One actor was fabulous. Her choices were specific, her listening rapt, her emotions authentic. Opposite her was an actor who made you double-check the program to see if she’d ever even been in a play. Her lines were recited, not spoken. Her emotions were indicated, not embodied. Her eyes were dead, not focused. Halfway through that play, I realized I recognized the second actor’s performance. In fact, I have a front-row seat to it every day.
I’m a Democratic operative, and I’m tired of watching Democrats recite their lines, indicate their feelings and turn in unfocused performances. Voters are tired of it, too. Before I was in politics, I was an actor. Every notable acting teacher will tell you the same thing: The audience should never see you act; they should only see you be. Democrats need to be, to say what they believe and actually mean it. The job of an actor is to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. All a politician has to do is live truthfully under actual circumstances.
After President Trump took office (again), the Democratic Party hit its lowest approval in over 30 years. More Democrats than Republicans now say our country’s best days are behind us. And when asked for the first words that came to mind about their own party, Democrats had three: “Weak.” “Tepid.” “Apathetic.” “Apathetic” frightens me most. Apathy isn’t not caring enough; it’s not caring at all. It’s the dead-eyed actor.
After graduating with a theater degree from Yale, I studied with Patsy Rodenburg, the longtime head of voice at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her work is rooted in teaching presence, and she describes three “circles of energy” to illustrate how an actor communicates. The first circle is inward-focused, taking little interest in the surrounding world, hearing but not listening. The third circle flings energy outward, talking at — not to — other people. Democratic politicians are often in the first circle, clinging to every messaging poll rather than interacting with the world around them, or in the third, going on TV to tell voters about what they should think rather than engaging with them.
It is the middle circle where energy is present. Actors in this space are moved by what’s around them. That’s what the good actor in that play was doing, and it’s what Democratic politicians need to do to reach voters authentically. Being present is “the energy of survival,” Ms. Rodenburg has written. “When you are not present, you are in danger.”
Democratic operatives like me are engaged in a constant argument: Move left or tack to the center. Highlight populist bona fides or defend our institutions more aggressively. It seems obvious that in some areas, moving left makes sense, and in others, holding the center is the smart move. Preserving our institutions and responding to voters’ desires are both key pieces of the puzzle. These debates are important, but they call to mind the Polish theater director Jerzy Grotowski’s remark that “to create a true masterpiece, you must always avoid beautiful lies.”
Democrats’ debates about messaging and ideology are our beautiful lies — not because they are false but because they allow us to avoid our real problems. We are focused on the symptoms of apathy, not the apathy itself. When Hamlet asks, “To be, or not to be?” he is deciding whether to take action in spite of his suffering or check out entirely. It’s the same choice Democrats face today.
Fortunately, there are Democrats who are in Ms. Rodenburg’s second circle. When Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia goes viral with a new speech, it’s not just the substance of what he says that’s driving interest; it’s his delivery, his presence. Many of his colleagues say similar things, but he is able to be present with his audience. In one speech he says, referring to Mr. Trump and Representative Mike Collins, also of Georgia, “Savannah, I never want to hear these two pretend they give a damn about working people again.” Mr. Ossoff’s shoulders rise, communicating incredulity. He slows down, allowing him to talk to the people of Savannah, not at them. He takes time to say the words. He engages.
If Mr. Ossoff isn’t your cup of tea, consider Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Look not so much at her speeches but at her Instagram account. She answers user-submitted questions, working through them with her followers. The pauses she takes are evidence of presence. It’s not a politician with a script but a person who’s thinking and speaking in real time.
Democrats aren’t alone in lacking presence, of course. And if you want to see a Republican who’s connecting, go back and watch a 2016 Trump rally. I hated what he had to say, but no one can deny the impact he had on audiences. His ability to take in the energy of people in a crowd and give it back to them felt especially unique at the time.
Policies don’t dictate presence. To have presence, a centrist Democrat or a member of the Democratic Socialists of America can follow the same playbook. And the playbook should be the same as an actor’s.
First, Democrats need clearer objectives. The Soviet theater figure Konstantin Stanislavski told actors, “Plan your role consciously at first, then play it truthfully.” Actors must always embody their character’s objective. The line is a tool, not an objective itself. Democrats shouldn’t host a town hall just to host a town hall; they should do it to actually connect, to listen and engage with their constituents.
Second, listen. If you saw Laurie Metcalf in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” this year, you know what great listening looks like. Every moment she had onstage was prompted by something happening around her. Democrats hear their base, but they’re not listening.
Connor Lounsbury is a Democratic media trainer and communications strategist. He has advised Gov. Wes Moore and Senator Angela Alsobrooks, both of Maryland. He is a TV consultant for Middle Seat, a Democratic fund-raising and media firm.
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