Have you ever wanted to be an actor or do you just want to know more about theater? Whatever your purpose, following these simple steps will improve you as an actor and also increase your chances of landing a great role!
Steps
Step 1. Relax
Great actors spend their entire careers learning to relax their face and body muscles on command. The tension is very obvious when you are on stage. Your voice will sound thin and sound inaudible, and your movements will be clumsy and unattractive. To avoid these moments of stiffness and nervousness while acting, it is essential to remain as relaxed as possible. Even a scene involving high levels of drama requires measured and calm concentration from the actor. So, play the drama, but stay quiet inside and don't cause yourself unnecessary stress.
Step 2. Focus your attention on something on stage
It could be another actor, an element of the set, etc. Keep focused on the moment and never stare into space. The audience will notice if your thoughts and gaze wander, and this can be very distracting. Staying in the here and now allows you to stay in the character and improves the credibility of the role and the work itself. Also, try not to act while wearing your clothes and check for nervous gestures and tics, only look towards the back of the theater or your focus point if you are tense.
Step 3. Immerse yourself fully in the role
Forget that you are pretending and try to become the character you are playing. Make your way of reacting in life, dressing, walking, thinking and conversing with others. Don't be afraid to act like someone else, draw these visualizations in your head when you paint the character. Always keep this mindset when acting. If you try to pretend that you are sad, you will try hard; if you are sad, it will perfectly emerge in your acting. I mean, don't try to play the role of the character, be the character.
Step 4. Remember that everything is exacerbated on stage
If you are acting, you must state your words, that is, speak clearly. All the emotions on your face need to be expressed in a more intense way, but remember to stay relaxed. If you feel that you are acting over the top, then you are probably doing enough. Your eyes, smile, facial expressions, gestures and all your movements need to be more extended and dramatic than what you would demonstrate in real life. Either way, be careful if you're acting in front of a camera. In that case, you have to be less theatrical, as you would express yourself in everyday life, as this instrument very easily grasps the subtleties and the expanded and exaggerated movements for acting on stage, which will seem excessive on film.
Step 5. Make the little things much more important
If you are performing for a live audience or via video, you need to do everything you can to make viewers believe the character you are trying to embody. If the script says that someone is talking too much, then paint an annoyed expression on your face and perhaps accompany it with impatience by stamping your foot. If you should be close to tears, blink firmly, look down and fiddle with the buttons on your clothes, or try to stare without blinking until the tears run down. The small actions are surprisingly visible, including the very expressive facial features. Allow viewers to include all possible senses by putting on suitable music, putting on make-up, turning on some lights; do whatever makes the room happy or sad and fits the character and role you are trying to present. This includes changing your voice, perhaps spending time with people who have the accent you want to achieve, learning another language, or practicing with a voice coach. There are also CDs and books that help you master a certain accent!
Step 6. Work on the projection
Invest in an inexpensive tape recorder (cassette, CD, USB stick, or whatever other tool you find convenient). Turn it on away from you (at least six meters), press to record and walk away. Say a simple sentence, such as "My shirt is blue and my eyes are too!". Keep trying different phrases (maybe even tongue twisters). Listen again to be able to understand how the recording went and what you need to correct. Raise the difficulty level by stepping back more and more, thus having to project your voice with greater force.
Step 7. Breathe and pronounce the words well
Do numerous exercises to warm up your voice and make sure you don't strain your vocal cords. Focus on saying the words so that the voice is clear. Try a complex phrase, like “Why, oh, why didn't you witness the daring adventures of the twins William and Theodore?”. Try saying these sentences with emotions and without. Then, listen to the recording again. Speaking clearly is very important, so practice "E-NuNnn-CiiAn-Do" every single syllable. Remember though, that while you are really acting, Not you can do it! It is simply an exercise that should be done in front of a mirror for the purpose of practicing.
Step 8. Focus on your expressions
Facial expressions are key, and combining them with vocal responses is an important art of timing. Say a very simple "Oh!" in front of a mirror, looking at your face each time and listening to your voice. Experience the following moods: sadness, wonder, anger, fear, excitement, and anything else that comes to mind.
Step 9. Practice your lines relentlessly
- Make many copies. Write and print them, so you can find a copy everywhere. Keep one in your bag, one in your desk drawer, one near the bed, one in the bathroom, one on the kitchen table, one on the wall, and one in front of your favorite window.
