TITLE:
Acting as a Living Craft: Rehearsal, Interpretation, and the Communication of Playwrights’ Truths
AUTHORS:
Ernest Kwasi Amponsah, Godfred Asare Yeboah
KEYWORDS:
Acting, Rehearsals, Communication, Interpretation, Ritual Origins, Script Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Literary Study,
Vol.14 No.2,
April
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: Acting is one of the oldest forms of human expression, rooted in ritual, storytelling, and communal performance rather than in mere entertainment. Across history, acting has evolved from sacred enactments to professional theatre and screen practices, yet one element has remained remarkably constant, thus, rehearsal. At the same time, acting is a communicative art through which actors interpret and embody the creative visions and “discovered truths” of playwrights for a live audience. This paper brings these perspectives together by examining acting as a living craft grounded in rehearsal and as a communicative process that bridges playwright, actor, and audience. Drawing on ritual theory, classical and modern theatre history and Kenneth Burke’s Dramatism Theory, the paper argues that rehearsal is not just a preparatory phase but the central space where craft, analysis, and communication converge. Using a qualitative, interpretive, and historical methodology, the study positions acting as a lifelong discipline of embodied inquiry through which actors continually practice, analyze, and communicate the playwright’s underlying truths.