04/06/2014
How to Be a Better Stage Actor
Have you ever wanted to begin acting, or do you just need some pointers on acting? Either way, taking these simple steps will improve you as an actor, as well as improve your chances at landing a great role!
1
Relax. Great actors spend their entire careers learning to relax the muscles in their face and body at will. Tension is very obvious when you are on stage. Your voice will sound thin and wavering, and your movements will be jerky and unattractive. To avoid these stiff and nervous displays when you're acting, it is essential to remain as relaxed as possible. Even a scene involving high drama calls for measured and calm concentration from the actor. So, act dramatic, but be calm inside, and don't work yourself up.
2
Focus your attention on something on stage. It could be another actor, a prop, etc. Keep yourself in the moment and never stare off into space. It is obvious to the audience if you are vagueing out and it is very distracting. Keeping in the moment enables you to remain in character and enhances the believability of the role and the play itself. Also, try not to play with your clothes, or use other nervous gestures, just look at the back of the theater, or your focus point, if you are tense.
3
Immerse yourself in the role completely. Forget that you are pretending and try to become the character you are playing. Envision how that person reacts to life, how that person dresses, walks, thinks and converses with others. Don't be afraid to act like someone else, Draw on these visualizations when portraying the character. Always stay in that state of mind when acting. If you try to pretend to be sad, it's an effort; if you are sad, it comes out in your acting well. Do not try to act the character - instead, be the character.
4
Remember that everything is exaggerated on stage. If you're up on a stage, you need to enunciate your words (speak clearly). All the emotions on your face need to be formed in a more intense manner but remember to stay relaxed. If you feel like you'reover-acting, then you're probably acting just enough. Eyes, smile, facial expressions, gestures, etc., need to be more expansive and dramatic than you would ever make them in real life. Be careful if acting in front of a camera, however. Here you must be more subtle, as in real life, because a camera picks up subtleties very easily and broad and exaggerated movements suitable for stage acting often look "hammed up" on film.
5
Treat the little things as being very important. If you're performing for an audience either live, or on film, you need to do everything you can to make the audience believe the character that you're trying to be. If the script says that someone is talking too much, then portray a look or annoyance on your face and perhaps accompany that with impatient tapping of your foot. If you're supposed to be near tears, blink hard, look downwards and fiddle with your clothes, and try to stare without blinking until tears come. Little actions are amazingly noticeable, including very expressive facial features. Include as many of the senses as possible, such as playing music, putting on make-up, turning on some lights; anything that can make the room happy or sad to fit the character and role that you are trying to present. This includes changing your voice, this can be done by spending time with people who have the desired accent, learn the language and or get a voice coach. There are also CD's and books to help you master that accent!
6
Work on projecting. Invest in a cheap recorder (tape, CD, flash drive, whatever you are comfortable with.) Set the recorder far away from you, at least twenty feet( 6 meters), press record, back away. Speak a simple sentence, such as "My shirt is blue and my eyes are too!". Keep trying different sentences ("How now brown cow" is a famous one). Listen to how you sound in the recording. Kick up the difficulty by backing further away each time, causing you to project more.
7
Breath and alliterate. Do numerous vocal warm ups to ensure that you do not strain your vocal cords. Concentrate on enunciating your words so that your voice comes across clearly. Try a complex sentence such as, "Why, oh why haven't you seen those rambunctious twins, Jill and Bill?". Try speaking this with or without emotion. Then replay the recording. Speaking clearly is very important, so, practice by "E-Nuh-Nnn-Css-Iii-Ay-Ting" each syllable. Remember, however, that when you actually act, you can't do this! It simply an exercise that should be done in front of a mirror for practicing purposes.
8
Concentrate on your expressions. Facial expressions are very important and combining facial expressions with vocal responses is an important art of timing. Say a very simple "Oh!" in front of a mirror, each time watching your face and voice. Try the following moods: Sadness, awe, anger, fear, excitement, and any others you can think of.
9
Practice your lines incessantly.
• Make many copies. Write them out or print them out, so that you can just find a copy anywhere. Keep a copy in your bag, your desk drawer, next to your bed, in the bathroom, at the kitchen table, on the wall, in front of a favorite window.
• Read your lines at every opportunity possible - before you go to bed, when you wake up in the morning, waiting for a bus, cooking dinner. Recite the lines over and over again, remembering to include intonation and expressions so that these become second nature when you perform them on stage.
• When you find a long passage, say the first line until you are comfortable with your intonation and phrasing. Then add the next line to the first. Practice your delivery on the first two lines until you are ready to add the next (or start with the last line, then the two last lines, so that by the time you get to doing the entire thing you will be very familiar with the last bit). Once you are comfortable with the lines, you can further explore the meaning of the passage and refine your delivery.
10
Meet people. Get to know a diverse group of people. You can't possibly act like someone you've never met. Talk to people you'd normally not think of spending time with; they can teach you more about different kinds of people and different perspectives on viewing our amazing world.
11
Learn from other actors. It is not cheating or losing your own voice to learn from others. Watch other actors and see what they do with the parts they're given; by doing this, you will learn a lot. You can see things they do that you might help you to further develop your own acting style and give you ideas for overcoming aspects of acting that you might be finding strange or difficult. Ask them questions and ask them for help. Most actors will be more than willing to offer you some advice.
12
Stage Lights kill Stage Fright. If you have a fear of acting on a stage, don't worry. When the house lights go out and the stage lights go on, you won't be able to see the audience, except possibly one or two. It's clear skies after that.
