Careers in the Dramatic Arts: Comparing Genetic and Interactional Perspectives

Abstract

Taking account of both intrinsic and environmental determinants, Kogan (2002a, b) describes possible interactions between them in a developmental model of performing-arts careers. An alternative model of talent development is offered by Simonton (1999, 2001), who has drawn upon the earlier behavior-genetic research of Lykken (1982), particularly the concept of emergenesis. Questionnaire data from a sample of 122 students in the Actors Studio drama school was examined for its consistency with the Lykken-Simonton emergenesis model. Consistent with the model's expectations, parental professional participation in the dramatic arts was very low, age at which students decided to pursue a dramatic-arts career varied widely, and students' prior school and undergraduate college experience exhibited considerable heterogeneity. The relative merits of a model based entirely on genetic trajectories are discussed in comparison with interactive and purely environmental models. Given the limited empirical base, however, it is far from evident which approach offers the greatest potential for predicting who will become the best actors, directors, and playwrights of the future.