The Paradox of the Actress

The Paradox of The Actress and accompanying new solo theatre work The Disappearing Trilogy examines the proposition of Western actresses often disappearing into female gendered stereotyped roles. These roles are often sexually objectifying and oppressive. I propose that the consistent performance of them in realism-based, mainstream acting erodes and sometimes erases the actress’s autonomous identity. This practice-based investigation also presents a paradox in that the actress must disappear into stereotyped roles in order to ‘stand out’ and sustain a career. However, as she stands out, she disappears raising a provocation, ‘what is the identity of the twenty-first century Western actress?’