To be or not to be
If we are to believe actors of the world of theatre, artistic recognition is the prerogative of the best talent, and unequal statuses are the result of unequal talent. But the notion of “talent” is in this case an illusion, and it naturalizes the origin of these inequalities. By looking at both the social features of acclaimed actors and the structural and interactional dynamics that arise within a group of young comedians destined for recognition, and with the help of a triple sociological lens (capital, network, career), it nevertheless becomes possible to see what, in an extremely precocious way, constitutes what is called “talent”, in both the dispositional and procedural meaning of the word. Thus, we can understand the origin and the truly social basis of inequality among men and women of theatre.