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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Heathen72" data-source="post: 350611" data-attributes="member: 7029">I think we pretty much agreeAt the end of the day, I think that we are pretty much in agreement, perhaps disagreeing on a strict definition of what constitutes a ham actor. For the record, I love people who give as performers, and people who take a big risk to give an audience its money's worth - whether that be a laugh or a cry- and I truly admire the ones who do it well. (Sorry if I was a bit narky in my response.)I'm not against exaggeration as a comic form (or even sometimes as a dramatic form) - it is, in fact a very important tool. I guess my definition of "hams" includes those who habitually exaggerate, even in those moments when a little subtlety is required. It's one thing to occasionally "ham it up" a bit and quite another to do it all the time.  Unfortunately, one of the first victims of such serial Exaggeration is the ability to "listen" - the ability to be affected and altered by the people with whom you are on stage.*  And the ability to listen is really crucial to being a 'good' actor.    A couple of people SIGIL mentioned as possible hams may exaggerate (a lot) but they are excellent "listeners". A lot of them initially made their names as improvisers, and you really can't be an excellent improvisor unless you can listen, no matter how quick you are. Anyway, at the end of the day, I don't thnk I ever said that they should be banned form the stage, or that they shouldn't "be allowed" to make a living if that is their career choice. I just remarked that I didn't enjoy working with them. Or any selfish performer**  Why would I when there are so many talented (and generous) actors out there? The same thing can be said for 'munchkins' (lest we forget what this thread is about). I play with the people I enjoy playing with(my friends, basically).    Have a good one.*Actually; this could be a chicken and the egg thing - they might be hams because they can't listen.** I don't like working with Prima- donnas either</blockquote>

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