I'm a girl, I have to play a male part in a scene, can anyone give me tips on male body language?

Question

I know a lot of the things that define someones way of moving as being feminine and masculine are unconcious. Obviously i'm not gonna put my hands on my hips, but how do you *walk* without using ur hips? Things like that. Tips would be much appreciated = ) Thanks!

Answer 1

My drama teachers would murder me if they saw this, but:

As you walk, take long strides (not too long) and swing your arms a little bit. Sometimes a little nervous tic, like shrug the shoulders, or jut out the lower jaw - men do these things to assert their masculinity.
Sitting, sit with your knees far apart. Dont touch your hair, or face. Dont pick at clothes or do anything that would give the impression of being aware of how you look.
Men use abrupt movements, not fluid movements.
Good luck

Answer 2

I have had to play a male part as well. This is tricky, trust me. Obviously you need to use a lower voice. Ask the director, or maybe you know, what the personality of the charactor is. By the personality, you can come up with a interesting voice to display that personality. Also, where to put your hands is a biggie. Usually if the costume has pockets, you can put them in there when your not using your hands. Otherwise just put them at your sides. Walking. Guys walk the say way we do, most of the time. Just my tecniquie i use is pretending your walking as if you were in rush but don't run. usually when your in a rush you don't take care of the way you walk. just walk and don't put your hands on your hips or keep you head high like a girl would do. also when your standing don't lean to one side. just stand straight. take bigger steps then normal. Break a leg!!

Answer 3

You can reduce your own hips swaying by making sure your feet stay on essentially parallel lines; you might also turn your feet out slightly.
Your elbows can face away from your body instead of facing behind you--I hope that makes sense, and as noted they can go further from your body.
Take up space! When sitting, use as many planes as possible.
If you are tall, stay tall as a male. If you are short, you might put a little bounce into your steps.
And seriously, try taping or sewing a sock into a pair of shorts to get some of the feel for it.

Answer 4

i had multiple parts in a show called Cyrano, and a small part was a male poet- so of course the jokes of having a feminine poet where there, but by the second week of practice the director had me taking groups of 5 at a time aside to teach them. i ended up teaching 25 girls and one guy how to be more manly haha.

so, its all about the center of gravity- with women its in your hips, but with guys it tends to be more towards their shoulders. so, relax your shoulders. bring them down and more back. if you slouch, the curve will enhance the femininity of your face on stage. swing your arms a bit and keep your elbows loose. now, with your legs- try to walk less with your hips and more with your thighs if that makes sense. square your feet making your legs straight, and then move each foot another inch or two outward. bend your knees when you walk and bounce slightly. bring your pelvis forward and don't stand with you're weight on one leg. just have a butch attitude and i hope you do well!

Answer 5

Well...I think a visual example would work best. Walk like this guy in the first scene of this set of clips at about 00:20 sec:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PWGrVz0eP7w

Notice the way he swings his arms, takes long strides, and spaces his legs widely apart. Also, notice how his gestures are large and obvious...while a woman's facial expressions might be subtle. Men are more concerned about looking burly and strong as opposed to fluid and sexy....so think on those terms.

Answer 6

What ever you do dont put you hands on your hips! As a matter of fact pretend your hips aren't there. Don't swing them when you walk, don't point your feet out and so on. Try to imagine your self a man. I had to do it once to. P.s. dont sit in your hips either, if you dont know what that means I dont know how to explai it but DONT DO IT!

Answer 7

Boys usually have bigger strides with their legs farther apart than a girl when walking and tend to hold their arms a little bit away from the body, whereas a girl will hold them closer to the body.

Girls walk with their arms bent at the elbow, where a guy might have their arms a little straighter.

Answer 8

Try to keep your hips more rigid, not swinging so much side to side. I realize that's hard to do as that's mostly caused by anatomy. Avoid crossing your arms in front of you as if you're supporting (or hiding) your breasts since as a guy they're not there. Don't cross your legs at the knees or keep them close together for that matter. Definitely avoid appearing deferential toward most other males and all females.

Answer 9

"Cool" guys tend to walk with (sorry) with their dick leading them...they swagger but drag their a*s if you know what I mean...better yet check out some of the guys at school and Watch in person...see how they come into a room, stance, where they place their feet , pop a hip..shift their load , adjust things, look at how they take up space and listen to how they speak to get their manerisms. good luck

Answer 10

Pull up a chair at starbucks or the mall and do some research. It'd be way easier than me trying to explain in print.