An actor, simply put, is someone who can do a good job of “faking it”. When you act, you pretend to have different thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes, etc., than you actually have. An actor can greatly influence another person’s emotions and thoughts. For instance, a short skit can often help someone understand a principle they weren’t able to learn in an hour-long lecture.
Some people act to make others think, and some do it just for fun. Whatever your reason for acting, you can probably fake it a lot better if you know how to use the following five principles:
1. ARTICULATION means pronouncing words so people can understand them. The best script in the world is worthless if the audience can’t quite make out what the actor is saying. The trick is to pronounce words clearly. Some people learn to do this by stuffing marbles in their mouths. I have personally never tried this (Do you know where those marbles have been?), but I would imagine it would be more pleasant to use peanuts or jelly beans. If you accidentally swallow a couple, you don’t have to worry. I recommend that you practice reading various tongue twisters, such as:
I
would like a wooden shoe, wouldn’t you? or Hello, madam, I’m
Adam.
The important thing to remember is that the audience has probably never heard the script before, so you need to speak clearly so they don’t say, “Did he say ARTICULATION or our tick’s elation?” Don’t race through your lines! For example, you probably have at least one verse that you have had memorized for a long time (maybe John 3:16). If you were reciting this verse to someone who also had it memorized, it would be fine to whip through it; but if the person listening had never heard it before, you would want to slow it down, and ARTICULATE so that they could understand each word.
2. In drama, PROJECTION means to speak loud enough for everyone to hear you. For instance, if you are using a movie projector, you want it to project all the way to the back wall. That’s what you want to do when you’re acting. You have to speak so the person in the very back can hear you. First, OPEN YOUR MOUTH. Although it sounds like a very simple thing to remember, most people have a tendency to talk like ventriloquists who need more practice. (If you look closely, you can see their lips moving.) Second, aim your mouth at the back wall as much as possible. The people in front will still be able to hear you. If you are looking down at the people on the front row or at your feet, the sound will be deadened before it has a chance to get to the back.
ARTICULATION and PROJECTION always go together. What good does it do if you speak clearly but cannot be heard? On the other hand, who cares if they can hear you when they can’t understand what you are saying?
3. CHARACTERS are what I consider the most fun. The CHARACTER
is the person you pretend to be when you are acting. The costume
does not make the CHARACTER. (See figure 3.) You need to
think a lot about your CHARACTER before you try to act like him/her.
What does this person like or dislike? Where are they from? Are
they smart? How do they walk? Do they have little habits, like
scratching their nose or fussing with their hair? You need to
know your CHARACTER so well you know what they would do in any
given situation. Some of your CHARACTER’S personality will
come through in the script. The rest is up to you. The way they
smile or frown or the way they look at something - these things
you get to decide. Knowing your CHARACTER backwards and forwards
will be the only thing to save you if you forget your lines or
trip and fall on the stage. It happens to the best of us, but the
mark of a good actor is how well he can “stay in CHARACTER”.
I have found that nothing wins the hearts of an audience like a
graceful recovery from an unexpected situation. If you can stay
in CHARACTER, people will actually think the charming prince
was supposed to fall off the stage. (Remember, they don’t
know the script!)
4. BLOCKING is not how to keep from getting
punched. In acting, BLOCKING is how and where to stand so the
audience can see who and what they’re supposed to see, and
so you can easily project your lines. For instance, when I’m
saying my line, I don’t want to be standing behind someone.
This sounds easy enough, until a scene calls for two people
talking to each other. Facing the audience while you’re
supposed to be talking to each other just doesn’t look
believable, but if you face the other actor you can’t be
seen or heard clearly by the audience. The other actor should
already know what you are going to say, so you should angle
yourselves so that you seem to be looking at one another while
still facing the audience. (See figure 4.) Angle your head toward
the other person and look at him with your eyes, but don’t
point your head directly at him. Ideally, even the worst seats
should have a good view.
Sometimes when you’re
BLOCKING, you simply need to be creative, such as when the
scene calls for people sitting around a table, Somebody’s
bound to have his back to the audience; unless you get a larger
table and seat everyone on one side. Nobody in the crowd should
ever see your back, unless they’re supposed to!
5. When you put
all these things together, you have a performer; but you don’t
have an actor, yet. There is one more thing you need to be
considered an actor - EXPRESSION. If someone is happy, he shouldn’t
have to tell you. You should know by just looking at him. A smile
is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of someone
who is happy, but that smile would look out of place if the
person was hanging his head and slowly dragging his feet.
Practice expressing different emotions with a paper bag over your
head. You cannot rely on your facial expressions when acting. You
must learn to use your whole body to express emotions.
Most people come to see
you act because they want to enjoy it. Let them! If you make a
mistake, don’t worry! Have fun with your mess-ups! I hope
that you come to enjoy acting as much as I do!
JOE STEVENS is a 17-year
old member of NA’s Music & the Arts Task Force. His
family has a gospel singing group which travels the western
states sharing gospel music. He lives in Chico, CA.