Archive for the ‘Acting Lessons’ Category
So, you took a drink, right there? It wasn't written in the script, but you wanted to take a drink of water, right there, after your third line?
You better have a damn good reason.
If the author wanted you to drink there, they would've written "HE TAKES A DRINK OF WATER." But they didn't, did they?
Drinking water there could be brilliant. It could be the best decision anyone has made all damn day in the scene, but there better be a reason you made that choice, as in you can back it up and not just seem like an actor using a crutch to get through the scene.
If you choose an action, there's gotta be a reason behind it, and, of course, that reason will change with each scene. But it better be there, and it better be good.
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, In general |
There are a LOT of things, as in physical things you can do in a scene. Sometimes there will be things written, sometimes, not.
Something like, "HE TAKES A DRINK OF WATER." May seem like simple direction, but they can be much, much more.
If there's some kind of action written into the scene, it's there because the author had something very specific in mind for what that character was feeling in that moment. There's a very specific reason that HE TAKES A DRINK OF WATER right then, and not the line before or after it.
What's the reason?
Damned if I know.
Get creative. it could be a litany of reasons...maybe...
...he needed a minute to think
...he wanted to let the guy think about what he said
...he needs to relax
...he was actually thirsty
These are four off the top of my head. I haven't even seen the scene we're talking about.
If there's stage direction, sure, do the literal thing, sometimes that's all you need. But in the whole play/movie, the guy only ever is directed, in the script, to drink twice, why is this one of the times? You answer that, and you've got a little clue to the character, even if you don't have all the info you'd like on them.
Tags: acting basics, acting lessons, acting pointers, better auditions
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons |
So that camera that's on you?
Remember how we said that you shouldn't change a thing? Well....that isn't entirely true.
You probably should have picked up that cup with your other hand. You just totally blocked your face and the reaction to what she said.
Also, where you stopped to wait for the bus, there's no light, we can't see how your worried about your mother.
As much as you shouldn't change if the camera is on you, there are certain technical things that can't be denied.
You have to hit your mark. You have to be seen.
As much as you shouldn't be concerned with the camera, you need to be worried about the camera. It would suck to do your best work, but all we see is your back.
PS. This, of course, all applies to the stage as well. Though, the audience doesn't move while, the camera might, so hitting the autopilot on your audience awareness is more tricky.
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Set Etiquette, The Basics |
In the scene you're about to do, what just happened the "moment before"?
Something ALWAYS happened just before this. Sometimes the script will give you clues, sometimes it's totally up to you.
We could easily make a list of what it could be when it's up to us...
You could have...
...just had a fight.
...just woken up.
...just stepped in dog shit.
...just got laid.
...just had your dog die.
...just got a new job.
...just quit your job.
...just won a $5,000 scratch ticket.
You get the idea.
Go make your own list. At least 10 items. Pic two for the sides today.
P.S. I find it's better to make a list that has nothing to do with the scene you're about to do. This way, you get to try some really random stuff, and have a little more outside-of-the-box fun.
Of course, if it's obvious what just happened, you should probably try on that choice too.
Tags: acting, acting basics, acting lessons, acting pointers, auditioning, better auditions, pointers, proficiency
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Audition Tips/Tricks, Pointers |
Really.
That's what we're here for. This whole site is a place for you to try shit out. Anything. You wanna do the scene in a dress? Put it on. Wanna try a German accent? Nine problem. Wanna do it while jumping rope? Let's go Rocky.
You don't fail enough. Seriously. You need to fail a LOT to start to have the instincts about the stuff that's going to work and that's not going to work. You may try something and think, "Yeah! That's a great choice!" Only to find out it wasn't the best one that you could make.
You need to try at LEAST 10 different "ways" to do a scene before you can start narrowing things down about how you think it should be played. And by "ways" I mean anything from accents to being cold out to a whole other list of things that we'll get to with time. If you go in with your first choice, at best you're always going to come out of your reading wishing that you would've tried something else, at the worst, you're going to get an idea on the way home and obsess that "I should've done THAT!"
Sound familiar?
Since you're getting all the gold I'm putting out here, go ahead and be a failure today. Do the scene the worst way you possibly can. Make the glaring WRONG choice for the thing. You know what? You're going to find a little kernel of truth or insight by doing it that way.
