How to let yourself go in acting/become your character/be in the moment?

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>I’m sort of an insecure person… but I am working on it :slight_smile: I’m in this play about Cesar Chavez and my director is always telling me to commit to my character. See the fields, feel the ground, feel the pain… “pretend so much that it becomes a reality.” I’ve been trying to pretend on how to act but I just don’t feel like my character. I feel as if I am simply faking the actions. </p>

<p>I have been trying to let myself go, taking risks and such but I still don’t feel like I can get into my character’s head. And when I get into my character am I acting how the character would act, or how I would act if I was in that situation? One of the actors told me that I’m just thinking too much and that it’ll come. I’ve been in this play for about 3 months and in the first month one guy was telling us that “you’re gonna see the fields, you’re gonna feel the pain, you’re gonna know what it was like to be a farm worker.” Our show is about to open in 3 weeks and i’m still having trouble committing to my character. :(</p>

<p>I don’t want to give up on acting, because it helps with my confidence taking risks and such… but I’m sort of having a hard time being my character and having “fun” with it as how people would.</p>

<p>I don’t know if you can say that I “like” acting, I mean I just got into it during the summer. I find improv. fun, helps with confidence, people tell me that i have talent, and I feel like it’s the only real thing that I can actually do in life because everything else is boring. But I can say that there’s some reason, I still don’t know what it is, for why I always look forward to rehearsals every day. I am so excited for the show. I find some of the scenes fun. I am excited to learn. When our director gives us lectures… I enjoy those the most because he really knows his stuff!</p>

<p>I think also what it is is because my character is a protester. I don’t have any main parts just part of the ensemble. I have like 2 lines. I reckon it’s hard for me because protestors don’t have much lines in the play but are in most of the scenes, and so I am forced into relying on my body actions. I still don’t feel like I am my character… or maybe I am thinking too much, but how do I stop and jump into the moment of acting?</p>

<p>I felt like I tried everything… I swear. I even tried making a back story for my protester. Still had a hard time getting into THAT character that I came up with. D:</p>

<p>tips/exercises/critiques/anything please</p>

2

<p>I know my son uses real things that he experienced in his life and recalls that. Even if it is not the same event but could bring similar feelings. Have you protested something your parents wanted you to do? What beliefs do you personally have that you would stand up and fight for. Instead of imagining or creating a story try living something you really feel.</p>

<p>By the way anyone know what sort of acting method is when you use recall? My son does this innately, he was not taught and wants the toolbox type school to learn other tools.</p>

3

<p>Shacherry, that is called Method acting. Lee Strasbergs " method" based on the teachings of Stanislovski. This is what Daniel day Lewis, Sally field, Heath ledger, Claire Danes, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Deniro, Marlon Brando, etc etc etc are doing.</p>

4

<p>KeepFloatin - I think you are trying to find a quick-fix, superficial answer to a question that comes to many through disciplined and rigorous training. Alot of what the training involves is understanding how to develop one’s own instrument – physical, vocal, emotional, psychological – so that it can be used in service of the character and the story. </p>

<p>There are some actors who seem to be so “natural” at what they do that they never get training-- Jennifer Lawrence comes to mind here. Everything I read about her is that becoming a character, doing a scene is just instinctual to her and she just nails her auditions because she “is” that character (she also is doing screen not stage work, so who knows how her work would translate to the stage?).</p>

<p>Ironically, though, alot of what the training is designed to do is to take you out of your head and into the moment, to help you peel down to become more instinctive and intuitive about what the character has to do and feel. </p>

<p>the other thing I would say about stage work is that it has to feel real – but it also has to be “big.” That is, if the work is so internal and quiet, it won’t have a stage presence. With screen work, the camera can focus in on a person’s face so that emotion doesn’t have to be as broad to reach out across the footlights and resonant throughout a theatre. </p>

<p>I’m always struck by scenes, on both stage and screen, where actors have to intentionally be “bad” or “act like they’re acting.” It makes me realize just what a fine line it is between “hamming it up” and portraying a character who has to be larger than life just by virtue of putting being on stage, but to make it seem real and not just an artificial act of creation. </p>

