Acting as a creative process is personal, and involves critical and self-evaluation, an understanding of the self and the world in which we live. The process can often be painful, as well as rewarding, but is always a long one. Once the performer understands that acting is not merely copying or pretending, but a revealing process, then the hard work begins. Acting is not dressing up or putting on masks but the revelation of the soul of a character as a complex being, involving all the contradictions and foibles presented in the text. Very often the process leaves the actor vulnerable and therefore skills must be acquired to cope in such a precarious and shady business.