Acting is one of the best things you can do with your life. It frees your soul, opens your eyes, and brings you a confidence you would never have thought possible. You’ll learn about yourself and your world, you’ll learn about others, and you’ll teach others a new way of looking at the world. And it’s fun, too.
There are some basic things you should know when you start out, things that, if you don’t know them, make you look like a yokel. Here are some tips:
ACTING IS STORYTELLING- The purpose of drama is to tell a story. Each character has a story to tell, and all of the character stories weave together to complete the story of the play. Your job as an actor is to help your character tell his story. That’s your whole job. That’s it.
ACTING IS BELIEVING- When you sign on as an actor in a scene, you’ve signed up to tell the story through the eyes of your character. You will find your acting career much easier if you believe what the author wrote for your character. Believe that the character has a life, and that the things that happen to him have meaning. Let those events have meaning to you. Perhaps another character calls your character a bigot. How should your character react? How would you react if someone called you a bigot? That’s a start. Now add in your character’s background and temperament, and you’ll have an honest reaction. When you believe in your character, the audience will believe it, too. It’s a golden moment when the audience stops seeing actors and sees only characters.
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU- One of the best parts about working with actors is that you’re all in the same boat. Even though everybody comes from a different background and brings in different experiences, you’re all there for the same goal; to tell that story. Now, there are good actors and bad actors. The bad ones are the actors that are worried about themselves, about how they sound or how they look or how everybody’s thinking about them. Bad actor. Bad. The good actor is focused on what the character is trying to say, what will bring that message out, on feeling what the character feels. In Acting 101 we leave ourselves and our petty woes at the door. Instead of worrying whether or not people are staring at you, worry instead about feeling what the character you’re reading feels. Worry about helping your character tell his story.
IT’S ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE – To be cast in a piece is to join a team. Just as your character fulfills a specific duty in the story of the play, you, too, fulfill a specific purpose in the cast. No member of the team should be there for anything more than telling the story the author has written. When you join the cast, then, do your very best at all times to be helpful, to be focused, and to help the team succeed.
BE GENEROUS – Acting is hard work. What makes it hard is the level to which you expose your feelings. When we talk about acting honestly, it can sometimes be hard to reach down and display your honest feelings for everyone else to see. You open yourself up to potential ridicule, and that’s hard. As a good team member, remember that every other actor in the piece is feeling exactly the same. Be magnanimous towards them and their exposed feelings. Some deep emotions can make actors cry. When their scene is over, have respect for the feelings they shared with you. Be gentle, and be generous.
BE BOLD - If the director tells you to read a line, read it like you mean it. Even though you are just reading, don’t be afraid to mean what you are saying.
BE LOUD - As an actor, not everyone is going to like you. Nobody will like you if they can’t hear you. You might be tall, you might be gorgeous, but if they can’t hear you, you might as well be part of the set.
USE YOUR UPSTAGE HAND - Here are some basic terms. Picture yourself standing in the middle of the stage, looking out at the audience. Your left hand points to stage left, your right hand to stage right. If you walk toward the audience, you cross downstage. If you back away from the audience, you cross upstage. Stuff behind you is upstage of you. Stuff you can see, if you’re facing the audience like I told you, is downstage of you. SO, when you are facing across the stage and must wave to somebody, use the arm that is farthest from the audience, your upstage arm. If you use your downstage arm, you’ll block your face. It seems dopey, but it’s true that audiences don’t react well to an actor who blocks himself. The same is true of your hair. Your emotions play out on your face. If the audience can’t see your face, they miss your emotions. They don’t believe you. You might as well be part of the set. So, pin your lovely tresses back and show your face.
A truism: use of the downstage arm makes you look like a rube.
MOVE WITH PURPOSE- In the real world, most people don’t drift about. They go to the door, they go to the cabinet, they stand up, they sit down. They do it all with purpose. When you are playing your character, make sure you move with purpose. If, for example, your character is supposed to leave but gets called back by another character just at the last moment, don’t be ready to be called back. Be ready to leave the stage…that’s what the character was intending to do, so that’s what you should do. Believe me, the actor will stop you in time. If he doesn’t…hey, that’s why they call it live theater!
REACH INSIDE - As a director, it just floors me when an actor asks me what they should look like when their character is supposed to be mad. What do you look like when you’re mad? What are the attributes of being mad? Your blood pulses, your body tenses, your movements become sharp and definite, and maybe your voice quavers. Why would your character do something different?
LEARN YOUR CUES – You know you need to learn your lines. That’s a “well duh”. But learning your cues is equally important. It’s the only way you’ll know when to say your lines. Learning your cues at the same time as learning your lines will help cement your lines in your heart, because, most often, your cues help you with the intention in your lines.
FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS - You know that acting is not about you. You know to move with purpose and use your upstage hand and be loud. So, what else should you do? Focus on being your character. Focus on being part of the team. And focus on being honest.
Finally, have fun. That's the point, isn't it? Relax, and have a good time. You're going to learn a lot about yourself!
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