Why Are Actors Who Don't Write Plays Better Actors?

Jason Yuan says actors who do not write plays are better actors because they do not overthink as much. He thinks he is a pretty bad actor, and that is one reason he ended up doing more music composition and more playwriting.

Writing a scene means asking what the characters want out of the scene and what changes in the story when they leave. In the performance, staying on what do I want and what do I do means you are not really feeling it. The habit shows up as overacting.

The only kind of performance he thinks he is good at is stand-up comedy. He reads how the audience responds to the energy and the jokes, and he spends that energy on where to take the story next so it resonates with the shared environment. When he is thinking about how to make someone laugh, he feels very alive and very present.