The word acting is derived from the Latin word agĕre meaning "to do", this is precisely what acting is. In acting, an actor suppresses or augments aspects of their personality in order to reveal the actions and motivations of the character for particular moments in time. The actorrole" of another, usually for the benefit of an audience, but also because it can bring one a sense of artistic satisfaction. The first actor is believed to be Thespis of Icaria, a man of ancient Greece. "Plays" of this time, called choric dithyrambs, involved a chorus of 50 who sang the story to the audience. Thespis stepped out of the chorus and spoke to them as a separate character in the story. Before Thespis, the chorus in all plays would sing in a narrative way, "Dionysus did this, Dionysus said that." When Thespis stepped out from the chorus, he said "I am Dionysus. I did this." And acting was born. This may only be a legend, but in his honor a word was crafted: thespian, meaning any sort of performer but chiefly an actor. The International Thespian Society, a society comparable to a fraternity (yet possessing the troop system of the Girl Scouts) for students involved in the arts has also been named in his honor. is said to be "assuming the

Actors are generally expected to possess a number of skills, including good vocal projection, clarity of speech, physical expressiveness, a good sense of perspective, emotional availability, a well developed imagination, the ability to analyze and understand dramatic text, and the ability to emulate or generate emotional and physical conditions. Well-rounded actors are often also skilled in singing, dancing, emotional expressiveness, imitating dialects and accents, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, stage combat, and performing classical texts such as Shakespeare. Many actors train at length in special programs or colleges to develop these skills, which have a wide range of different artistic philosophies and processes. Modern pioneers in the area of acting have included Mani Madhava Chakyar, Konstantin Stanislavski, Jerzy Grotowski, Lee Strasberg, Uta Hagen, Stella Adler, Michael Chekhov, Viola Spolin, Sanford Meisner, Bertolt Brecht, and Maria Ouspenskaya.

For history and other details, see actor, thespian, or Thespis.