posted
Saturday I had my first audition ever for a stage play called 'A man named Juda'. In another thread Icarus gave me some very good advice about how I should rather overact. There are two women roles in the play, one is a very small one, actually it's just a mother coming on stage about three times in the play, each time saying nothing other than: 'Where is my child? Why did you get my child involved in this?' The other role is the second main character, it's the girlfriend of Juda.
Of course I never thought I would ever be chosen for that second role having so little experience in stage play, but I seem to have done rather well, because I am invited for the second round. (I took Icarus's advice, it wasn't difficult to overact because I had to do some real emotional stuff, I actually got tears in my eyes, really). From the 9 women that applied there are 4 left now. Next Thursday I have to do another audition. I have to learn a piece of the play by heart and play it with the man they have chosen to be Juda.
Now please Icarus and others, help me through! I would love to get this role, it's such a beautiful stage play. But I know I have to do better than last time, and the problem is I don't know how to get the body language right. The voice is my best part, (I do have experience in reading to others) but how do you move and which gestures do you use or avoid? For example, if you play a scene in which you have to be very angry, do you stand still or do you pace back and forth? How do you show worry? Or is it as simple as trying to really feel what your character feels, just act on that and the body language and movement will be ok automatically? (I don't think so, in my case anyway)
Minor question, but important to me: What do I wear? I felt so ackward last time, playing this character in jeans, I feel like putting a dress on this time though I hardly wear them normally.
Tomorrow I'll get the text I have to learn. So if there is no general advice for this sort of things, I can come up with some more to the point questions if you would want to help me.
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I would love to help you, but my experience with the stage is mainly musicals, so my auditions are usually singing something. I really really hope you do wonderfully! And of course, I'm sure you will!!!! My thought is that you should look nice. But I don't know if it really matters.
Bear in mind that my experience is pretty limited also. I too struggle with body language--at least, what seems appropriate to me doesn't always seem to be what the director wants. The only thing I can really think is to make sure your actions are intended, rather than nervous tics. Like, don't continually throw your hands in the air to punctuate your speech. Remember, though, that setting up your actions is the director's job, so it shouldn't be necessary for you to demonstrate perfection in this. I would think the best thing you could show right now is simply control over what you are doing. I would also still go with making it large as much as possible, and leaving it to the director to reel you in.
As far as dress . . . I see no reason why you should dress any special way. Certainly getting into costume or really dressing up seems like too much to me. I would think you want to be as comfortable as possible, so you're not distracted by your clothing. The only caveat I can think of is that if some casual clothes make you appear more physically attractive than others, then this is a good consideration. Once I felt I was much better suited to a large role than the person who got it, (who couldn't even read well!), and I couldn't help but think it was because I wasn't physically attractive enough to play a central character. (I've lost over 20 kg since then, so maybe I won't run up against this next time!) Different clothes could not have made me look significantly different, but, for instance, given a choice between jeans and a sweat-suit, I would say go with the jeans. Do you have clothes (that are comfortable) that you simply feel attractive in?
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posted
Thanks Raia! Did you ever get a role in a musical and what did you sing and play?
Icarus, so the director is the one who'll say to me whether I should pace back and forth or just stand still? I didn't know that, but thanks, that makes it much easier. I'll try to keep the control in mind. And I'll do my best on the attractiveness. The dress I am talking about is one of my own, I do feel comfortable in it. (Somehow I think that movements in a dress are more attractive, but maybe I am wrong )
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quote:But I know I have to do better than last time, and the problem is I don't know how to get the body language right. The voice is my best part, (I do have experience in reading to others) but how do you move and which gestures do you use or avoid? For example, if you play a scene in which you have to be very angry, do you stand still or do you pace back and forth? How do you show worry? Or is it as simple as trying to really feel what your character feels, just act on that and the body language and movement will be ok automatically? (I don't think so, in my case anyway)
Some further thoughts . . .
Do you have a close friend or confidant you could rehearse in front of? Such a person could tell you if you are conveying what you want.
I wouldn't stand still to convey anger, because that just goes into the whole overacting thing. But pacing gets visually irritating. Are there other, less obvious cues, you can give? Pausing mid-sentence, looking in disgust? Striking your palm with your fist (once)? Altering your breathing? Flaring your nostrils? Gritting your teeth? A sarcastic laugh? Exasperation? Turning away from the person you are angry with? Will you have any kind of prop, like a piece of paper you can crumple up? Worry . . . hm . . . again, altering breathing. Can you raise just one eyebrow? Bite your lower lip? Furrow your eyebrows?
