our study, we decided to allow this voice to be heard. In this article, we present the theory emerging from our study, in which we conducted and analyzed in-depth interviews with fifteen student actors. The theory suggests that the blurring of boundaries between actor and character may be a significant condition for impact, and that the actor's ability to control that blurring may influence whether an acting experience leads to growth or emotional distress. Since some inside-out approaches to acting encourage the actor to use her own personal experience in building a character, thus facilitating boundary blurring, this theory has major implications for theatre pedagogy.
While some of our interviewees have learned through experience that boundary blurring may become problematic, none of them reported having been taught boundary management. Liz, a doctoral student who has studied in several theatre programs, felt that "the psychological aspects of acting" are not addressed systematically in actor training:
Awareness of boundary blurring appears to be a first step for students to develop strategies for boundary management. Although teachers may understand that acting can have psychological side-effects, our interviews reveal that young actors may be unaware of that possibility until they have an emotionally distressing experience. On the basis of the theory emerging from this study, we suggest that the theatre profession address boundary management as an aspect of acting pedagogy.
A brief explanation of our methodology, known as grounded dimensional analysis (a form of grounded theory), is first necessary to show how we have developed the theory we propose here. Like other qualitative approaches to social science research, grounded theory is used to investigate subjective experience, as opposed to quantitative approaches, which investigate more objective matters. The goal of dimensional analysis is to generate theory about a complex phenomenon from the point of view of the participants. Prior to beginning the study, the researchers record their own assumptions about the topic in order to avoid imposing those assumptions on the data. After conducting interviews...
Taking a frank assessment of the risks involved in psychotherapy, such as compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization,
Help for the Helper challenges current thinking about the ways in which therapists are affected by their clients. The result is a new outlook upon the therapeutic process that yields concrete strategies for mental health professionals who want to maintain their own mental health and overall well-being while maximizing their competency with clients. Based on the latest neurobiological research and drawing from the literature in social psychology and folk psychology, Rothschild identifies three major processes that can, when left unchecked, pose risks to a professional's well-being. The first of these processes is empathy- a, if not the, major tool of the helping professions. Bridging the psychological and neurophysiological gap, Rothschild expands the concept of empathy by illuminating its heretofore neglected body component. The second process is the regulation of arousal in the professional. Rothschild reviews the relevant theories on stress and relaxation, applying them to the therapist in the helping situation. Third, drawing again on neuroscience, Rothschild promotes processes that maintain the ability to think clearly, even in the most stressful of helping situations. Throughout each chapter case illustrations, supervision transcripts, and exercises equip readers with the tools necessary to identify and mediate their own individual risk factors for compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout. The mind-body perspective of
Help for the Helper builds upon the foundation laid in Rothschild's bestselling
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Help for the Helper is a resource for all helping professionals who want to assist their clients while managing their exposure to burnout and stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Some poststructuralist feminist theorists hold that the body is merely the product of cultural determinants and that gender is a free-floating artifice. I discuss how this “denaturalization” of gender and the body entrenches us yet deeper in the nature/culture dichotomy. The body, I maintain, needs to be “renaturalized” so that its earthy significance is recognized. Through a feminist reappropriation of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the body, I develop a noncausal linkage between gender and the body. I present the body as an indeterminate constancy that is culturally and historically contextualized, on the one hand, yet part of our embodied givenness on the other. Interspersed throughout the paper are passages that describe my own bodily condition as I wrote the paper.
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CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Report: The Gilbert Spottiswood Churchill Fellowship to study holistic healthcare of actors in training and in the workplace
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