Shakespeare got it to the ‘T’ when he wrote, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players….” Without exception we are all players whether we like it or not. Whether we want to or not. We jokingly or seriously refer to men that jump from women to women as ‘players’ but the truth is that women are players as well, it is the game, the play that differs. It is all about the script we are following. From the moment we pop out we are fed script on how we ought to behave and not behave. If we yell coming out we are guarded to tone it down. We come out quietly, we are urged or poked to show some character that we are alive and it never stops.
We are taken home from hospital and depending on our parents, carers, environment, the society we grow up in, we are thrust script at various stages of our lives, this is what we do and not do, this is what we say and not say, this is how we dress and not dress, this is how we relate and not relate, etc. Some of us are good actors others not so good. Some comply and stick to the script, others stray and adapt the script to fit their preferences and so it goes. Others throw the whole script away and choose to do their own thing, a recipe for anarchy. As long as we live in a society and plan to get on reasonably with the society we all must play, act and engage. The question becomes, how well do we act? Do we do it with consciousness or not? Are we aware that we are not the role we play? Do we make room for our true self to emerge? Are we interested in the roles we play?
Good actors play a diverse range of roles and have a broad repertoire. They play gangster, they play lover, they play peace seeker, they play trouble maker, the play God fearing, they play atheist anathema. From time to time they have a break in between projects to revert back to self, to be themselves, to wear their own clothes, eat the food they want to, live as who they are. They come back to self and even reflect on the character they played. I have heard actors say they can identify with a character or that a character is more like them or not. I have also heard actors talk about characters they play and not particularly like and some have turned down script as they can not bring themselves to play the role. In life we also must interrogate scripts given to us. Some times we are so unconscious we just dive head first into it without stopping to consider what we are playing.
A friend once told me that one of the reasons for breakdown in relationships is that parties come in playing to the script they carry in their head irrespective of if it makes sense or not, whether it is healthy for the well-being of the relationship or not. In a worse case scenario the man has been given the toxic masculinity script and he plays it to the letter in his relationship and he expects his partner received the same script and should play the docile, passive, recipient of the toxicity. The partner got a different script, she got the script of the needy, demanding, entitled person and also played it to the letter and we wonder that there is no peace in Zion. There can not be any peace in Zion, the scripts does not allow peace!
When it goes all wrong, who do we blame? Are the actors at fault or the blame lies at the feet of the script writter? Or is it the fault of the Director, or do we point fingers at other fellow actors? Society writes it’s script and thrust into our hands, as discerning adults like any ‘A’ rated actor we have a say in the final play, we have reach that level of importance, relevance and commanding presence where we contribute to the final outcome.
As we go about our lives today, we are players, we are actors, let us unscroll that script, let us stand back, let us all question the roles we play. Is this who we are? Is this who we want to be? Should we turn down some script? Should we revisit some scripts? The choice is ours, let us be circumspect.
Define your life!
Beautiful Ivory 