One thing I did that was especially well received in 1776 is when I was told my lands had been destroyed and my family taken into hiding. When the secretary of the congress mentioned that part of the dispatch was addressed to me, I made quick eye-contact with him (even though he was standing somewhat upstage of me) and there was a kind of pregnant pause. Then, as he read, I made eye-contact with another delegate on the other side of the stage (so I wouldn't keep looking upstage), as wide-eyed as I could make it. Then I slowly turned my head forward and slightly downward, furrowing my brow, and bit my lower lip while making an angry face, like I was holding back tears. I also made a point of breathing visibly faster and flaring my nostrils just a little bit. When I finally did speak, I made my voice as husky as I could make it. On a nightly basis, people connected with the show told me they thought I was about to break down and cry! My point, though, is that until I stood up to speak, all of this was while sitting down in my chair. You don't need to walk around a lot or throw your hands around to convey emotion . . . just decide what little cues will combine to signify the feeling for you and use them.
I agree with your instinct that you can't just "method act" it. I think that can lead to pacing, tics, or no emotion at all. It's just hard, imesho, to feel the raw emotion everytime you do it when you spend three or four months rehearsing something and several weeks doing it. Frankly, my memorized physical actions became a cue to me as well as to the audience. Doing these things helped to remind me each night that I was sad, scared, and angry, and to bring that out in my line delivery.
Anyway, I'm sure there're people here with tons more experience and talent than I have, but those are my two cents.
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I do find a woman in a skirt more physically attractive than one in pants, but that's just me.
Just remember, being physically attractive is not as important as being comfortable at this point.
The director might not tell you tomorrow, but as you rehearse the show he or she will put you in specific places on stage, and even say how you should react to things, to an extent. What the director wants to see right now is simply whether you have an instinct about this sort of thing already, how stage shy you are, how well you speak, and whether you are capable of emoting or not. That's why I say it's good to overact at this point: if you do, the director will know that later he or she can tell you to tone it down, but if you are way too understated, the director has no reason to believe you can do it any other way.
My character in 1776 was constantly abstaining from voting. I took it as a sign that he was anxious to fit in with everyone and afraid to make a stand, and I started out playing him somewhat nebbishly. My director had a different vision of the character. He didn't see him as awkward at all, but rather as more of an idiot (!) who thought he was being "democratic" by allowing others to make the decisions for him. So rather than seeming nebbish, he wanted me to ge grandiose in my abstention, doing it as conspicuously as possible, and--as an actor now and not the character--playing it for laughs. So while I was thinking Bob Newhart, he was thinking more along the lines of Sire Uri (from Battlestar Galactica . . . ever watch that?). This is what I mean about the director's role. Lots of what you do will be what you bring to the role, but he or she will tell you physically where to be onstage at all times, and when your vision of the character disagrees with his or hers, and when to tone it in or play it up.
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posted
All I can say is make sure that you have variety in your movements: a strong emotion dosen't always need to be a big motion. Also, make sure there is a moment of stillness every so often; it's hard to follow constant motion.
quote: Thanks Raia! Did you ever get a role in a musical and what did you sing and play?
Oh, I love musicals!! In 2 younger people productions I was "Tzeitel" in Fiddler on the Roof, and "Mama Euralie" in Once on this Island. I've also been a chorus member in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Oliver," and "Fiddler on the Roof." My choir teacher at school doesn't audition anything, so she just casted those herself. The only audition experience I've had has been out of school. I'm also going to play the part of Little Cosette in "Les Miserables" in the fall.
This summer I interned as a voice coach for a music camp where they did "Bugsy Malone" and it was so much fun! I had a wonderful time!!! I've also auditioned for things around town.
What stage experience have you had? (If you haven't had any, even more congrats on getting called back!!!!!)
I was going to say this. Don't ever pace. No one paces in real life. Also, don't "dance" when you talk; plant your feet. When you want to move, move for a reason, or deliberately go somewhere.
quote: Striking your palm with your fist (once)?
I'm not so sure about this. I suggest you only do things the character would do... and I'm not sure that this falls into that catagory.
Raia, I was Grandma in Fiddler on the Roof. (heh heh heh)
That's awesome! Wait, I don't remember a grandma... do you mean Yente?
ginette -- the no dancing thing is really important, I can't believe I forgot that. Also, don't let your eyes wander, and WHATEVER YOU DO don't stare at the floor!!! That's what directors hate most of all. Avoid looking at the floor if at all possible.
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In the "dream sequence" (the one that Tevye makes up) There are two ghosts, Grandma Tzeitel and Fruma-Sarah. I was Grandma.
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Remember this name MEISNER. I am a recent convert to this style of acting. It's frustrating at first but is AWESOME later. If you don't like him try Adler. Both are good.
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posted
Well, I'm a stagehand, but I've soaked in some stuff that might help...