- Read the lines whenever you can: before going to bed, when you wake up in the morning, while you wait for the bus, while you make dinner. Play your part over and over, remembering to insert the tone and expressions so that they come naturally to you while on stage.
- When you find a long passage, state the first bar until you are comfortable with the tone and expression. Then, add the next measure. Practice your way of interpreting the first two bars, until you are ready to aggregate the next ones (or start with the last bar and then work your way up by enunciating the last two, so, by the time you get to the first, you will have already become familiar with the rest. of the text). Once you've mastered the lines, you can step forward and explore the meaning of the passage and refine your interpretation.
Step 10. Get to know the people
Try to connect with a diverse group of people. You can't act like someone you've never met. Talk to people you usually wouldn't think you would spend a minute with; people can teach you more about their different ways of being, perspectives and points of view of our amazing world.
Step 11. Learn from the other actors
Learning from others is not synonymous with deceiving or losing your voice. Observe your colleagues and their way of interpreting the assigned parts; by doing this, you will learn a lot. You have the opportunity to notice things they do that could help you develop your acting style better and give you ideas to overcome certain aspects of acting that you may find strange or complex. Ask them questions and ask for their support. Most of the actors will be more than willing to offer you some advice.
Step 12. Stage Lights Kill Stage Fear
If you are afraid of performing on stage, don't worry. When the house lights go out and the theater lights go on, you won't be able to see the audience, except, perhaps, one or two people. After this moment, everything will be easier.
Advice
- For better vocal expression, try saying a simple sentence like “Oh, John” in 20 or more different ways. Excited, mocking, sarcastic, romantic, etc.
- If you're trying to cry, don't really cry, rub your eyes. There are tons of tricks you can use to create the illusion of doing something when in reality it isn't. The behind-the-scenes production assistants should also be able to help you with some actions, such as providing you with onions to let real tears flow.
- If you are upset or angry, don't speak very quickly (even if you would in real life), because the audience will not be able to understand what you are trying to say.
- Make regular eye contact when performing.
- Make sure you never turn your back to the audience. Stand in front of the spectators as much as possible.
- Don't focus too much on dancing and singing if your dream is to become an actor - acting in musicals limits the roles directors can imagine you in.
- If anything goes wrong just keep acting, DO NOT stop, laugh or feel embarrassed, unless this is part of the play / show.
- Vicks Vaporub applied under the eyes is a very effective way to make you cry. Apply very little anyway, or you will notice. Either way, you have to find a method to apply it under the eyes without this being too obvious …
- Speak clearly. Also be sure to move your mouth well when you express yourself, as this will allow people at the back of the room who can't hear you to lip-read so well. Practice the utterance of lines in front of the mirror and carefully observe the movements of the mouth.
- If you can, take a dance and singing class. You will have the chance to get more parts if you know how to do these things besides acting, to which you will still have to devote the maximum of your energy.
Warnings
- Don't worry if you can't cry on command. The crying itself is a very small part of the action that takes place on stage. Probably, if you really evoke sadness and play your part well, the audience themselves will imagine the tears and swear you were crying.
- Your emotions are secreted by your body and mind. When you truly believe that something is negative, your brain secretes the appropriate substance and you feel bad, and vice versa. It is the set of beliefs that really belong to a person that determines his emotions. The external events and memories that trigger these beliefs create your emotions. When a person hears something they think is terrible and senses they should do something about it, they typically feel a kind of anger that prompts them to action. When she thinks she can't do anything, then she gets depressed and cries, doesn't react or hurts herself. There are endless variations.
- What causes problems for people is having irrational beliefs, that is, not based on reality and which determine emotions which, in turn, push them to carry out destructive or blocking actions. They take you away from real life and a realistic interpretation. For more details on this line of thinking, read a couple of books by Albert Ellis on REBE, Theory / Therapy of Rational Emotional Behavior. Then, when you build a character, try to give rise to a set of beliefs inherent in this role and a matrix of his possible actions in reaction to the events and thoughts that arise through a flow of events that is truly believable. When you act, convince yourself that an event is truly awful or wonderful, and you will feel those emotions. It also works the other way around, to help you learn not to react to situations; Ellis calls it rational imagination, which allows you to visualize yourself in a situation, reacting according to what happens; for example, imagine yourself having rational thoughts and reacting rationally. In acting, you can do everything and the opposite of everything. These are all good ways to practice and improve your skills.
- There are many acting techniques, don't rely on one, explore many, such as Stanislavsky's or Suzuki's method, which are different from the one described in this article.
