BRATTLEBORO — I was a professional actor in New York City for 20 years. At the same theater and within a matter of months I played two very different characters. One was a white supremacist, and the other a compassionate angel.
Like many other actors the bad guy was more fun to play.
“Why?” you might be wondering.
Bad guys don't play by the rules and tend to do more dramatic things. In the case of the white supremacist, it took courage as an actor to let the audience dislike me. I had to learn to not protect myself from their judgment and then find and expose my character's humanity.
During my actor-training years, I learned a character-building technique. The first step was to identify the wound of the character, or their essence, and then see how that character would cover up that wound with a presentation to the world - what we called their point of view. The next step would be to find two short phrases that might hold the emotional content of those states.
The more dynamic those phrases were and the wider and more wild the swings between them, the more fun the character would be to play.
I likened the phrases to buoys in the ocean - something that I could hold onto, catch my breath at, before swimming into the deep water of being.
The phrases were secrets between me and the character I was playing. I never discussed or shared these words with any of my fellow actors or the playwright.
Once I'd find the phrases, I'd create a physical gesture attached to each. These gestures would represent the two poles of the character's physical life.
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Applying this form of analysis to the character of our 45th president, I have identified his essence, which I'll summarize with the phrase, “I'm a victim.”
In Alec Baldwin's comedic portrayal on Saturday Night Live, the physical gesture that corresponds to the “victim” phrase would be his pouty lower lip.
The president infrequently reveals his essence, as it is distasteful to his dominant persona.
When he is in essence, he's the victim of a “witch hunt,” elections he doesn't win are “rigged,” and “they're all against me.” I don't know where his wound came from but my strong suspicion is his father.
To combat this feeling and present to the world something more successful, his default position is his bully persona. This could be summarized in his own words, “I alone can fix it.”
This point-of-view side of him is the one that we are exposed to daily. This persona picks fights with friends and allies, insults nearly everyone. He rages, threatens, bullies, intimidates. He thinks that he is smarter, richer, better looking than anyone else in the room, or perhaps anyone who has ever lived. He brags incessantly in order to avoid feeling like a victim. He presents himself in grand historical terms.
That's why journalists and truth tellers are singled out for his most vitriolic scorn.
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In the course of a drama, characters will spend most of their time in their point of view; only once or twice (at their lowest moments) will they reveal their essence.
Finding those moments was my favorite part of the rehearsal process, especially when playing an unlikeable character. In the revelation, the audience could see or sense, sometimes for the first time, the character's humanity.
I don't have this hope for our president, but I do predict that when he resigns, fails to win re-election, or is otherwise judged by any fair historical model, he will respond with his “I'm a victim” essence.
People, especially those still living, are far more complex than characters in any play. Of course, nearly everything the president says is a psychological projection as well: basically, he accuses others of doing or being what he does or is. For instance, whenever he calls someone a “liar,” you can be almost certain he's projecting.
Rather than allow the reality of history's judgment to penetrate past his ego and send him into essence, he could go straight there with a helping of his point-of-view to back him up: “A lot of people say, I'm the greatest president ever.”
These character traits would make him fascinating to play or to observe in a movie or play, but they make him an impossible-to-look-away-from train wreck as the leader of our country.
It's impossible to trust someone who knows so little of himself and is so unfamiliar with facts or truth. His bully persona won't allow him to reveal any vulnerability. He has never demonstrated the capacity for true compassion or familiarity with term “the common good.”
But what an entertainer! I've never paid so much attention.
It's difficult to speak about anyone else, even if that gives him the satisfaction he so craves. He's distinctly American and wholly original.
If a playwright wrote a character like this, he would be told to tone it down and make him more realistic.
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My bold (and not totally original predictions) are: The withdrawal of the president's allies in the GOP began in the 2018 election cycle as soon as they realized he could not help them win. It will continue as the middle of the country sours on his stunts and lies.
As the Democrats assume power in the House, they'll investigate the many crimes he and his administration have committed.
Shortly, I expect Special Counsel Robert Mueller will reveal multiple bombshells in the collusion, obstruction, and money-laundering areas of law.
If this is done in the next year, the president will claim immunity and then make (or attempt to make) a deal to get out of prosecution in exchange for leaving office. If he manages to finish his term, these conflicts will paralyze government while we wait out a lame-duck presidency.
Smelling the dumpster fire, what's left of the old GOP will abandon him and fall back on a “one bad apple” and “at least we got our tax cuts” strategy.
A progressive Democrat ticket that is half female will win the presidency in 2020 after promising to restore truth and dignity to the office. The Dow Jones will bottom out at 18,000. The west coast of America will sear and the southeast swim. Nothing will be done about climate change.
In the meantime, buckle up and make some popcorn.