Part 4-Acting 101

Part Four- Acting 101 Character Development: ● As many great acting theorists say, you have to know your character ● You should know their personality traits but also why they have those personality traits ● You should know their moral code and values ● Their identity ● And experiences they’ve had that have shaped them ● You need to be aware of why they do the things they do ● You also need to know basic information about them: - Name - Age - Family Life - School/Job ● How do they want to present themselves? ● How do they not want to present themselves? ● What changes about them through the story? ● What is their objective? ● How do they speak? ● What situation is your character in? ● DO they want to be where they are? ● How do they “move”? ● Are there any internal or external crises they’re going through? ● Who do they trust? ● Who do they not trust? ● Go scene by scene and list their emotions ● List their personality traits, and note if they change ● Highlight or circle your operative words in monologues and longer lines ● Operative words are the most important words in a sentence or phrase. It’s the one word that they’re stressing For example: ● “My brother ate my cake!” stresses the fact she is calling her brother out, maybe she’s already annoyed about something he did or could be to yell at him. It emphasizes that the sentence is about her brother, and how her brother ate it ● “My brother ate my cake!” stresses how it belonged to her ● Sentences sound different and have different meanings based on operative words Making Choices: ● The only wrong choice an actor can make is not making a choice ● Know what you’re going to do ● Don’t just improvise or do what you feel like at the moment ● In monologues, go through and mark where the character switches emotions ● Write down how you will show it ● Don’t flop your hands around randomly. ● Don’t start walking around without a reason to Showing Emotion: ● Don’t always be basic ● There are other things to do to show happiness than just smiling ● It can affect posture, tone of voice, and more. ● For example, being angry isn’t just crying and yelling ● You could stand up taller to show superiority ● You could hold your hand in a fist ● You could cross your arms Peaks of Emotion: ● Build up to your peak of emotion ● Maybe it’s where the character starts yelling or crying ● If your character is angry and about to start yelling, build it up to their breaking point where they yell. ● Do they try and hold their composure, or do they just go for it? ● If your character is sad, are they crying? Do they want people to see them crying? ● Let the audience watch the emotion grow and grow Improvising: ● Never break character ● Never say no to a scene partner while doing improv Scene Partners: ● It may be awkward to interact with someone on stage at first ● Get comfortable with each other and give each other 100% onstage every single time you run your scene ● Notice their acting tendencies, such as how their character moves ● Bounce off of their acting choices and energy ● Consider your character's relationship to them: - Do they like them? - Dislike them? - Look up to them? - Want something from them? - How long have they known each other? - Do they trust each other? ● Be sure to talk to your scene partner and make some acting choices together to make sure the scene is the best it can be ● Go with the blocking your director tells you. Never disobey him/her! ● Eventually, you’ll get comfortable with each other ● Remember, criticizing each other is not your job Acting Tips: ● Never break character ● The audience doesn’t know if you mess up unless you say “whoops”, break character, or apologize ● Learn your lines ● Listen to whoever’s in charge if you ● Practice and rehearse as much as you can! ● Be dedicated and put effort into any project you do ● Always know what’s happening in the show you’re performing ● When learning a monologue, be familiar with the entire play it’s from. It will help you with characterization ● Think positive! ● Always try your hardest ● It’s okay if you mess up, just try again. There will always be another chance ● Every part is important to the show ● Set goals for yourself ● Get to know your scene partners if you can ● Don’t goof off during rehearsals and classes ● It’s okay to be nervous, but find ways to make yourself less nervous ● The audience isn’t looking for you to fail. They want to watch a good show ● Be confident, fake it till you make it ● You've got this!