Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
March 31, 2010
Fathers and their Actors II
In The Illusion, an old man visits a magician in the hope that he will help him locate his estranged son, the son he disowned fifteen years earlier. I asked members of the cast of Illusion to talk about their own fathers, and how they felt about their chosen profession.
“Papa is a doctor. Emigrating from overseas set him back nearly ten years thanks to certain discrepancies in institutional prerequisite. That is, American had a hard time trusting his foreign (though thorough) medical education. He’s now a rheumatologist with a very successful practice in Florida. After all that work, it’s understandable that he’d have astronomical expectations of his first-born son.
“It also makes sense, then, that his and my mother’s journey to acceptance of my vocational choice is still very much in progress. See, the parameters for success in the culture of the Indo-Pakistani diaspora are very slim. If you’ve the opportunity to receive higher education, it is generally expected you use it for medical or law studies. If you haven’t, you can always rely on the storied Indian business sense and acquire a motel, jewelry store, liquor store, etc. Though these expectations are changing as our people continue to put down roots here, success is mainly measured in means. Actors have no place in this. In fact, popular opinion holds actors in very low esteem. The assumed image ranges from “disingenuous pretenders” to “shameless whores” who expect payment for play.
“My parents’ initial feelings about my pursuing a life in the arts were nothing if not skeptical. Through college, they had softened their position, seeing there was some aptitude behind my desire. And certainly after college, they moved more toward conservatively proud. But, having been in professional practice for years now, and particularly because of the birth of my son, the financial realities of an actor’s life have reinforced their worry. All of it comes from a place from intense love, I well know, and considering the derogatory stance of the culture from whence we come, they have traveled an incredibly long way and continue to do so. Yet, there is a hidden hope in their hearts that I will finally come to my senses. For the moment, however, I remain lunatic.”
The Illusion runs Wednesday through Sundays at Court Theatre until April 11.
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