<p>I have to say that I am not an actor nor have I had any training myself – I am basing my response solely on what I’ve observed through my D’s experience at Tisch and just generally following theater and actors.</p>

5

<p>KeepFloatin - If you really love improv why not pretend this is a long form improv? Your character might come more easily to you then. </p>

<p>Aside from this I do suggest you continue with your Improv work, that will help you so much in becoming the type of person you want to be. My daughter is like you I think, and while she enjoys being a part of a play she prefers if she has a small “under 5” part. She does however excel in improv and absolutely loves it and is really really good at it, which surprises everyone given how shy she normally is. She’s done it for about 6 or 7 years now, starting in middle school and she is a member of her college group now also.</p>

<p>Take acting on stage slowly, don’t worry too much about it or “getting into character” and just pretend you’re in a long form improv. Keep up with the improv work though, it will amaze you as to where it will take you!</p>

<p>Cross-posted with SDonCC and I totally agree with him, you can’t “learn” acting in 3 months for one play. Be kind to yourself.</p>

6

<p>KeepFloatin, I am a mom and not an actor but I have an actor son. From things I have read and that he has told me, it sounds like you might be “too much in your head.” Possibly, it might help if you stopped thinking about your character when you are onstage, and instead thought about the world of the play. Watch the other characters and focus what they are doing. You want to be very aware of them and reacting to what is happening in the scene, moment by moment, even if you do not have lines.</p>

<p>It might also be useful to think about what the character wants from one moment to the next. Is he tired and just wants to rest? Does he want to help someone? Does he want something from a particular individual? If you think about action and intent instead of feelings, it might help you to be more natural and relaxed.</p>

<p>Good luck to you!</p>

7

<p>There are so many methods of finding your way “into a character.” I’ve read interviews with actors that they key into becoming that person by focusing on a physical attribute – something innate to that person whether it’s a way they use their hands or their body or if there is some attribute that defines the way they visually appear to the world. </p>

<p>It is a tricky balance to analyze what will get you into character but at the same time get you “out of your head.” </p>

<p>I am a mom, too, btw. My screen name means SD on CC. I know it reads as S Don. But my initials are not SD. Just a clever disguise.</p>

8

<p>With any art, it appears as if work happens by magic. No matter what craft one pursues, there is so much dedication, discipline, work, editing, redoing, discarding that goes on behind the scenes. Occasionally, the work is effortless and it flows and it is perfect. But more often than not, it is perspiration. The key to sustaining a life as an artist is to be willing to partake in the process and refrain from judgement or at least not giving up because it will not always be easy or right or even acceptable.</p>

9

<p>If you’re too involved in your thinking, then I highly suggest doing free writes (long diary-ish passages in a notebook where you put your raw thoughts on paper) to help you get in touch with your character. When you’re on stage though, don’t think so much. If you’re in the ensemble focus on giving to the actor you’re involved with- that’s a very improv set of mind too. Overthinking is stealing your true reactions from the audience and they’d rather see something interesting than a classically “well developed” character. Give everything your all and put energy into everything. Finally, avoid prohibiting your characters choices (ex “my character would NEVER roll her eyes at that!”) and put your time into what your character would do (and push the limits.) I wish you the best of luck!!</p>

10

<p>Jeeeesh, whatsgood0 - if you go to BU I’m telling my son to sit next to you . . .</p>

11

<p>Mommy5 thank you for the info on this method. Since it has served my son well do you think he should formally learn it in college. Do you know if a NYU studio teaches this method? His thought was he should learn as any methods as possible in case he come across a situation that this does not work.</p>

12

<p>Hi!
I started acting almost 8 years ago and it is not till about a year ago, that I finally became comfortable with acting. I think a lot of it has to do with growth as well as self-confidence that I developed through personal life experiences.
Participate in acting/theatre whenever you can. I took drama classes at my high school and participated yearly in school productions. I definitely think there is no “snap your fingers” and you’re a good actor. It takes time and discipline which is exactly why I’m pursuing an acting major to truly hone the craft and continue to grow as an actor. Sometimes though, before an audition, I give myself 30 seconds to put my head down and truly feel the character and I constantly tell myself in my head “You are [character’s name]” It’s what I did for my college auditions and I got into my top choices:)
Don’t overthink it and just be…I know that sounds cliche and easier said than done, but it works.</p>

