first play?

Question

i have been in skits before (girls scout skits) but i'm in my first real play on the first of december (it's my drama class's play). i've already learned a bunch about team work and feeding lines to each other and yada yada yada. but i'm just a nervous reck. i have been on a stage before (dance recitels) but i'll be speaking, just me. when i'm dancing there are others there doing the exact same thing.
do any of y'all have any suggestions for calming my nervs, keeping it cool, staying in character, and pay attention to the play and not who's out there?

thanks so much!

Answer 1

First of all and with no offense meant at all,,,RELAX.

Your audience may be 30 feet away from the stage? There may be lighting that doesn't allow you to actually SEE them? It might help to focus on an object, in a far corner of the theater, or some inner focus that allows you to believe, "I'm the Only one here"?

Relax. There is another thought, and again, with no offense meant,,, This isn't strictly ABOUT YOU! It's a community effort, and certainly one where fauxpas might happen, but it's also young people doing community theater of a sort, not Broadway, well known stars, expected to have a higher level of all that's involved.

Staying in character is likely the easiest part, if you've studied the character and the role they play in total, with only your lines to concern with. BE that character, not the actress portraying the character.

Relax,,, Realizing that NO ONE in the audience is there to critique what they experience, only enjoy it.

One more suggestion in the form of an example,,, ACT!!!!
If your character had to carry a cake across stage for example, and place it on a table, BUT you tripped and fell, landing face into the cake,,, HOPEFULLY, you'd recover almost instantly as the audience laughed,,,perhaps not knowing it wasn't supposed to happen,,,AND your peers/supporting cast, would go into adlib mode, creating the entirety of a scene not scripted, but accepted in the end.
Good luck,,,DO NOT, break a leg,,,Literally.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

Beforehand, stretch and breathe just as you would before dancing. Do things to warm up your voice, whether it's talking or singing or doing scales. Yawn -- it's an amazingly easy thing to use for relaxing your throat. Shake out your nerves.

During the rehearsal, put all your focus into making the character as real in every moment as you possibly can. What would she be thinking about? Who would she be listening to? Who would she believe in each moment? Does it change as the piece goes along?

Focus on the other actors... what are you learning from each of their characters at any given moment? How is your character evaluating that?

Let rehearsal get you set for the performance. Then, trust yourself and the others involved...

...and break a leg!

Answer 3

I have been in so many plays and i kno how hard it is to just get out there and say your lines w/o peeing in ur pants or sounding like ur throat is in a blender but reamember to stay cool. if its a musical and u have a singing part i really want you to try hot raspbarry tea and honey it makes your voice so alive. if ur in a scene than be engaged in whats going on use awsome expressions and you'll steal the show. If it makes you feel like a dork than your doing it right. If u picture the audience in their underware u'll eather laugh or you'll see a creepy old guy and get wierded out. its usually really dark so u cant really see them but they still see you. if your really engaged in the scene the audience will give you many kudos( thats acting talk 4 congrats) and you will get alot of lead parts. after the show make sure that you thank anyone that helped out. that will show maturity and you will get many more roles and leads.

MAJOR LUCK
BREAK A LEG!!!

Answer 4

You are up there with others... you're not dancing... but you're up there doing the same thing.

Don't worry about the audience... worry about making your fellow actors look good.

Don't just know your lines... don't just wait for your cue... don't just wait for the place where you blurt out your next line, and then wait for the next.... listen to what your fellow actor is saying... respond with a line.... it is a conversation between characters, not just two, three, or four people standing around blurting out lines they have memorized. Bring your character to life.

Know your lines... bring your character to life on stage... relax and have fun.

Answer 5

I have tons of experience:
1) Imagine what the audience will look like in underwear!
2) Look above the audience's heads, it will seem like no one is there.
3) Get a good night's sleep before your performance.
4) Believe in yourself, have confidence in yourself!
5) Be yourself, have fun, remember, you are doing this to have fun, not because you have to do this.
I believe in you! Good Luck! I'm sure you will be a great actress!

Answer 6

Convince yourself that you are not PLAYING your character, but you ARE the character. Hey, it works for me!