how do you act insane?

Question

im trying out for a play where the character is insane how should i read the script when i try out? or how should i act as one of the other characters? the other characters are the voices in her head how do i act like that?

Answer 1

Rent a copy of "Silence of the Lambs". THAT will give you LESSONS on how to act insane!!!!

Answer 2

Bear in mind that the voices in the head of a schizophrenic are just as real, loud and convincing as the voices of any other person - a sufferer really cannot sometimes tell the difference. Voices in some cases take characteristics of the sufferer and exaggerate them, so a perceived voice might be more caring, or more sarcastic, or more nihilistic, but use the same basic phraseology.

So to act the sufferer, you could act as though you were constantly being interrupted by someone talking to you, or constantly being given viewpoints that don't correspond to the actual situation, and to act the voices, you could give the lines in a way that stresses aspects of the sufferer's character or from the POV of someone observing the character.

Answer 3

the key to a good portrayal of an extreme character is not to rely on cliches and stereotypes or overact, but to find a way to make your character's strange actions seem and feel completely normal for that character. Have you ever felt a little bit crazy? jumpy? punchy? I'm sure at some point in your life you have been so tired/happy/etc that you acted in a crazy sort of way. I'm sure when you did it felt normal for you and you weren't exerting yourself to BE WEIRD. remember that feeling and try to magnify it - in other words, if you were acting a little off the wall, imagine what would happen if you were ten times more off the wall. Same motivation, same source for the action, just MORE of it.

If you are supposed to hear voices in your head, imagine you hear them! convince yourself that there really are voices. don't try to make it look like you are hearing voices- this path with almost definitely fail.

My point is, crazy people don't think they are crazy. if you can get into the character's head, rather than playing stereotypes, you'll give a better, more three-dimensional performance and have a better audition.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

You need to figure out what kind of "insane" the character is. In other words what mental illness is the person suffering from and what are their symptoms. Is the individual hallucinating? Hearing voices? Paranoid? Try to find out something about those conditions. Figure out how you would act if your thoughts and conversations were being interrupted by voices that you can't tell aren''t real. Or how you would act if you were trying to function but were terribly afraid of every person and situation you encounter. Are you manic/depressive/ Are you manic today or are you depressed? You need to know the character and not just imitate stereotyped actions.

Answer 5

As far as the allegedly "insane" person:

-I suggest what is called "playing the opposites." If the character is talking about something that should be sad, say it in a happy voice. You perform the opposite emotion of what is expected. For example, I've played a girl that was speaking about killing her twin sister and framing it as a suicide. BUT, when I was acting it out, I was dancing around to escape from the asylum guards and almost always had a smile on my face. I also said everything very matter-of-factly, because to the character, this was a perfectly normal ambition to kill her sister... to her, she wasn't insane.

-AND... please, Please, PLEASE don't go for the stereotypical "insane" person. (Outlandish movements, twitchings, stutterings, drooling, etc.) That's not real. Think about people who have a mental complex. They don't realize that they're not what we call "normal." They are a regular person, just with a problem.

As for the voices in the person's head:
-To this "voice" or "person" probably believes themselves to be real. Therefore, whatever the character is, read them just as you would if they were a normal person.

Best wishes on your audition!

Answer 6

I'm glad i saw this question!! I've played insane people so many times!!! Here's what i've always done, i do a little background research about the specific mental illness my character has, i find out what the characteristics of the illness are, and if possible i try to find a movie where at least one of the characters is suffering from the same illness. from what you've said it sounds like the girl as schizophrenic so start looking there. as far as reading the script during your audition just go with the flow, familiarize yourself with it before you audition it, if you can, and try to do things such as screaming certain lines or looking around frantically. Look at the Scottish play of Shakespeare's, you know the one i mean, look at Lady MB's suicide, and you'll get what i mean. Also look at Othelia in Hamlet before she kills herself. Break A Leg!!!
God Bless!!!

Answer 7

to show insanity - twitch your body, lick your lips a lot, roll your head, flap your hands like a seal, run in place, raise your arms above your head and wave them back and forth, occasionally pound or tap on a tabletop, pace back and forth - in other words, do normal actions but over and over again and out of context.

reaction to insanity - avoid eye contact, roll your eyes, put hands over eyes now and then, talk fast and outspeak insane person - give the impression you don't want to look at and watch the insane person or give him any credibility.

voices in head - stop occasionally to tilt head, look into distance like you are listening to faraway sound, open mouth or move lips like responding to voices, say "yes, yes!" occasionally - pretend you are having conversation with someone no one else can see

Watch "Monk" on USA channel, Friday evenings. He has OCD - lotsa twitches and weirdnesses. Visit a mental hospital and take notes.

Answer 8

oftentimes conversing, i'd say it relies upon on WHY you're doing the belongings you're doing. And 'why' isn't what you tell your self. it is the emotional drivers in the back of it. 2 different those with a distinct set of situations might want to be taking section in mini-golfing bare of their bedroom and one might want to be insane at the same time as the different might want to be seen sane. One guy might want to be compelled to do it at gunpoint, that is a sane reaction to insane situations. it will be a kinky sex element including his spouse, as an example. at the same time as the different guy has complications making connections with human beings and makes use of secret nudity and fantasizing instead. that is a answer, even if it is hardly the suited answer and can want to be seen insane through it being maladaptive. one might want to be doing each one of those wierd issues and tell himself it is for the humourous or novelty income of it. and that i assume that would want to be genuine. yet in the experience that they do all of it the time, quite the same habit, i'd argue there's slightly extra to it than humor or novelty. something else about it makes it pleasing to them.

Answer 9

I've been in a couple plays. Just express yourself trough your character's insanity.

Answer 10

You are insane - Your already hearing the "voices".