[Floatingnotthinking]

I'm just curious because I know there are INFP actors and such, it's just that Theater seems a bit like the anti-thesis of an INFP? At least according to the list of skills needed to be a good performer given by my drama teacher.

So tell me, how do you feel about performing, or at least being up in front of lots of people?

[Guph]

I have nothing but respect for the noble craft of acting.
I'm not really good with attention, but I somehow crave it at the same time. It's a conflicted relationship; I guess the more you perform, the more you become good at it.

I had the pleasure to get to know a lot of actors and from what I recall the Stanislavski's system was really, really intriguing.

[cosmia]

Why particularly do you feel like being in theater is the antithesis of INFP?? I never would have thought that.

I love it. I was in competitive drama in high school for a year. I find it rather easy to channel emotions. My younger sister and I used to spend a lot of our free time as kids writing plays and performing them, or just creating characters and acting out scenarios between them. I know one day we had at least 5 characters each, we improv'd a whole epic involving all of them, switching between them by the addition of a hat or a skirt to distinguish who we were at the time.

I get nervous and flustered being myself; acting as somebody else is a piece of cake.

[WardRhiannon]

I have a lot of respect for acting. I'm not a very good actress and I wish I could channel more of energy towards performing, but I'm too shy. I'm also better at expressing myself through writing.

[kaleidoscope]

I get nervous and flustered being myself; acting as somebody else is a piece of cake.

This! Cosmia, you're going to get tired of me quoting you and agreeing

I took a creative writing class a year ago or so, and we had a drama workshop. So we had to literally get up in class and improvise a scene with a classmate. No lines, nothing. I pulled it off so well, and slipped into the role so effortlessly. I suppose part of it is due to my being a 4w3 - I find costumes and personas to be a little too comfortable. It's so easy for me to take on a role, even easier than being myself.

That, and I'm a very expressive and vivid person. Many people have told me that acting would suit me, I can only assume it's because of how I talk (I can be extremely theatrical).

[Oh_no_she_DIDNT]

I'm a performer. I was a theatre major and have acted in some professional theatre. These days I mostly perform in children's theatre and I do my own storytelling performances and that kind of thing. I have happily fallen into this niche.

I understand that being in front of an audience may be about as appealing to some INFP's as a root canal, but I believe that acting and theatre are right up the INFP's alley. :) Why?

Because:

-When you are a quiet and observant INFP, you can pick up on a lot that I think other people miss, and this lends itself well to honing in on creating a character. It seems many of us have external emotional barometers and can pick up on the hidden motivations and intentions of others. This is useful for character development in both writing and acting, I think.

-Theatre can be a way to outlet some of that deep, rich inner world energy, and INFP's have plenty of that! Maybe even exercise some demons..

-Lots of INFP's say they are chameleons and adapt to their environments and the people around them. Perhaps this relates to being able to put on one person and then another on stage as well? Sometimes when I've acted, it has been like someone else has possessed me. Something clicks and shifts on the inside, and its almost as if I'm observing myself be someone else, and I don't know what she will do or say; she surprises me. This isn't every occasion, but when it happens its pretty surreal.

-In acting, you aren't really exposing yourself per-se, but rather an alter-ego, a fictional character you've created. In general, I'm a private person and I'm a bit reluctant about being openly judged by large groups, but I don't mind being judged on stage, because I don't really feel that I'm revealing all that much about myself. The character I'm playing is being judged, not me. It would be a lot different if you invited me in front of an audience and interviewed me about myself... then I'd feel exposed. But characters are like masks, masks that protect me.

I've enjoyed theatre because its given me a voice in a world where I sometimes feel invisible. Its just really nice sometimes to have others lend you an ear and really hear you for once. And to laugh together at the funny moments that happen. Or grieve, or cry, or gasp or whatever. I like the idea of shared experiences. And that's what theatre and acting is about to me... Shared experiences.



