To Be, Or Not To Be...A Roleplayer

Last night was the culmination of a week-long acting camp that my brother's youngest boy took part in, in which the troupe performed 2 versions of Hamlet (Through A Glass, Dimly & Quarto Hour,) and one girl did Kate's famous monologue from As You Like It.

Overall, I found the production to be light-hearted and fun, though I would have liked the first rendition to have been less condensed, but I digress. The reason I write this is because as I sat there, I thought of how many of those kids would make great roleplayers, but would likely never pick up any rpgs in their life.

As I sat with my family, one of the performers, a young girl, was sitting in front of us at her cue, and my brother leaned forward and asked if she was nervous. She said yes, and she fidgeted and rocked quite a bit, but once her part came, she was quick, and did well to carry her voice out. Then, in the second version of Hamlet, she did well again, as did they all, in acting out their parts.

While I understand that acting and roleplaying are not one and the same, and that if they did happen to play, dicing actions might be the thing to turn them off, I certainly think that it's a shame that more performers don't pick up rpgs, as a whole.

I've noticed through my years of playing, that all it takes to get quiet players to come out of their shells is to have another player at the table who is boisterous and will encourage others' roleplaying. Someone who is already sure of themselves when it comes to speaking in front of groups would only help this great hobby we share.

In fact, I can thank D&D some for my coming out of my shell. It helped me quite a bit that I could see the people I played with flub it up and then laugh it off, but never lose confidence in their play, and continue their railing against the king or what have you.

So, if any of you know actors, choir members, politicians, or musicians (or anyone who speaks/performs publicly,) encourage them to pick up some dice and join this great hobby of ours!

Oh, and btw...my nephew died, and he did so loudly and with little grace. I am very proud!