13

<p>Welcome to CC Moms’ Acting Studio! :D</p>

<p>KeepFloatin,</p>

<p>Wow. You’re really wearing yourself out, aren’t you? :slight_smile: I can safely say that I’ve never “pretended so much that it became a reality” any more than a magician did what he did to the point that he really believed he pulled a rabbit out of a hat. You just need to get in a class dealing with scripted material that’ll give you a solid foundation and a framework from which to immerse yourself in the given circumstances of the play. You’ve been doing this since last summer, right? Improv is a great place to start, but learning the craft takes a minute. There are innumerable answers to your questions any of which could be “right,” but we can’t teach you acting on a message board. But welcome to Stage II of the [Four</a> Stages of Competence.](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_competence]Four”>Four stages of competence - Wikipedia) It’s a good place to be. :)</p>

<p>

Jennifer is no doubt mad talented, but don’t believe the hype. She has a great team of publicists who coach her on exactly what to say and the public loves a “natural,” but rest assured she started acting very young and studies with some of the best coaches in the business. I can tell just by hearing her voice in her earlier work as compared to now. People used to say the same kinds of things about Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, but it’s all part of a carefully crafted media image.</p>

<p>For something indicative of this, Lesly Kahn (BFA Tisch, MFA Yale) is one of the “hot” names in coaching right now. Check out what she has to say in the Q&A section of her website …

</p>

<p>That’s really a bit of an understatement since a lot of A-Listers insist on confidentiality agreements in all their dealings. If you read Larry Moss’s or Ivana Chubbuck’s books, they drop some names, but it’s only a small fraction of the huge number of times they’ve served as Cyranos to the stars’ Christians. I haven’t watched it, but there’s apparently a video of an interview with Howard Fine in which he mentions having told some of these people to go screw themselves when confronted with that because it’s both misleading and disrespectful to the craft. I wasn’t particularly impressed by the work I saw being done when I audited his studio, but have a lot of respect for him if it’s true because that’s some major money he’s turning down. </p>

<p>All this led me to write a little song to the tune of [“Rock</a> and Roll Fantasy”](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHemB0t31Tw]"Rock”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHemB0t31Tw) by Bad Company dedicated to all the clueless self-proclaimed “naturals” who’ve bought into that crap and pour into LA every summer thinking they’re gonna “Just make it happen” …</p>

<p>Here comes an agent, WME
It’s all part of my fantasy
I’m waiting tables
Just got into town
He says, “I like your look, girl.
I want to sign you now.” Yeah …</p>

<p>Here come producers, one by one
I never studied but I’m having fun
They say I got X-Factor
So I should never fear
“Sign this five flick deal, girl.”
Famous in a year</p>

<p>It’s all part of my Hollywood fantasy
It’s all part of my Hollywood dream … </p>

<p>I’m ALMOST good enough to play it on guitar now! :)</p>

14

<p>Fish, great post. Enjoyed it as usual.</p>

<p>Shacherry, I am by no means an expert ( as Fish pointed out :slight_smile: ) but I can tell you a little about the NYU studios. I can’t remember, is your son going there in the fall?</p>

<p>Well to answer your question, yes, NYU does have a studio that focuses on The Method. It is the Strasberg studio. But I believe Stella Adler and Meisner are also different forms of Stanislovskis teachings. All 3 are pretty much " classics" that would be taught at schools that teach the tool box approach. The difference at NYU, is that you focus on one for 2 years, delving very deeply and then you can switch to another studio or even another 2 studios and study in London, China, Florence or Asterdam. The Atlantic studio is different, sounds great, but I can’t speak of it, and I’m not really sure what they do in New Studio or Experimental Theatre wing or Playrights. But I’ve heard great things about all of them.</p>

15

<p>in what way will improv help me?</p>

16

<p>Everything is happening so quickly you don’t have time to get “stuck in your head.” You have to truly be “in the moment.”</p>