An actress plays a character.
An actress is a woman who takes on the interpretation of a role in a film, a series or a play . Actresses put themselves in the shoes of other people, thus embodying a character .
The male equivalent of the actress is the actor . It is common for actresses and actors to interact in works of fiction, making the narration of a story possible.
The origins of the performance
The performance was born in Ancient Greece . The playwright Thespis (550 – 500 BC) is often mentioned as the first actor of all time .
Thespis was in charge of playing the god Dionysus , acting on a chariot. From then on, little by little, acting became a valued art that had numerous ramifications.
The first actresses
Despite these remote origins of acting, women were not able to get on stage until the 17th century . For a long time it was considered that women should not act, so men themselves assumed female roles.
In the theaters of Venice , already in the Middle Ages , it was accepted for the first time for women to play characters in plays. This is how actresses emerged.
Of course, to talk about this emergence of actresses is to refer to the idea of acting as a profession, trade or art. Before that milestone in Venetian theaters, any girl or woman who, at home or in another environment, played a role, was already acting. Therefore, it could be said that there have always been actresses, although not on a formal level or in the public sphere.
The roles that actresses can assume are very diverse.
Activity characteristics
It is understood that an actress, following a text or through improvisation , pretends to be someone she is not, performing different actions that are framed in a fictional universe. To carry out her work, the actress uses her body and her voice, deploying multiple expressive resources.
The characteristics of the performance depend on the type of work . In the theater, the actress acts live and in front of the spectators' eyes, without any intermediation. In cinema, on the other hand, you act in front of the camera and there is the possibility of filming the same scene over and over again.
Radio drama actresses must transmit feelings and emotions only with their voice and not with their image. This does not usually happen in other media, although in film, television and theater there is the possibility for the actress to contribute her voice to an animated character or a doll, for example.
The most recognized actresses
Many actresses have managed to captivate the public and critics thanks to their talent. Katharine Hepburn ( 1907 – 2003 ), to mention one case, won four Oscars for Best Actress , establishing a record that has not yet been reached. Hepburn won the statuette in 1933 , 1967 , 1968 and 1981 and was also nominated eight other times.
Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982), por su parte, conquistó tres Oscar y fue la primera actriz en conseguir un prize Tony. También tres Oscar lograron Meryl Streep y Frances McDormand.