Although there are many acting challenges, I wanted to share some of the ones I’ve faced as an actor and teacher. Each one of us has our strengths. I know actors who can read a script only a few times and have it stored in their minds. Others’ vocal warm-up consists of a cigarette, a Red Bull, and an hour of rolling on the ground. While it is essential to recognize your strengths, we must also work on our challenges if we want to be great actors. Let me share some common problems actors face and offer suggestions for overcoming them.
Memory
We find it frustrating when people ask, “great work; how do you learn all those lines?”. Don’t they realize how much more work goes into putting a show on a stage! Learning lines can be complex and a huge challenge; it can cause stress and lead to disconnected, mechanical acting.
Planning and time are the keys to my success. Although I’m not good at learning lines, I’m good at planning, and I have set dates for when I want to be out of the book and plan my route. You should allow yourself three weeks if you know it takes three weeks to learn lines, and you can take a few days if it takes you that long.
Also, I make sure I’m not just learning lines. If you know your lines well, it will be much easier to understand the script and the words you are using. Many students have difficulty learning Shakespeare monologues, and it is difficult for them to understand the hand, making it feel like they know safety instructions in Spanish. Preparing your writing beforehand will make it much easier to learn your lines. You must understand the meaning behind bars.
Fears
It doesn’t matter how often you get on stage, but if all you do is fall back on the things you are comfortable with and know, you won’t be anywhere.
Overcoming fears is the best thing to do for actors. Fears are what keeps us from doing great acting. It could be limiting our emotions, preventing us from connecting with other actors, or making us appear superficial or safe when performing. While some people’s fears don’t require having a bucket ready for every audition, they can still hinder their potential as actors. We must do our best to alleviate these fears. Acceptance and cooperation with these fears is the best thing.
Practice is the answer. As with all things, the more you practice on stage and screen, it becomes second nature. We can build upon our experience. You can encourage hypnotherapy and acupuncture, but you need to do more. Here’s the catch: it is not safe to play it safe. It doesn’t matter how many times you get on stage, but if all you do is fall back on the things you are comfortable with, you won’t be able to get anywhere. Push yourself to the limit, write challenging scripts and try characters, not in your comfort zone. Fear is something we can overcome by pushing ourselves further.
Consider the Circumstances
The other day, two beautiful actors were working on Revolutionary Road scenes in class. One line in which Frank (played brilliantly by Leonardo DiCaprio) refers to two friends who are outside waiting: Milly and Shep. Who the hell are these people? The teacher helped the students detail these names and got them to replace Shep or Milly with someone from their real lives. It worked. These two names, which the actor had previously rushed to get over, suddenly came to life and had meaning.
This is the key to great acting! We must do the work to bring people, places, and events to life. In reality, they may be wholly imaginary and have no meaning to us. It doesn’t matter if you are a prop-holder or a scene partner, and it is essential to be able to relate to any scene.
Since Stanislavsky’s first act method was developed, acting teachers have tried to solve this problem. Ivana Chubbuck is one example of a teacher who believes substitution is the solution. Others like Stella Adler or Declan Donnellan, it’s the imagination and connection with the script. No matter what stage you are in, rushing or ignoring anything is no way. To be authentic and convincing, you must be able to relate to your circumstances.
Emotion
When actors reach out, emotion is more prominent than any other. How can I connect with emotion? How do I cry? What can I do to be more emotional? The best thing about acting is that almost all effective methods emphasize emotion. Emotion is a byproduct of pursuing what you want in a scene.
While we all want to feel our emotions, it is not the goal. Many people have experienced tragedy and felt numb, pragmatic, or angry. It can be unpredictable with our feelings, which should guide how we act. We can become complacent and lose the story by focusing on achieving certain emotions.
Spend your time learning about the writer’s intentions. Work with other actors and directors if you’re working with them. Examine the scene and understand why it is essential. You will be able to play the scene honestly once you have this information.
The feelings will flow if you can understand the scene and can relax.
Technical issues
Actors who don’t like theater are not the ones we know. They believe they must project or use stagecraft and want to be “truthful” and realistic. First, let me say that acting is not possible without craft. Blocking, hitting the marks, and having good eye lines are all essential aspects of TV and film acting. Even more amusing is that actors dislike theatre because it feels fake. Modern filmmaking is more complex than theatre; you often work in large studios with fake eyeliner and green screens. Acting is now more about imagination!
Technical issues are a part of acting. Now the question is: How do you combine technical proficiency with truthfulness?
Practice.
It would help if you practiced stagecraft or ScreenCraft, and you can only make hitting your mark feel natural if you practice it. A similar applies to finding your thoughts on the theatre’s fourth wall. These things are not honest, and it won’t help to get angry about them.
All mediums have a rule that if you aren’t visible or heard, then your authenticity won’t matter. You won’t be edited even if you are the best actor ever, but you aren’t in focus. Your tears won’t help the audience’s frustration if you can’t be heard on stage.
Learn the technical aspects of the medium you use and then practice them. Acting can be a craft or an art.
Believability
Actors face the greatest challenge of being believable and truthful. This is what actors want, and it is a noble goal.
To make a story come alive, it must be convincing. We must “hold up a mirror to nature,” and audiences are good at seeing fakes. Multifaceted…
First, you must relax. Relaxing is the best thing. If you’re comfortable and relaxed, it solves most of the problems. Actors, even those in their early careers, can intuitively recognize when they are lying. Fear is what makes us afraid to commit and do crazy things. This relaxation can be found by practicing again. You will improve your ability to perform monologues and scenes by practicing more and You will be more comfortable if you can get up on stage or screen and work somewhere that is not your usual comfort zone.
You must understand the world in which you live. This is again dependent on the relationship you have with the writer. Your success as an actor depends on your ability to understand and interpret the writer’s intention. You will succeed if you know the writer’s purpose and relate to the scene.
It will help if you let go of your ego. While you can be relaxed and understand the scene, you can still act like a pantomime performer. Fake or big acting often stems from trying to impress an audience or make up for lack of preparation. Connection with your scene partner (or audience in rare cases, such as a Shakespearean soliloquy) is the key to convincing acting. Your acting will be authentic if you let go of your desire to be loved and admired and focus instead on the present moment. Because we are all one, we know what it means to be human, and we need to understand the story and relax.
Conclusion
Acting can be difficult. These are just some of the difficulties actors face. As you can see, there is some hope. It all comes down to practice and understanding scripts. Actors can find it challenging to practice, especially if they aren’t auditioning or working. Finding the motivation to read more plays and break down scenes can be challenging. Our Theater group in Mumbai was created to address this problem. You can work on monologues and scenes every month. The Crafters Acting School Mumbai offers accountability for practicing your acting skills. You can join hundreds of other actors improving their craft daily.
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