What do they do in their free time? How do you think they react to certain circumstances? Who are their friends? What makes them happiest? What’s their inner dialogue like? What is their overall view of the world? What’s their favorite color? Food? Where do they live? Research everything you can about the character if it’s based on a real person. If not, research the time period the character is supposedly from, where they lived, and the historical events that happened around your character.
Generally, this is in the script. If it’s not, your director will make that clear with their concept. Take the first scene you’re in and analyze what you want and how you will get what you want. You should end up with two things: a simple thing like “acceptance” or “reassurance” followed by “getting my friend/lover/enemy to this, this, and this. " Once you have that, emote away.
Read through your lines every night. When you’ve gotten the hang of it, start trying to recite the lines to yourself and see how far you can go without glancing at the script. Practice saying the lines with a friend or family member and have them play the other characters. That way, you’ll also memorize the context of your lines and when you’re supposed to say them. And if someone else messes up, you’ll be able to cover them! Practice your lines the way that you want to deliver them on stage or in front of the camera. Experiment with different ways to deliver each one to find what works best and feels most authentic.
Write in pauses or beats. These can be noted with a line between words or phrases. Seeing the line through the phrase gives you a concrete reminder to slow down. Pauses are just as important as words. Remembering that is essential to an effective delivery. Write in feelings. In one paragraph alone, you may have four different overall motivations. Maybe you start off angry, explode, and then try to rein yourself back in. Write in emotions (or whatever would serve as a reminder) above the sentence to aid you in recalling the best delivery. Write in your reactions. That’s right, you should be making notes on others’ lines, too. After all, if you’re on stage, there’s probably at least one person in the audience looking at you, even if you’re not talking. How do you feel about what you’re being told? What are you thinking about as you’re witnessing the scene from the sidelines? When you figure this out, write it down. Write in volume cues. There may be a line or lines that need to be said much louder than others or keywords you need to really punch. Think of your script like music by writing in crescendos, decrescendos, and accents.
Feel free to give your character quirks. Does he walk with a slight limp from a war? Does she constantly play with her hair? Is he a leg twitcher? Does she pick at her fingernails? It doesn’t have to be in the script! Think about how your character would act in daily living. How do you see them sitting in a waiting room? What would they be found doing?
Don’t talk absurdly – just make sure that your voice carries and that you are not mumbling or talking in an indoor voice to your fellow actors. If you’re in a play, you need to make sure that the people in the back of the audience can hear you, so stand up straight, project your voice and make sure you’re turning slightly towards the audience. You don’t want to be speaking to the back wall. Do not speak too fast. This often garbles your words and makes it difficult to hear what you’re saying.
Make sure all your consonants are present. This should just slow you down enough to be easily understood by all. Don’t overdo your enunciation since this could come across sounding unnatural. [5] X Research source You want to make sure your voice sounds clear, but not like you’re overacting. If you are uncertain about whether or not you’re over or under-enunciating your words, ask the director and your fellow actors.
In a review of the semi-recently revived “The Pajama Game,” one writer said that the main character was great. . . apart from not being believable. She played a simple Midwestern girl who pronounced “either” EYE-thurr. Wrong. Dead giveaway. So close, too. Avoid being that girl and analyze your character’s dialogue.
Find an emotion within yourself that matches how your character would feel. Did her mom just die? Okay, so thankfully your mom isn’t dead, but you remember how it felt when Poodle, your pet goldfish died and that sucked. You cried for days. Channel that. The audience has no idea what’s your trigger, they just know that you’re devastated and it probably has something to do with the plotline they’re entranced it (if only they knew. . . ). Manipulate the tone of your voice. If your character is upset, you might want your voice to sound harsher and less controlled. If your character is excited or nervous, make your voice go higher. Use gestures and body language to convey emotions. [7] X Expert Source Dan KleinImprovisation Coach Expert Interview. 22 March 2019. Don’t just stand there with your hands at your sides. If your character is angry, wave your hands and stomp your feet. If the character is sad, hunch your shoulders and hang your head. Be logical.
