acting tips?

Question

can anyone ive me useful acting tips? crying on cue? practice at home? PLEASE HELP?

Answer 1

Here are seven of those guaranteed-to-work "failure methods."



1, Become a critic. I'm sure you know other actors (not yourself) who do this. They criticize everything. "She can't act, I don't know why they keep giving her the Oscar." "They spend a 100 million dollars and the scripts sucks." "Yeah, I saw that show, they should have left it in the basement."

There are two bad results from this tactic. First, once your friends realize that this is how you behave, they will make darn sure you aren't invited to any of their shows. Second, you will probably end up becoming a full-time critic (paid or not) and your acting dreams will be left behind. Remember, you will become what you practice to become. Don't become a critic. Do you like critics? Do your co-workers? Has anyone ever given a critic a standing 'O?' Don't become a critic, I beg of you.


2. Beat on your own head with a hammer. This is what I call the behavior we see all to often, where an actor cannot allow a compliment to remain unchallenged. "You were great." "Ha! I really stunk the place up tonight. You should have been here Friday." This is a very tempting behavior. No one wants to look like a swelled head egotist – but this is not the way to go about proving that you are not.

In essence, when you judge your own work negatively, you are practicing to be a critic again - only this time the target of your criticism is yourself. Don't do it. I have seen actors of real talent who, by poo-poohing their own efforts eventually convinced themselves that they weren't any good. And they quit. Do you want to quit? Then don't get down on yourself in any way.

You're human. (if not, you must be one of those alien humanoids that's trying to take over the Earth and I'm really flattered you're taking the time to read my little article) You will never be perfect. Start to cut yourself some slack if you want to be a successful human. Accept compliments graciously and move on.



3. Predict the future. It can't be done. All of the people who say they can predict the future, do so to separate fools from money. When you do it with regard to your own life, you are in The Twilight Zone – and you could end up staying there.

I'm sure you've heard this: "I'm going to be the biggest star in the world. It's my destiny." (Or words to that effect.) Now, some actors do this in the mistaken idea that this is an affirmation of their goals. But this sort of blather is way too non-specific to have any real impact on your results.

If you want a real affirmation, try something like: "I'm going to be a professional, paid actor who earns my living with my craft. I'm going to be a nice person, a good collaborator and I'm going to have a life outside of my job."

And for pity's sake don't predict disaster. "I know I'm up against incredible odds and I'll probably starve, but I'm going to be an actor anyway." This kind of prediction has a terrible habit of coming true (in ways that you cannot predict).

If you meet someone who blabbers constantly about their "destiny" keep your distance. Individual disasters can often include those in the immediate vicinity.



4. Be competitive. Acting isn't a sport. There are no winners (or losers) at the end of a show. Well, the audience has a chance to lose if the show isn't worth the twenty bucks – but among actors there's no score at the end of the presentation.

The big downside of a competitive personality in show business is that others will feel you are trying to "beat" them and they won't want to work with you. Collaborate, don't compete.

There are many who say this is a competitive business and they are partially correct. But the competition is the individual aspirant's attempt to be better every time. It's about being good enough in the audition process to be considered a "possible." But after you get the part (or don't) the "competition" is over. Move on.

It's the "win at all costs" mentality that will get you heartily disliked (a bad outcome for an actor) and more importantly – it doesn't work that way.



5. Fill your life with pettiness, bitterness and jealousy. PB&J is not a sandwich - they are the three horsemen of the apocalypse in an actor's career.

The central element of any acting career is the inevitable rejection you must face. "I didn't get it." is a phrase you will hear and say many times in your theatrical career. Reacting to this rejection as if it is personal is a guaranteed way of failing to reach your goals.

If you believe that other people have an unfair advantage, or that you are being singled out for rejection, or that every rejection is proof that you have made the wrong choice – guess what? You're going to fail to achieve your dreams.

When someone else books a job, it has nothing to do with you. When another actor gets a break, it's her triumph -- but not your defeat. When you don't get the part, life is not over and there's no excuse for weeping and eating an entire gallon of cookie dough ice cream. There will always be other parts.

Is it easy to remain calm and positive in the face of rejection? Nope. But that is what you must learn to do if you want to have a career as an actor. Get used to it or get into another field of work.



