10 Tips Every Actor Should Know
Like this list of ten? You’re in luck, there’s a sequel. “10 MORE Tips Every Actor Should Know”
In this article I’ve chosen ten tips that I feel every actor can benefit from. These are by far not the only ten I could’ve chosen, but these are a great place to start. Whether you’re reading them for the first time or they serve as a friendly reminder, I hope you can walk away from these with something you can put to use in your own performances. Without further ado:
10. Lose the Script – Scripts are great to have your nose in when you’re sitting around before rehearsal, or waiting for your turn, but get rid of it before you hit the stage. Many actors have become so accustomed to have an off-book date set for them that they will cling to every available second of script they can get during rehearsals until that date arrives. Trust me, don’t wait, ditch the script fast. Learn your lines for a given scene in a given day. If you’re blocking Act I, Scene 1 then memorize that and nothing else for that day. It’s hard to do if you’re unaccustomed to it, but I swear by this method. It lets you learn your lines sooner, lets you become accustomed to moving in character without something in your hands and it lets you look your partners in the eye from day one. And if you can’t remember all those lines? Well, that’s why there are those wonderful Assistant Directors. “LINE!”
9. Build Your Vocabulary – This seems a bit strange to be included in acting tips, but it ties in with number 5. Building your vocabulary as an actor will help you immensely because let’s face it, if you don’t understand the words in a script you don’t understand what you’re saying and when that happens, you’re out of the play and into your head trying to put meaning where you have none. Building your vocabulary also helps you clarify your choices. How many times have you said, or heard someone say, “Well, I know what I want to say, I just can’t think of the words.” If you can’t think of the words, then you don’t know what to say. How can you have a coherent thought or decision without possessing the words to express it?
8. Projection is Great, but Diction is Better – So many acting teachers and directors are concerned with projection. They want to make sure that you’re heard by every member of the audience, but I’m more concerned with whether or not I can understand you. Make sure that you are not only sounding every sound in a word as fully as you can, but also pronouncing every word properly. If your face doesn’t hurt at the end of a performance, you’re not working your articulators hard enough. Trust me, it sounds like a small thing, but if I can’t understand you, it doesn’t matter if I can hear you.
7. Acting is NOT Real Life – You hear all the time that you must be honest in your acting, that reactions must be real. This is the basis of everything that Sanford Meisner taught. The idea is true, but don’t confuse a real reaction with your reaction. Those are two different things. Your real reaction to something on stage and your characters real reaction to something on stage can be two completely different things. Onstage your reactions and emotions must be honest and come from a real place within you, but remember that you are playing a character, not playing yourself. It’s a strange thing to get straight in your mind, but it will help once you understand it for yourself.
6. Be Bold! – As Martin Luther said, “Sin Boldly!” If I could choose the kind of actor I would wish to work with, it would be a bold actor. An actor who can take the stage and make it his own, who gestures with his whole body and uses all of the space he’s given is an actor I admire. You’d be surprised how many timid people out there want to be actors. Learn right now: You. Can’t. Be. Timid. You’ve got to be bold, be curious, never be afraid to make a choice that might not work. Make choices at which you could fail, because you will never become an actor by being guarded and playing it safe.
5. Be Specific – As an actor, you’re required to make choices for every second you are on a stage. Those choices are going to steer you through every performance and you should never be without them. Because of the importance that your choices hold, would you like to work off a vague decision? No. Every actor wants to be the best and you can’t be with vague or simple choices. When you consider a role and you ask yourself the questions that develop that character, you must be specific! I mentioned earlier that it is important to build your vocabulary and this is why: There is a huge difference between MAD and LIVID. To say that your character is MAD is vague. To say that your character is LIVID is much more specific because now you’ve nailed down exactly how mad they are. Never generalize in your choices, be specific and be decisive.
4. Be Constant – In number 6 I said it was a good thing for an actor to experiment, but now it’s time to add some restrictions to that. As an actor in film it is usually a good idea to present the director and editor with a number of different choices of how a scene can be played. As an actor on stage it is an excellent skill to be able to play different angles of a scene so as to make a decision as to which one works best for you—in rehearsal. Experiment in rehearsal, but when the audience files in and the lights go up your choices must be clear and all your decisions must be made. Changing decisions in the midst of a performance is the quickest way to make the audience think you’re unprepared and to anger your fellow actors. I can’t tell you how unprofessional it is to be blindsided on stage by an actor who felt they wanted a change. Let people know if you’re making a change and be constant in that choice.
3. Trust the Floor – You’d be surprised how many actors will work all day long at trying to hold themselves up as they stand on a stage. It’s a metaphysical bit of advice, but it can help in many ways. At any given moment in your life, take a second and trust that the floor is holding you up. Do you have to work and effort and keeping up right? No. It’s a natural reaction. It’s the way your body is designed, it transfers your weight down naturally and the floor then holds all of that weight without fail. The stage will hold you. Don’t waste your energy.
2. Go Back to the Text – Have a question? Don’t understand something? What should you do? Ask the director? Maybe later. Make it up? Not yet. Then what? Read your script again. Many actors read their scripts only once or twice, or sometimes never read the entire thing. Read your script over and over again because guess what? It’s all you’ve got. That text is the reason you’re here in the first place, be it Twelfth Night or ‘Night Mother, that script is the reason you’re even on stage. Cherish it and go back to it for answers like it were your own Bible. The playwright gives you everything you will ever need to play a role, just be open to finding those hidden treasures.
1. Let it Go! – Can’t get some detail straight in your head? One line you can never remember? Feeling generally confused about your performance? Let it go. There is such a thing as overworking yourself in theatre. Too much work can leave you worse off than you were before. The best piece of advice I can give in this top-ten list is to let your work go once and again. If you find yourself becoming fatigued, confused or frustrated, go eat a slice of pizza, go watch television, go do anything else and come back to your problem later. Sometimes a break from your trouble can give you a new angle at which to view it. And once that curtain has opened, let your work go, step out into the light with the knowledge and faith that you have done your work properly and that you are prepared. Let it go, you can’t play your analysis.
I hope you’ve found this list helpful; it’s always a pleasure to share these tips with fellow actors. There are many, many more lists like these that I’ll bring you later and many more articles that will talk about all of these points in much greater detail. For now, remember: Sin Boldly!
Update:
If you’d like to see the article that Ben Seeley wrote translating these acting tips into tips for Othello players, Click Here. Check it out, it’s a great read.
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4 Responses to “10 Tips Every Actor Should Know”
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I think the tips you give are very true and helpful,i will use them threw my life as I would like to become an actor.
Bravo, very insightful and high-quality stuff!
I’ve won two World Othello Championships (Othello the board game, not the play!), and am fascinated by how similar this acting advice is to advice I give aspiring Othello players, once it’s adjusted to the particulars of the game. I suspect that these principles don’t just work in acting and abstract strategy games, but in many areas in which there is a quest for excellence.
It was nice to randomly stumble upon such an interesting blog post, and my hat’s off to you for writing it :).
Thank you for such a nice praise. I’d be really interested in seeing how you would adjust this advice for a game of Othello. Let me know if you ever write about that. I’d love to read it and put up a link to it. Thanks again for your kind words and thanks for taking the time to stop by.
–Daniel Roach
Done :). The article is up now. Feel free to do whatever you like with it, I reserve no copyright. It was nice of you to inspire me ^^.