You are what you eat: act on it

This is an interdisciplinary digital presentation contributing to the theme of ‘Food and Affect’ and is followed by a critical examination of this pilot project which seeks to disclose the attitudes surrounding body type and diet of young actors in training. Whilst these young people are seeking to become ‘versatile actors,’ their own body type and appearance may dictate the roles they eventually play or are assigned in a casting session or by the director. This pilot project captures respondents’ honest narratives through a multi-modal approach which includes text, image and the spoken voice as auto-narratives. The types of questions considered include: How do young actors feel about their bodies? What do they see as their assets? What would they like to change about their appearance? How does diet and lifestyle contribute to the way they look? How do they feel about their bodies changing as they grow older? Which roles will they be most suited to play? This media presentation and accompanying paper aim to stimulate a dialogue around versatility and type casting of the actor by playing with the notion of what is ‘me’ and what is ‘not me.’ The work exposes the actor’s body for all to view and for the artist to interrogate for themselves. The ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ are brought into honest and naked dialogue with each other