10 MORE Tips Every Actor Should Know

It’s time for 10 MORE Tips Every Actor Should Know. I like lists on Blogs, they help you get a lot of information in a short amount of time so I decided that it might be time for another one. So, without further ado about my Blog preferences, here are 10 MORE Tips:

10. Re-read Your Script . . . a lot – We’re going to be talking about this point in great detail in subsequent articles, but I wanted to include it here to get you thinking. I listed in the last 10 Tips that you should ditch your script as soon as you could, which is still true, but I’m going to add that, before you ditch it, you read it more than once all the way through. Your script is the bedrock on which everything you do must rest. I know actors who read only their own lines and nothing else. I know actors who obsessively cling to their scripts like they were life-rafts. Be somewhere in the middle. It’s important to go through your script more than once because it’s hard to get all the details you’re going to need the first time through. The first time, read for the story. The next time, read for your character. The third time, read for the other characters and so on. Use each read through to focus on discovering something new in the script. Not only will this help you get a grasp on your character but it will help with learning your lines as well.

9. Find Your Light – I really shouldn’t have to say this one, but I do. So many actors can’t seem to find their light when they’re out on stage. They become so accustomed to where they’ve been told to be that they can’t quite wrap their head around moving two feet to the left to be better in the light. Learn to adjust your blocking so as not to be delivering your lines in the dark. You’re actors for God sake; doesn’t that mean that you want to be seen?

8. Don’t Always Match Energy – When you’re first being taught your craft you’re told to match the energy of the scene, and the other actors onstage. And this is a good rule of thumb, but you should also know when to break this rule. If someone comes onstage with enough energy to knock down the people in row one, you probably shouldn’t try to match it. In the long run it will actually be better if you don’t, because there will be a balance to the stage. Perhaps you want to set your character apart by changing the energy with which they come into a room. For that you have to intentionally go against the grain. There are quite a few caveats that go with this tip, but basically you should remember not to slow the scenes down too much. There’s a point at which you are no longer balancing, or separating a character, you’re simply getting in the way.

7. Partire del Terrano – or the partitioning of space is being aware of how much space you’re taking up onstage. Although the term originates from dancing at the Italian courts the meaning can apply to actors onstage. Be aware of what’s going on around you so that you can effectively move about. Be aware of the sight lines and the movements that need to take place. Are you in the way of that? Where are the other people around you? How close are you to them? Partire de Terrano is all about being aware of your place in the big picture of the action.

6. All the Technical Work in the World . . .– So having given you all of this technical advice about being an actor it’s time for me to double-back for a moment and say that all the technical work in the world won’t make you a good actor. When it comes down making the choice between working on your line readings or whether or not you’re standing correctly, choose the readings. Don’t get fixated on the small technicalities until you have time to do so. Pay more attention to the big picture of your role before you begin to tackle things like whether or not your diction is up to par. Work on diction when you have a grasp on your role.

5. Learn to Dance-Sing-Play – You know all those special skills that you have down at the bottom of your resume? How many times to you think they affect the casting of an actor in a play, not even a musical, but a straight stage show? How many times? The answer is more than you think. If you’re an actor, it’s important that you know how to do things like Waltz, Fox-Trot, Tango, or sing a few bars. In what spare time you can muster, go out and take dancing lessons, singing lessons. And don’t stop at those; learn to play an instrument like guitar or piano. You’ll be surprised at the difference it can make to be able to hold your own on any of those talents.

4. Get into Performances Spaces Quickly – Theatre’s a busy world and it’s rare that you get to rehearse in the same space that you perform in. That being said, make sure that early on in the rehearsal process you beg, borrow or steal some time in the performance space. It’s important to have some time, not 10 or 15 minutes, but 30-45 minutes, on the stage you’re going to use. Find out how much space you’re going to have. How springy is the stage? How much is it going to take for you to project to the back row? It’s hard to procure the time, but it will ultimately be worth it when you can do so much of your work early in the process.

3. You Can’t Act without Criticism – If you can’t take criticism, you can’t be an actor. It’s as simple as that. If you cry when told your performance was poor, you’ll get no where in this business. You have to be able to separate your work from yourself. Learn that criticism is directed at your performance, not at your humanity. It’s directed at your choices on stage, not in life. Learn to deal with criticism productively, and learn when to ignore it completely.

2. You Can’t be an Actor and a Gentleman – I fought this one tooth and nail when I first heard it, but now I have to admit that it is true. You can’t be an actor and do what is required of you if there are things you aren’t willing to do onstage. Who you are onstage has nothing to do with who you are in the real world, but it remains that you must be willing to be something other than friendly onstage. You cannot worry about being gentlemanly if your goal is to live honestly and fully in the moment. You cannot have reservations.

1. You Can’t Think – Lastly, when you’re onstage, you physically cannot act and think at the exact same time. Sanford Meisner called it being “in your head.” Louis Fantasia called it “Bifurcation.” It is the splitting of the mind and it isn’t a luxury you can afford. Acting and thinking don’t go together. Don’t you find it true that your best performances have been those you have trouble remembering? I do. This isn’t to say that you should get caught up in the moment and loose control of yourself, that’s dangerous, but you cannot analysis your performance as it happens. That is affectation, not reaction.

So there you have it, 10 MORE Tips I think every actor needs to know. I think in the future we’ll make lists a bigger part of this site. So until I manage to come up with 10 MORE Tips, remember to SIN BOLDLY!

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