6. Procrastinate. Do not put off until tomorrow what you should have done three weeks ago. People who procrastinate get in the habit of procrastinating. When things don't get done, hey – "Bob's your uncle!" – it's failure time.

Some people quote Scarlett O'Hara on this. "Tomorrow's another day." This is a very bad summation of your philosophy. Don't forget that Scarlett is a self-centered, spoiled woman filled with PB&J and she doesn't get anything she wants. And "fiddle-dee-dee" hardly compensates for a life full of disappointments.

If you need new pictures, because the one you have isn't working – don't put it off until your bills are paid – do it now. If you need to memorize a monolog and practice it until it's second nature, turn off that "Friends" re-run and do it now. If they are holding two days of auditions, make it your business to be there on the first day. Believe me, the habit of putting things off will guarantee a less than desirable result.

Those are six "mental" methods of failure. Here's a practical one:



7. Spend more than you can afford on headshots. Booking with an A-list photographer and making a large investment in make-up, hair, lighting, etc. is a bad idea in the beginning of your career. This is generally a hopeless attempt to get a headshot that makes you look like a movie star. Actually there are two failure strategies at work here.

First spending a lot of money to get a "session" with a top photographer and all that goes with it. By and large this won't work if the person in front of the camera doesn't know what he is doing. The person in front of the camera is you. Do you know what you're doing?

If you are still learning how to be photographed (a process that will take many photo sessions for most actors) spending a lot is a waste of your financial resources. (If your rich Aunt Minnie is willing to "lend" you thousands of dollars to keep trying this method – well that might work.)

However, it's been my observation that once an actor has spent upwards of two thousand bucks for some pictures – it's very hard for them to "toss them out" - even if the headshot isn't working. The more you pay for your headshots (as a percentage of your income) the less likely you are to "cut your losses" and move on.

Flogging a headshot that does not work (get you called in) is the number one cause of most career doldrums. This advice doesn't apply if you're already a star. A star can use any old headshot.

The second part of this failure method is the idea that "looking like a movie star" is what it's all about. That idea is wrong on many levels. You are not a movie star. You are an actor. Someday you may be a movie star. That's what happens to some successful actors. But until you reach that point, you are better off working on looking as much like you as you can. Especially in your headshot. It counts.

Of course, I've only scratched the surface of the myriad "failure methods" out there, but I'm sure you see the pattern.

Being a successful actor is like most other professional pursuits – there will be ups and downs – but to guarantee a life full of downs, just use any of these methods I've outlined above.

ere are 11 bottom line (absolutely necessary) habitual behaviors that every "pro" actor must possess.

YOU MUST BE ON TIME

If you can't get anywhere on time now, you'd better learn how before you attempt the “real world” of an acting career.

On a big film the money is going out the door at about 50 grand every 20 minutes. On a network TV show the rate is only slightly less. If you are an actor who is ten minutes late for a job that pays five hundred bucks – you will be heartily disliked by the producer and everybody that works for the producer. People will scream at you. If you are late for an audition, the casting director will worry that you won't get to the job on time.

Because the reality is this: if you're late for a job, that casting director will also have people screaming at her. Understand? NEVER BE LATE.

YOU MUST BE ABLE TO WORK A LONG DAY

There is no such thing as an eight-hour day in an acting career. In forty years, I've had about 23 eight-hour days. And two of those were because somebody died. If you cannot work a long day, you are unsuited for success as an actor in professional show business. IT'S LO-O-NG HOURS.

YOU MUST BE AN EARLY RISER

I know it's nice to laze around in bed when you've got a day off, but this is a habit no actor can afford. Grasp the idea that if you want to be in the movie or television business, you must be the kind of person who can get up at five in the morning. All the time. Period. If you work in the theatre, your early rising will fall about 10 AM – because you work into the night. But if you plan on working in “the industry” or "the business," you'd do well to make early rising a life-long habit. WAKE UP THE ROOSTER.

YOU MUST BE A PLEASANT PERSON UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES

Early starts and long hours mean that you will be spending (on average) about half your life with co-workers. If you are a pain in the a@# – you will be heartily disliked by other people who are also working 12 hour days. Word will get around. It will be harder to get work. BE NICE.

YOU MUST LOVE THE WORK

You have to keep your “creative juices” flowing during the entire 12 hours. If you don't love acting, being 'on' for 12 hours is impossible. Don't forget why you are doing this. LOVE.

