A Moral Discourse in the Spotlight: How Actors Deal with Arguments on Assisted Suicide

In controversial ethical issues professional obligations may conflict with personal values. Actors may assume roles that do not correspond with their personal values. We examined actors in the theater play "Gott" by Ferdinand von Schirach dealing with assisted suicide. We investigated how actors perceive the arguments, identify with their roles, and deal with role conflicts. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the complete cast of a production of “Gott” in Switzerland and used qualitative content analysis to answer our research questions. Articulating arguments positively influenced actors' perceived attitudes toward assisted suicide, aiding in the formation of their own stance, and shifting their perceptions of affected individuals. In contrast, one actress whose role did not produce arguments had difficulties forming her attitude. Being unable to form an attitude can lead to moral distress. Identification with the roles was highly individual, but most actors identified with their roles. Unlike prior work that assumed negative effects of complete role identification on actors, we demonstrated that experienced actors can maintain psychological boundaries while engaging deeply with complex moral narratives.