Journal Assignment: Acting

Women never stepped foot or acted on the stage until the 17th Century, during England’s Restoration Period (though women had begun acting on French and Spanish stages earlier than that).  A large part of that is due to the public impression acting had.  Regardless of the gender, acting was often seen as an immoral profession for people.  Actors were often categorized as thieves, prostitutes or other immoral and disreputable members of society.  Unless an actor had achieved “star” status as an actor, he would often be considered low class.  Women, during many of these times, were expected to be wives and mothers – definitely not actresses.  If actresses were to be considered respectable, they had to be married to another member of the acting company or an established “male” acting professional in the industry.