American Encounter Summary and Analysis

Acting is an ethical endeavor, for it does not hide from basic truths, and its goal is a certain purity and self-knowledge. Morality and immorality can be separated in this sense from ethics. It is also artistically ethical to take risks and be courageous. Additionally, the actor is an ethical living organism because he does not work for himself; instead, he derives meaning from contact, from encounters with other people. However, the actor must forever find a balance between working for the spectator (which as said before leads to exhibitionism) and working for himself (ignoring the essence of the theatre itself). An actor who works through contact will experience rebirths on the way to self-knowledge. A final rebirth results in the discovery (by the actor) of a "secure partner," who may be another actor but may not be, an...