Physicality when acting...?

Question

In theatre arts, my teachers scolded me about my physicality, the way I stand. They always tell me that I am only acting from the neck up. I'm not a heavy person, I'm just average so it isn't weight causing me to do that. What are some acting excersizes I can do to work on it? We are going to be working on that next semester, but I want to get a head start and impress them. Anyone have any tips for improving physicality?

By physicality I mean changing posture and the way I move based on the character I am playing.

Okay, they weren't scolding, they were telling me, we are going to be doing it next semester. That is when they are planning on helping. The new semester starts Teusady. I am very thankful for my theatre teachers. The drama program at my school is well funded, they teach well. I have seen plays at other schools and think to myself "boy that sucked". My teacher managed to plan a musical (Seussical) with 60 elementary school kids, 10 middle schoolers, and 20 or so high schoolers. Rehersal was not at all hectic. We actually sold out all four shows, and added an extra matinee on Saturday, which also sold out even though it had been announced only two days before. We got such good reviews! I'm done bragging now. Heh.

Answer 1

Stand and look in the mirror and give the line, and then ask yourself, is this what THIS CHARACTER would say and IS THIS HOW HE WOULD SAY IT.

The problem is that for most of us, we tend to answer questions and converse without our hands, or without our body being part of the equation, so we don't have an idea of what the rest of us is supposed to do.

You can practise by doing a few excersizes of your own. It's fun, too.

Tell y our family that for the next couple of hours, you will be a 60 yr old man....and to tell you anytime you do anything which wouldn't be done by a 60 yr old. (Running up the steps, sitting sideways on the couch) In this way, you can see what parts of you are doing which are not part of the equation (Me - 60 yr old) and begin to adjust. This also brings you to more awareness of your body and the way it reacts to it's surroundings.

Next...change. You're a cowboy...or a pilot....or perhaps you're a 1 yr old.....pick something you can do easily to start (the old age one is usually easy to start) and then broaden as you become more aware. Can't pick? Ask someone to give you a challenge...

If you're embarassed to do this with your family, find a friend who wants to work on the same thing and begin challenging eachother in small increments. 5-10 min, or perform a short speech and pick a new character each time doing the same speech. (Macbeth's "To be or not to be" as done by a French Sailor? or a Monkey?

Answer 2

I've got a couple of things you can experiment with:

1) CENTERS. Start to take notice of the people you encounter every day. As you watch them move/walk, see if you can see where their "center" is...in other words, from what part of their body do they LEAD? Then, try moving around yourself, changing your own center. First, lead from your head. How do you find yourself moving/walking? Ask yourself: what kind of a person might I be, if this is the way I carried myself? Then, move your center into your chest. Next, move it down to your groin (don't laugh; plenty of people lead from here!); finally, move the center down to your knees/feet. ALL of these adjustments should lead to VERY different movement patterns, and, if you're available to it, each movement should suggest a different KIND of person/character.

2) SECRET SPY. My students used to LOVE this one. Go find a busy pedestrian thoroughfare, and start "shadowing" people. Find people who move in a way that you find interesting/curious/different. Fall into step behind them (at a respectful distance, please!), and start to move/walk the way they do. How does it make you feel? Do you start to get any psychological/emotional feedback about the kind of person they might be?

Here's the point of it all. YOU have a particular way of moving. You need to make a very clear-eyed assessment of what that is. The way you move naturally becomes the "baseline," and, every time you adjust it, you'll be perceived differently by audiences. This is how actors create characters through a creative use of their physical being.

Answer 3

I'm amazed that they're actually scolding you, instead of helping you. I'm not in the acting part of Theatre, but I can tell you to be aware of your muscles. Try exercises where you isolate muscle groups and tense them, then relax them. They should be doing these basic muscle and breathing exercises with you in the first place. Hopefully you'll get more helpful teachers later on. :)

Answer 4

exercise. walking is good. do the dramatic monologue in your living room. dancing while singing is part of acting.