In a play, the characters typically represent different personalities. You have the heroes and the villains, the virtuous and the sinful, and If the play is a social commentary you may be portraying a particular stereotype in society. You may be slipping on the mask of a famous dictator, political figure, or serial killer. When the cast list is posted you catch a glimpse of the person you will be portraying for however long the production goes, and it’s exciting. However, if you’re playing a character that is considered distasteful or offensive, you may get a different reaction from the audience than you were hoping for.

For starters, as a young woman myself, it is incredibly awkward to play an overly-sexualized character. Don’t get me wrong, its incredibly fun as well and the people that appreciate the humor make it all worth the while; however, there is a darker side to this when people don’t understand that the character is not you, and that you are not the character. Just because I am playing someone bad does not mean that I am, and just because I am playing a character that you might refer to as a “slut”, does not mean that I am one. It’s difficult, in any situation, to play a character that is out of your comfort zone. I suppose that is why they call it acting, but that doesn’t make it any less awkward to have your friends and family watching you make out someone or even alluding to doing something more than that.

I have played the promiscuous character in several plays, whether it be the mystery gang’s rich girl that uses her sexuality to her advantage, the Spanish Rose that tries to seduce a group of shriners because I am mad at my fiancee, or the slutty cousin that tries to take the Wedding Singer for herself. Every one of these woman as exciting to play as the one before. But along with the sexual innuendo and sexy costumes comes unwanted attention from older men ranging from creepy stares to uncomfortable conversations after the show about my “special talent”. It’s embarrassing at times to blatantly state how the guy you’re romantically involved with in the show is going to get laid, or to walk out on stage, after obviously implying you had sex, with your clothes and hair disheveled and your green scarf accidentally switched for an orange ascot all the while your boyfriend’s family is watching from the audience.

In worse situations, its hard to keep your confidence when your peers parents are referring to you as trash to your own mother and asking why you’re even allowed to be on the stage. It’s hard to be judged for your costume, the shape and size of your body, and not for your acting ability. It’s hard to stay focused when you know your lines are scandalous and offensive to some people. It’s hard to be the one person that doesn’t receive the same applause and adoration after the show because the audience couldn’t separate you from your character. Even the audience members that weren’t necessarily offended by the person you were playing still seemed to look at you strangely when you walked out from backstage. It is a performance, and it is only as real as you yourself make it.

The next time that you are watching the people on stage bring to life the characters of a story, understand that no matter how political or promiscuous the character is, no matter how good or evil that character is, that is all that they are: a character. The girl on stage shamelessly throwing herself on a guy, or sticking her hand down his pants is not me. The girl dancing seductively in the tight leather pants and bustier is not me. Even if she was, it's not okay to call me a "trashy slut", and It is not okay to judge someone based on the person that they play on the stage.