Personal Acting Gift and Gauntlet

I suppose if i have an acting gift, it would be the ability to perform comedy to some degree of success. This is also done through the use of gesture, both behavioral and expressive. I have not really done scripted acting since i took a course in high school. I have done improv, which to me, is very comedy based, though i undestand it can be dramatic as well. I am generally able to come up with something random enough to be comedic and i certainly don't have a problem with looking silly. Although, i have always personally thought that i cheated a bit in improv, because in most of the scenes i participated in, i did not full develop any sort of character. Rather, i mainly did or said what i, as stacey molski, would do or say in a situation; not what the supposed character i was playing would.

I think this leads into the acting gauntlet that i have. I have trouble fully committing to a character- especially in nonscripted acting. Instead I often just fall back on using myself as a character ( if that makes sense?). I need to be more open to choosing developed characters, as well as be more of an initiator. In improv, i would very rarely step out in games where it was just a free- for - all if you will. I need to be pushed to step up, and i would like to get over that obstruction. I also have a bit of a problem with dramatic acting, so i think that can be a gauntlet as well. I have rarely done anything with dramatic acting, and i suppose if i tried, i might be able to. Though i am not particularly interested in doing so, partly because i feel if i do anything where i have to be sad or angry or upset, i will have to remember situations which make feel those emotions. For me this is a problem, because i am not the kind of person who can "leave my troubles at the door" and fully commit to what is going on. I think if i had to do anything dramatic like that, i would most likely be upset for the rest of the day. I have trouble just switching things like that on and off. This is probably one of the many reasons i mainly stick to comedic acting.