POTAHTO OR POTATO. TOMAHTO OR TOMATO. ACTOR OR ACTRESS.

I am back in sunny LA. Except there’s one problem, it hasn’t been all that sunny! Do you suppose the sun ran and hid on me since I tend to be more of a fan of NYC? Maybe it thought doing so would provide more of an east coast feel and was LA’s unique way of welcoming me back to the City of Angels.

However, seeing that my theory is fairly far fetched and that this is the rainy season, I highly doubt it. Either way, I shall excuse it, this once, and freely admit that it does give the city a crisper bite, which is no doubt like that of the Big Apple, or any good apple for that matter.

In my debut blog I mentioned that I would explain why I call myself an actor, not actress. I figure what better time than the present, right? For me it is actually quite simple. I’m afraid I don’t have some ample, in-depth or even insightful explanation for you, but I promised to be open and honest with each of you, and I intend to be just that!

Since I can remember, I have referred to myself as an actor. This all stems from when I began taking weekend acting and musical theatre classes, while in high school, at the renowned HB studio in New York City. HB is the school started in 1945 by Herbert Berghof, later joined by the legendary Uta Hagan, which had the intention of offering “professional theatre training and practice for aspiring and accomplished actors of all ages.”

To me, though some feel differently, we are all actors. Just as there are doctors, lawyers, and teachers, despite whether you are male or female. In addition, our union is the Screen Actor’s Guild, “the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors,” and has been since it began, 75 years ago, in 1933. The union also holds the SAG Awards each year, where the highly respected award happens to be an actor that is given to actors by actors.

So, there you have it, fairly simple isn’t it?

That said, most of my female friends, in this industry, consider themselves actresses. This is not, despite what some might suspect, odd to me in the least. There is no denying that there have always been actors and actresses and will continue to be; just as there are some awards given for Best Actor and Best Actress. For me however, I find the most comfort in being simply called, an actor.

With that, and before I leave you for this week, I would like to report that my ruby red heels have been put to good use, hitting the pavement frequently, as promised, despite the sun on my yellow brick road having gone into hiding. Till next time, I am off to seek sunshine, and whatever else I may find along the way, so wish me luck…or as we actors, yes actors, like to say, Break-A-Leg!

“An actress can only play a woman. I’m an actor, I can play anything.” – Whoopi Goldberg