Your welcome.
Tags: acting basics, acting lessons, better auditions, pointers, real acting
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Audition Tips/Tricks, Pointers |
If you've been in acting for any amount of time, you must have SOME kind of accent or dialect that you can employ at will. Some of us have French, others love British, or maybe you've mastered the southern states, or have made a dive into the masses of Asia.
The accent doesn't matter. What does matter is trying it out with your material. Just reading it through with a different accent will provide you with insight into other ways to address the scene. This is especially useful when you feel like you're getting into a rut and are doing the scene the same way over and over again.
Doing it like your from Mississippi will change that for sure. The emphasis will be on different syllables, different parts of the sentence, you may even find a piece in there where there's a bit of humor that you didn't catch before. It a great, great discovery tool.
And hey it's pretty damn fun too.
Tags: acting, acting basics, acting lessons, better auditions, fast acting choices, pointers
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Audition Tips/Tricks, Top Ten Lessons |
Do you read every day?
You should be. Find something. Non-fiction. Something without a lot of emotion. Something that you're not going to ry to "act" by accident.
History books are great for this. The History of Acting, something like that.
Read four(4) pages, or about 5-10 minutes every day. Out loud. Don't stop for corrections, just make yourself keep talking. This does 2 things.
1 - it gets you used to reading off the page, so if someone hands you something, you're not stuttering through it
2 - it gets you used to hearing yourself. Half the time you're auditioning/acting, you too damn busy thinking, "Did that sound right?" When, really, it's got little to do with the actual words, and more to do with the feeling that delivers them. The words are just information. The real scene is in the emotion.
Oh, and DON'T read something all emotional. Get a history book, or someone's autobiography, or The History of Acting. It should be something that you're not trying to "put emotion into."
Simple.
Read out loud every day. You'll be a better actor because of it.
Tags: acting, auditioning, better auditions, pointers, reading out loud
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Top Ten Lessons |
If you're really listening to your partner, even if that's the casting director, you're going to have a better audition. You can use what they are giving you to color what you're doing and re-act what they're giving you.
Acting/re-acting, you know that one right? If not, don't worry, it's coming.
"But they're not giving me anything!" you say. Great. Make it about them not giving you anything. If the scene calls for some kind of desperation, anger, or resentment, that makes it all the more easy to use that lack of giving. Deliver the line as if you really want that person to hear & understand you.
If they are giving you a little bit, run with that shit. They're trying to help. They'll be the first to tell you they're not actors, but that doesn't mean they're not trying to help you out from time to time.
Also, listen to what they give you for notes.
So many times, casting will say. That was good, now can you do it more angry/sad/confident/whatever. Really listen and see if you can get a feel for what they're going for. Most of the time, they want to see something different, to see if you're directable, or if you've just rehearsed the shit out of it, and are now stuck in a rut.
Be open to change, and listen.
Tags: acting, acting basics, acting lessons, acting reacting, listening
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Top Ten Lessons |
Seriously.
You go in. You have it all worked out in your head. You go in. don't embarrass yourself, but you walk out feeling like you didn't quite do what it was you set out to do.
This is probably because you were rushing. You blazed through the scene, you were the fastest one! Congrats! Woohoo!
Auditions are not a race to be won. Take your time, relax your shoulders, and DON'T RUSH.
It's far better for the casting person to say, "Let's give that another go, but pick up the pace." Than to give you a polite, "Thanks," because they didn't see what you were capable of. If you rushed, they didn't see it, they didn't have a chance.
Look the other person in the eye, relax your shoulders, and hit it, nice and easy.
Tags: acting, acting basics, acting lessons, acting relaxation, better auditions
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Top Ten Lessons |
Chill dude. Really. The more tense you are, the more you're going to look nervous and tense. And the more likely it is that you're going to walk out of that audition thinking "FUCK! That is not at ALL what I was setting out to do."
Sound familiar?
It is, because we've all done it.
The biggest reason you need to relax is that it's not that big a deal. It's not surgery, or a real gun fight. Honestly, it's just fuckin' around, it's playing. It's just that if you land it, you get paid for it.
Relax, and tear that shit up.
Tags: acting, acting basics, acting relaxation, actors, better auditions, pointers
Posted in Acting, Acting Lessons, Top Ten Lessons, Uncategorized |
