"Life or Death" Stakes

"Life or Death" Stakes

by Mario A. Campanaro

Let's discuss what it truly means when we talk about “life or death” stakes in the work. Our incredibly talented and brave ensemble is working on a play that demands each member to viscerally understand and embody what it means to fight for one’s survival in the name of life and love, without diluting the reality of that fight with “ideas” of what it truly entails.

On a personal note, and to be quite frank, this was not an easy week for me to teach. In fact, I felt exposed, vulnerable, and even isolated in my experience. And because of those feelings, I knew this was exactly what my heart was asking me to reveal in this lecture. I had to face that discomfort and use it as fuel for my own breakthrough, as well as in service of the work. You’ve got to practice what you preach, right? Otherwise, you’ve got no right to ask others to do the same.

It is not the “easy” that makes us artists. It is not the “easy” that makes the difference. It is our complexity. It is that stuff we feel we need to hide. It is the deep, messy, and sometimes even shattered truth within all of us that calls to be revealed in the creative process. It is all that “stuff” that has the ability to open hearts and transform things for the better. It is what brings us closer and closer to the ultimate truth.

In preparation for this class, I had to do a lot of soul-searching to reveal what I wanted to teach on this very human and dark subject. I wanted to teach it with integrity and respect. In my own life, I’ve had to fight tooth and nail to survive a complicated illness that has tried to take me out on multiple occasions. And for the most part, I’ve had to do that alone. When all known treatments failed me, I had to take matters into my own hands to find answers to this chronic illness that still lacks research or clear solutions. To this day, I continue the fight to survive.

Having lived through this experience, I wanted to offer insights that could relate to the extreme and horrific circumstances of the piece we are working on. We hear the term “high stakes” often in our work, but rarely do we truly define what that means in relation to the circumstances and life of the character. We often approach it from an “idea” place, focusing on the emotionality of the situation, without realizing that in life-or-death stakes, such emotions may get in the way of the character’s very survival.

When it’s truly “life or death,” something primitive kicks in—a laser focus that prioritizes survival above all else. In those moments, emotion may be a luxury we simply cannot afford. It does not mean that emotion and feeling are absent. They are there, deep down, complex, painful, and scary. But do we have the time and space to reveal or feel them? Or must we channel that energy into survival?

There is something more primal at work—the fight-or-flight instinct. This instinct pushes us to do whatever it takes to survive, sometimes taking extreme risks just to stay alive. As actors, we must understand and justify these actions without judgment, so we can authentically live them in our work. We must resist the urge to play our emotions in search of sympathy, love, or compassion from the audience. That is not the story. That is not our job. That is not what the character is doing to survive.

If we focus solely on the emotion, we lose the action necessary for survival. We need to stay true to the character’s core desire—to survive at all costs—using all that emotion as the motivation to pursue what the character wants, based on the circumstances, relationships, obstacles, and actions (spoken or unspoken) that stand in the way.

As actors, we embark on a brave journey to explore and reveal the human spirit’s fight for survival in the name of life and love. We honor the lives and stories of those who have endured such atrocities throughout history and shine a light on the darkness that still exists today. In doing so, we hope—even if in a small way—to contribute to ending such suffering.

Copyright © 2025 Mario A. Campanaro, All rights reserved."