(The most challenging aspect of the theatre world for me has been networking. Networking, for me, is the part that feels like a root canal. It feels like you are being inauthentic, like you are using people for your own gain. And you have to be smooth and good at small talk and take advantage of connecting with the people you happen upon, and I'm not naturally good at these things. When I have networked [which is rare], it was usually an accident. I happened to make a friend that helped me get a job. But I didn't make a friend for the purpose of using them to get a job)

[IAmOrangeToday]

I did drama GCSE at school, so that's two years with 5 hours a week of drama. It was an absolutely incredible experience for me, I was able to let go of all the insecurity and the self-consciousness of being me for the first time and just express and it was wonderful. I was a changed person by it immensely, cognitively speaking my Ne got a huge kick up the backside whereas before I'd barely been using it a lot of the time, now it's my default way to deal with the world and I have more friends because of it strangely enough.

Lesson to be learned here INFPs : DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR NE. LOVE YOUR NE. HAVE AN NE OFF WITH ENFPS AND SOMETIMES WIN.
Fi is amazing, but it's not very good at communicating with people so learn to get the most out of you Ne in terms of being witty, being funny, being odd, being yourself out in the real world as well as in your internal world.

[Afruabarkio]

I want to see more answers, I put it up.

[Lesley Drakken]

The preforming arts is my weakest area as far as mediums go. I have an acceptable (not prize worthy) singing voice, but as soon as I get out in front of a crowd I freeze. I actually can't sing in front of other people.

[private_investigation]

I'm a performer. I was a theatre major and have acted in some professional theatre. These days I mostly perform in children's theatre and I do my own storytelling performances and that kind of thing. I have happily fallen into this niche.

I understand that being in front of an audience may be about as appealing to some INFP's as a root canal, but I believe that acting and theatre are right up the INFP's alley. :) Why?

Because:

-When you are a quiet and observant INFP, you can pick up on a lot that I think other people miss, and this lends itself well to honing in on creating a character. It seems many of us have external emotional barometers and can pick up on the hidden motivations and intentions of others. This is useful for character development in both writing and acting, I think.

-Theatre can be a way to outlet some of that deep, rich inner world energy, and INFP's have plenty of that! Maybe even exercise some demons..

-Lots of INFP's say they are chameleons and adapt to their environments and the people around them. Perhaps this relates to being able to put on one person and then another on stage as well? Sometimes when I've acted, it has been like someone else has possessed me. Something clicks and shifts on the inside, and its almost as if I'm observing myself be someone else, and I don't know what she will do or say; she surprises me. This isn't every occasion, but when it happens its pretty surreal.

-In acting, you aren't really exposing yourself per-se, but rather an alter-ego, a fictional character you've created. In general, I'm a private person and I'm a bit reluctant about being openly judged by large groups, but I don't mind being judged on stage, because I don't really feel that I'm revealing all that much about myself. The character I'm playing is being judged, not me. It would be a lot different if you invited me in front of an audience and interviewed me about myself... then I'd feel exposed. But characters are like masks, masks that protect me.

I've enjoyed theatre because its given me a voice in a world where I sometimes feel invisible. Its just really nice sometimes to have others lend you an ear and really hear you for once. And to laugh together at the funny moments that happen. Or grieve, or cry, or gasp or whatever. I like the idea of shared experiences. And that's what theatre and acting is about to me... Shared experiences.



(The most challenging aspect of the theatre world for me has been networking. Networking, for me, is the part that feels like a root canal. It feels like you are being inauthentic, like you are using people for your own gain. And you have to be smooth and good at small talk and take advantage of connecting with the people you happen upon, and I'm not naturally good at these things. When I have networked [which is rare], it was usually an accident. I happened to make a friend that helped me get a job. But I didn't make a friend for the purpose of using them to get a job)

I completely agree. I think the theater is like no other art, the actors and the audience create a unique experience, experiencing thoughts and emotions of the characters together. I'm not an actor (far from it) but I was in the drama club at school and in the beginning I was very shy, so much that they wanted to throw me out . But when I managed to get over it, it was great, I could get into any character effortlessly. I think infps have potential to be great actors becouse most are able to empathize and understand the feelings of others, but some of us need to do our best to come out of our comfort zone.