Do some research into your character. Get some background. When you go onstage, you're not supposed to be acting. You really are that character. Figure out what emotions you should be feeling in given situations. Then, just act the way you would in real life- if placed in your setting. If your character is supposed to be angry, you should actually get angry. And act the way angry people do in your setting.
And wearing a dress or blah blah may help you get in character and it certainly won't hurt, but the whole point is to get in character, not to wear a dress as opposed to jeans or pace around as opposed to yelling.
*Shrug* I dunno if that makes sense. I guess my point is that you have to actually be your character instead of merely playing him. That's what my director says when we finish rehearsals...and I'm tired after teching for 3 hours and want to go home. I know that's a big thing for our shows, and our shows turn out pretty good. Soooo take it or leave it.
posted
I actually agree with Shlomo: it really helps to do some research into your character. Get to know her. Figure out what kind of person she is and how she'd act in various situations. Then act the way you think she'd act.
In my acting class this summer, we did an exercise that I found very useful in helping me "get into character." It goes something like this:
Find a quiet place with some space to move around. Stand there for a few minutes, close your eyes, and concentrate on your breathing. When you feel relaxed, picture your reflection in a mirror. Then turn your reflection into that of "you as your character." Greet your character out loud. Don't worry if this makes you feel silly.
Then begin to walk as though you're on a grid, making only 90-degree turns. After about thirty seconds of this grid-walking, snap your fingers (or have someone else snap for you) and continue walking - but as your character. You are your character now.
Continue walking for a while, then stop. Say a line that your character says, as your character would say it.
When we did this exercise in class, we had to go back to our desks and write as our character for five minutes, without stopping, our conclusion to the sentence "Yesterday an angel fell through the ceiling and I..." But that was because our characters were from "Angels in America" - I don't know how well that would work with your play. If you like you can come up with your own prompt, or you can just skip that step.
posted
I wouldn't hesitate to dress in a way that you think the character would dress at that moment. If it's a modern stage play, then that won't seem out of the ordinary, but it might help you be in character. I certainly hold myself differently, sit differently and act differently depending on the clothes I'm wearing. I think this could have an important effect on your movements as well. As far as movements go, my favorite acting coach (Pamela Hunter from New Zealand, she's great) always says that you should never use gestures or movements that you wouldn't make in real life. Your job is to make the character YOU, not to make YOU the character. So how would you act in the clothes you'll be wearing when you're saying the things you're saying? Would you fidget? Wring your hands? Run your hands through your hair? Scratch your elbow? There's all sorts of things.
Big thing though. You'll be working with someone new and the biggest thing that I imagine the directors will be watching for is how you work with that person. So go in there with your own ideas, but trust your instincts once you start to work with him on stage. Hold yourself in a way that you command your own space on the stage. Just react to him in the most natural way...the way that YOU would react in this situation to the things he's saying and the circumstances that you're both in.
How fun for you ginette. Best of luck. Obviously you've got the chops, or you wouldn't have gotten this far!!! Please let us know how it goes!
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posted
ginette, There's at least two type of actors out there and both are getting described to you. You hear a lot about method acting, where you try to sort of become the character that you are playing. This can be a very effective technique, but it takes a great deal of focus to pull off and sometimes leads to movements and expressions that are too subtle for the audience to pick up on. The other type is a more presentational style, where you direct your actions, expressions, and inflections to have specific effect on the audience.
If you're unsure how to go about conveying your character's emotion and also what method to use, I recommend trying out both before a trusted audience or taping your performance and then watching it. The most important factor is not what method you use in your acting, but what the audience gets out of it, so you can use the trusted audience or tape reviews to see what atyle seems to be more effective.
My own training is a mismash of debate/public speaking, method acting, and improv, and I've found that different contexts and even different characters call for different ways of acting. So, I try to find what my audience responds to best. I find that I can't straight method act roles that I really don't understand, like old men and that a more or less set sequence of actions serves me better there.
One other piece of advice is to try as best as you can to use what is most comfortable for you. If you are self-conscious, it's much more likely that you're focus is going to be too divided between your role and you-playing-the-role to do a good job of conveying anything besides how nervous you, as an actor, are.
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posted
One other thing that I just thought of. The two emotions that you mentioned, anger and worry, are very hard to convey and both rely on tension more than anything else. Remember that and try and use it. Showing anger isn't really about shouting, nor is worry about crying. It's more about the audience feeling that you are about to shout or cry.
Like in real life, anger is at it's most effective right before a fight or something breaks out. You're job as an actor is to create that tension and then break it with appropriate action at the right time. It's like the music in a horror flick.
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I got the text today, so I am going to practise very hard right now, I'll let you know how it went next Friday.
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