If you’re dancing or moving, don’t let your face drop. Confidence is fooling beyond belief. Stay smiling. Smile because you’re the only one who knows. If you’ve flubbed a line, run with it. The only people who have the script memorized are onstage. Cycle back to where you need to go. If the other actor(s) is/are as professional as you are, there will be no problem.
If you’re going through something during the run of a show, this needs to be an outlet. Theatre should destress you, not add to your plate. Take this moment to be someone else and check your problems (and attitude) at the door. You can pick it up in a few hours if you’d really like. Stop what you’re thinking and start listening actively and being present. The audience will know if you’re not.
If there is a stage mishap or something doesn’t happen as planned, just stay in character and react the way your character would. Bell didn’t go off? Find a way to work around that.
Take criticism with a grain of salt. If your director is telling you to do something differently, don’t take it as a personal insult. Instead, see it as a chance to improve your acting. Your acting improves and is more natural when you are having fun instead of stressing out. By being positive and relieving tension and stress, you’ll be able to slip into your character more easily.
Look in the mirror and say, “I am no longer myself. I am now [insert character name]. ” You are not yourself anymore, so you don’t have to worry about what people think about you. Remember that when you do something, audience members aren’t seeing you. They’re seeing your character.
Go to the bathroom before the performance starts. You don’t want to miss your cue because you were off using the restroom having a nervous pee or grabbing something to eat. Listen carefully for your cue. Even if you think you know around what time you’re supposed to go on, be aware and listen carefully to the scene that’s happening. Don’t get distracted or talk to other people. If there is an emergency and you absolutely have to go to the restroom or run to your car, let someone know even if you think you’ll be back in time for your scene. HAHA. Did you catch that? That was a joke. Funny, huh? Okay, okay, emergencies do exist. But unless someone died or your insides are about to explode, you make that cue. You’ll probably not have to tell anyone as you rocket to the nearest receptacle, heaving your guts out. They’ll most likely notice.
When you speak, turn slightly towards the audience. This is called “quartering. " You want the audience to be able to see you and hear your voice while making it believable that you’re having a conversation. If your director tells you you’re closed, moved 90º (a quarter of a circle) outward. If you’re filming something, don’t look directly at the camera unless you’re on an episode of the Office and the director tells you that you should. Instead, speak to the other actors and interact with the surroundings as your character would.
Follow stage directions and incorporate them when you’re practicing your lines. That being said, if you don’t understand why, ask! You do not want to cross the stage not knowing why the heck you’re doing it. Your director will love that you’re trying to understand your character. Ask questions (before your director says anything) if you’re unclear about how you should do something. If you’re not sure about how to react to something or how you should deliver a certain line, don’t be afraid to ask the director. They usually have a pretty clear sense of what they’re looking for.
If you have the leading role in a production, no, you don’t have the hardest part. Calm down and step off your ivory tower. Try running an entire crew or running the sound and light board simultaneously for the entire show. What happens when the sound cue guy gets mad at you? He doesn’t hit the button for your gunshot. So be nice – they can make or break you. There is no “I” in this team.
Read your lines with your fellow actors and practice. Even if you know your lines perfectly yourself, you need to work with other people on delivery and work on the scene together. You should be playing off of your fellow actors, not just delivering lines by yourself. Have fun and experiment with it! That’s the fun in acting.
When the audience laughs or applauds, give ’em a minute to shower you with affection. Okay, not a minute, but feel the scene. Let it die down a bit before you progress. Feel where they are and where you should go with the scene. This may seem a bit abstract, but as you get more experienced , it’ll make sense.
Wish your fellow actors good luck and tell them when you thought they did a great job. Say, “Break a leg!” before they go on stage and, “You did great!” after they’re done. Thank the crew members for all their hard work. For example, if you had a really great makeup artist, you can tell her, “I really appreciate the work you’ve done. I couldn’t have looked more like the character!”
