There Are No Small Roles...But There Are Different Ones

You've probably heard the saying, "There are no small roles, only small actors." While I understand the sentiment, I've always thought it misses an important point. Not because some roles are unimportant - they aren't - but because different roles serve different purposes. Every role in a production exists for a reason. Principals need supporting characters. Supporting characters need principals. Ensembles provide context, energy, atmosphere, and credibility. Principals provide the dramatic through-line. Remove any one of those pieces, and the show begins to unravel. The truth is that principals and ensemble members often have very different experiences, different challenges, and different rewards. Neither is inherently better. They're simply different jobs.

Principal characters drive the action. We generally learn the most about them and become emotionally invested in their journeys. Sometimes we desperately want them to succeed and live happily ever after. Sometimes we passionately root for their downfall. They can be heroes, villains, antiheroes, or something in between. But if we don't care what happens to them, then they aren't doing their job. Because principals carry so much of the story, they also tend to carry a significant workload. The larger the role, the more there is to learn: lines, blocking, choreography, music, character development, and occasionally even special skills such as juggling, magic tricks, stage combat, dialects, or ear-splitting whistling. The more there is to learn, the more time principal actors spend outside the theater studying, memorizing, practicing, and preparing. Very often, principals have little safety net onstage. If they miss a line, lose their place, or make a mistake, they frequently have to solve the problem themselves while the audience watches.

Supporting and ensemble actors often have different responsibilities. While they may have fewer lines, they are frequently responsible for creating the world in which the story takes place. They become townspeople, party guests, soldiers, students, villagers, customers, dancers, and countless other characters who make the stage feel alive. Ensemble actors often work as a group, which creates its own challenges. Success depends on coordination, awareness, consistency, and teamwork. A musical number only works when dozens of people move, sing, and react together. One performer can shine, but an ensemble creates momentum. One advantage of ensemble work is that there is often a stronger sense of shared experience. Ensemble members frequently rehearse together, solve problems together, and spend a great deal of time supporting one another through the long rehearsal process. Lifelong friendships are often formed in the ensemble.

Meanwhile, principals can sometimes find themselves on a surprisingly solitary journey. Because they are carrying so much material and often working scene by scene, they may spend less time participating in the social side of rehearsals. While they receive more attention from directors and audiences, that attention comes with greater scrutiny and responsibility.

This brings us to something particularly important in community theater: psychic income.

Since most community theater performers are volunteers, nobody is measuring success by a paycheck. Instead, we are rewarded through other forms of compensation: artistic fulfillment, personal growth, friendships, accomplishment, recognition, applause, audience reactions, and the simple joy of creating something meaningful. Those rewards aren't distributed equally. Principal actors often receive a larger share of the direct psychic income. They hear the audience laugh at their jokes. They receive recognition from patrons after the show. Their names appear prominently in programs and promotional materials. They often experience the most direct connection between their performance and the audience's response.

But ensemble actors receive psychic income of a different kind. They gain the satisfaction of being part of something larger than themselves. They build friendships. They create shared memories. They experience the joy of collaboration and collective achievement. Many seasoned theater veterans will tell you that some of their favorite theatrical experiences happened in ensemble roles rather than leading ones. Neither form of reward is superior. They are simply different.

There is also a freedom that comes with ensemble work that principals rarely enjoy. The audience's focus is naturally concentrated on the principal characters. The ensemble helps create the picture rather than carrying the burden of being the picture.

Think of it like a photograph of a house. The house is beautiful. It is clearly the focal point of the image. Your eye goes there first. But now add the landscaping. Add flowers, trees, a lawn, a garden path, and a bright sky overhead. Suddenly the image feels complete. The house becomes far more meaningful, attractive, and emotionally resonant when the supporting elements arrive. The flowers, trees, lawn, and sky don't replace the house. They support it, frame it, and help tell its story. The house is still the focal point. But the picture is richer because the ensemble showed up.

Theater works much the same way. The audience may remember the principal character's final speech. They may leave humming the lead's big song. They may talk about a particularly memorable performance on the drive home. But those moments rarely happen because of one actor alone. They happen because an entire company came together to create a world worth believing in. And that's why every role matters.