Surely, I could run the props, adjust the lights or probably design costume. But doing the acting myself? Can “shy” and “acting” even stand together?
The first thought that crosses my mind when it comes to participating in a theatre production is joining the crew backstage. I remember doing drama in high school - cutting out styrofoam houses, painting fake trees, preparing costumes for the cast to take the stage. Somehow, the impression of a performer being the centre of attention, loud and expressive, has led so many people to believe that the characteristics of performers themselves are supposedly outgoing and communicative. Quiet kids don’t usually grow up having people around them saying, “Hey, why don’t you sign up for the lead role of the school play, it fits you so well!” – but is it the case that being shy equals being unable to go upfront?
To begin discussing this matter, let’s first define “shyness”. In my personal experience, the character “shy” is often associated with “introversion”, a nature that leans towards spending time alone without the need of an external source of energy. So technically, it is understandable to think of “shyness” as the avoidance of social interactions – I mean, what kind of “extroverts” would avoid people? But “shyness” is beyond that. In many cases, shy people yearn to connect with others, however struggle to figure out how to go through social situations. Shyness could easily lead to fear.
Now you may ask, “how is such a shy person capable of going on stage, facing the crowd and being the centre of attention?”. Being shy does mean having zero clue of how to act in various situations and getting all messed up in front of people. But the person stepping on stage and standing in the light is not the awkward kid who has no idea what he’s supposed to do – it’s the king, the queen and the princess. In the spotlight of the theatre, he no longer stays trapped inside his own skin, his “quiet and reserved” skin – he’s living the life of the character. The fun thing here – he doesn’t have to battle his way out finding what to say and how to act: every single move is already scripted on a piece of paper. Things go much more orderly on the stage than in real life – it’s a blessing for anyone who is battling to navigate their way through the chaotic society to be given that sort of direction.
One might learn to handle social situations by practicing in real life - shy people could learn by practicing on stage. It might sound hilarious, but if you think about it, scripted characters and scenarios familiarize one with real life situations, except that one could go through them over and over without the fear of messing up. Learning how to handle social interactions by practicing on stage could possibly be one of the safest, most reassuring ways.
What theatre also does for a shy person is giving them a community to be part of, a family where everyone would go through thick and thin together from the very first script-reading day to the final show. Being part of a theatre production is already building the sincerest relationships through work, through effort, through hardships. It is not something that a shy person would encounter various of times through the course of their life – it has never been easy to make friends being unable to initiate conversations. Practicing in theatre does not only help them to understand social situations through imaginary scenarios but also through real friendships.
To answer the question, whether theatre is supposedly for someone who is naturally shy and reserved, I tend to think more towards the direction where theatre is a solution for shy people, an opportunity for them to break free from their shells once in a while, to get out there more and learn to express themselves. As for the cast of FRAGMENTS, some of them are reserved on a daily basis, some of them struggle with social anxiety and mental health issues. They might not be that popular kid at school that everyone looks up to, they might not even feel comfortable meeting and being close to so many strangers. But they made it all together on stage, singing and dancing in front of the whole house. They found a home, where they feel safe and welcome.