On Role Playing, Literature, and Acting

[benlehman]

This was an essay, but I realized that it can be trimmed to one line:

The only similarity between acting, literature, and role-playing games is that they all use words and, sometimes, plot arcs.

Relvevant Forge thread:
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=12711&highlight=

Anyone else have thoughts?

Comments

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

As far as the gamebooks issue... well, I'm strictly talking about the play of RPGs here, not the authoring of them, which I consider to be largely a seperate thing. And clearly, art helps other art in the general sense (see reply to Kendra's second post, below.)

But I'm not so certain that acting skills really help role-playing. Let me clarify.

The "thing" of role-playing is, to me, the shared imagined space -- we are imagining a thing together. Role-playing skills, I think, can only be recognized inasmuch as they contribute to that collaborative imagined thing. Certainly, a degree of acting skill can help the role-player but, as long as other people understand what is going on in your imagination, your golden. Acting skills beyond that can actually be a little detrimental, I think. You might start treating your fellow players as audience, and not co-authors.

yrs--
--Ben

[relevance.livejournal.com]

I think authoring game materials and gaming are distinct, obviously, but closely linked, in the same way that reading and writing poetry or playwriting and drama are. They aren't the same activity; but extensive experience with the one is necessary (but not sufficient) to undertake the other.

It sounds like (somewhat unsurprisingly) you're looking for different things out of roleplaying than I am. The collaborative imagined thing is important to me, but so is what is actually said and done, and the alignment of game experience and (my) human experience [at least on a metaphorical level]. Acting skills are incredibly useful when it comes to those latter two.

I also disagree that acting skills can be detrimental, though perhaps a specific attitude towards acting can. Improv actors (as opposed to performance actors) tend not to care very much whether they have an audience, except as it impacts their ability to make a living.

[russiandude.livejournal.com]

I have often said that gaming is a lot like improv acting - somebody gives you a setting and you (with some other people) have to come up with ideas, with little prep work, to make it believable.

[arianhwyvar.livejournal.com]

Certainly, a degree of acting skill can help the role-player but, as long as other people understand what is going on in your imagination, your golden. Acting skills beyond that can actually be a little detrimental, I think.

If this is true for you, then you must enjoy very different styles of game and get different things out of roleplaying than I do.

There are lots of books that I can't bear to read because, while the ideas or plot is interesting, the writing is poor, and that distracts me so much that I can't enjoy the story. I can't stand playing rpg's with people who say in a monotone "My character says..." instead of just talking in character. I don't think you have to be snobbish about it; there's no reason to scorn people who aren't great actors. But unless people are willing to make at least a minimal effort, I'm distracted out of the believability of the story. Part of the attraction of rpg's is that they can be visceral, they can engage your attention and your emotions in a more active way than listening to a story or reading a book. And good storytellers act as well. Good acting serves to engage other persons and can let you get more involved yourself. It makes the game seem more immediate and real.

I can't think of any time when good acting would detract from an rpg. Sure, people who are good actors may detract from an rpg in other ways, by selfishness, or scorn for others' attempts, or bogging a storyline down or acting in ways which are distracting or annoying in themselves. But none of the negative things I can think of are actually consequences of good acting itself.