YOU MUST BE WELL-GROOMED AND CLEAN

You are not the part. Even the guys who play bikers and bums wear deodorant. The teeth are clean. The breath is pleasant. Etc. I know this seems nit-picky, but a co-worker who literally “stinks” will get a reputation and lose opportunities because of it. I've seen it happen. And when it comes to casting agents, who see hundreds of actors in a week – well, odors are their number one pet peeve – and heavy perfume or cologne both fall into this category. CLEANLINESS IS IMPORTANT.

YOU MUST NOT COMPLAIN (WITH ONE PROVISO)

Those actors on sets who complain about the dressing rooms, the food, the director, the co-star, the costume people, the hours, the script, or pretty much anything to do with the production – are labeled as "complainers" or a@#h*%s – and they are rarely appreciated or tolerated for very long.

Actors near the bottom of the ladder who think it's “smart” to gripe about every little screw-up, are putting a bulls-eye on their butts. Don't become one of those actors or you will find yourself near the bottom of the ladder for a long, long time.

Nobody reaches out to complainers. Nobody, including you, even likes complainers. Besides, complaining about circumstances doesn't work. If you want to be thought of as someone NICE – DON'T COMPLAIN.

(The proviso to this is that you must never let anyone abuse or berate you – in those cases, complain to the authorities – loudly and often).

YOU MUST NOT SPREAD RUMORS

Rumor-mongering is the first sign of someone who isn't really interested in the job at hand – someone so bored or so shallow that they must talk about other people, instead of concentrating on the acting job at hand. When you hear someone say, "Oh, I worked with (fill in the name of a movie star), he's a pig." – excuse yourself and go somewhere else. You do not want to be around this sort of person. 93.3 percent of all rumors are false. The other 6.7% are probably none of your business.

Again, actors who are rumor-mongers are labeled and eventually work dries up. Talk business, talk philosophy, talk about the weather – but avoid the temptation to talk about other people (except in the most glowing terms).

Watch the stars when they are asked about other performers. Have you ever heard a star say, "She's an idiot." No, they are always upbeat, positive, complimentary – because they know the rumor mill is a two way street. If avoiding this sort of thing is good behavior for stars (and most behave this way) then what's stopping you from adopting the same habit? NO RUMORS.

DRUGS, DRINKING, AND SCREWING AROUND

I'm sure you know what people think of people who are more interested in sin than cinema. You will be labeled. People will not forget. Work will be harder to get. JUST SAY "NO THANK YOU."

JEALOUSY AND BAD FEELINGS

Jealousy is one of the main causes of actors "messing up" on one of these crucial behaviors listed above. Jealousy leads to bad decisions. Bad decisions lead to bad results. And jealousy allows you to blame others for your results. You will begin to believe that things aren't fair. You will begin to look for “reasons” for your lack of progress. They will, no doubt, be well argued reasons – but an excuse by any other name... is still an excuse.

Jealousy is a bad path – it's a step on the wrong ladder– you're on the wrong street – you're a stranger in a strange land – GET A MAP.

The same goes for other "negative" emotional reactions. Self blame. Frustration. Fear. Anxiety. Worry.

This is business. "There's no crying in baseball."

Besides, wallowing in your emotional reaction slows down your forward progress toward your acting success.

GIVE GOOD VALUE FOR THE DOLLAR

When you habitually give 110% of your energy to your acting work – you will get more acting work.

It's a mortal lock.

Answer 2

There is not a lot you can do at home, except read and memorize some monologues. The best book on basic acting ever is Rehearsal by Miriam Franklin available at bookfinder.com. Be sure to get a 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th edition. one before a co author rewrote the book. Next read Don Richardson's Acting without Agony. Later when you have more experience there will be a couple of other books. Avoid any other acting books for now. You will cry on cue when you learn how to act. When you are in character and doing what an actor is supposed to do in character, you will cry when it is time to cry. Read lots of plays, all you can, and find some long speeches by characters who are like you in age and physical type and memorize and practice doing these speeches so you have prepared monologues for auditions. For more information, read my profile and write to me at my aol address.

Answer 3

When I was a kid I had an acting coach and we would close our eyes and totally go into one of our moods. At first it took me up to an hour to start to cry or get mad. After doing it everyday for a few months I could cry on cue like that! Now I'm a professional actor and my next performance if going to be in Oliver! on December 9th.