As actors become more acquainted and trusting of each other, one of the questions they will inevitably ask of each other is "what is your dream role?", "who do you most want to play?". At first glance, the question may seem innocuous, yet it is actually an incredibly deep an personal inquiry if one stops to think about it. If they are anything like me, they gravitate more to the characters they can relate to, but allow them to explore a different side of themselves; basically, a different version of themselves, one in which many traits are shared yet manifest themselves differently. Ultimately, this can either make an actor feel more comfortable with himself or it can inspire an actor to change something about himself.

Given the fact that I brought up the question, it seems only fitting, and should come as no surprise, that I will answer it. I most want to play Antonio Salieri from Peter Schaffer's Amadeus. (This is excluding musicals, as they tend to distort things because the quality of the music and the character's songs can affect the decision). For those unfamiliar with the play, it follows the fabled rivalry between classical composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri from Salieri's perspective. Salieri serves as the official court composer for the Austrian emperor, and promises God he will devote his life to Him if He makes him a great composer so he may use his talent to praise and worship God. Salieri is a highly respected figure in Viennese society, gives frequently to charity, tutors many pupils in music for free, and remains faithful to his wife (an impressive achievement for upper class men at this time). When he is introduced to Mozart, and finds him to be unfaithful, classless, and immature yet infinitely more talented than himself without any effort, Salieri snaps and eventually renounces his promise to God, vowing to destroy Mozart to spite God for giving him the desire to be a composer and the knowledge to recognize talent and genius, and denying him from even a fraction of Mozart's ability. Salieri violates all his vows and ruins Mozart's career, leaving him penniless; Mozart eventually dies in poverty, while Salieri's works fall from popularity and the world leaves him to die in obscurity. 

The natural follow-up question would be "why do you want to play Salieri?". Other than the excellent writing and plot, I find Salieri to initially be a sympathetic character who becomes steadily unlikable as he descends further and further in to his bitterness and spite; yet the entire time, he is understandable, allowing the audience to relate to him. I recognize my own traits of ambition and desire for self-actualization, and share his distaste when anything comes in between me and the achievement of my goal. When it becomes apparent that I will fail to achieve a goal, I do get angry and upset, but eventually these emotions subside and I move on to something else; I will clarify that I have never had my lifelong ambition thwarted by a person I despise, and I can only imagine the fury and contempt such a slight would bring. Yet I do recognize the desire to strike back against those we deem responsible for our failure, and while Salieri took it to the ultimate extreme by declaring war against God, the base desire for revenge and restitution is natural in all humans; this particular character simply chose to act on it. In truth, while I do believe I can recognize my attraction to playing the character of Salieri as a form of living out a strike back against the universe for a slight, more than likely there are other factors at play: my love of history, my appreciation for classical music, and my love of playing the bad guy most likely also act as influences. I highly recommend Amadeus to any theatre-lovers, and hope that my fellow performers can learn more about themselves by examining their favorite roles as I have.