Tips for Successful Acting

Video Transcript

"Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon we will mend. Else the Puck a liar call, so goodnight unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends. The very last line spoken by Puck, in William Shakespeare's Midsummer's Nights Dream; one of my favorite plays, and to date, probably my favorite role. Hi, I'm Janice Creneti. I'm the director of The Girlstories Theater Project, with Powerstories, Inc., in Tampa, Florida, and I'm here to talk to you today about tips for being a successful actor. What is it that makes a good actor a good actor? Well, I'd like to share some ideas with you. I would say rule number one as an actor is know your instrument. That's your voice primarily, and your body as well. Certainly, I moved very differently when I was playing a character like Puck, a little woodland creature scampering up and down rocks. I even got to fly in and out which was really exciting, but I had to really think about how would I move my body to show that I was not quite human; your voice. Your voice is the main way that you communicate information as an actor. You need to be able to project, you need to be able to speak clearly, we call that articulation, so the audience can hear you and understand you. After all, you're giving the story to them in the form of your words and your body movement. So, knowing your instrument vocally, knowing your physical body is very important. For me, working on the physical piece is very important in my character development. Once you've got those basics down it's time to start thinking about your character. Who is your character? How does your character act when they're happy? How does your character act when they're sad? I always try to bring a little bit of me into the character, because I think it really animates it and brings it to life. It also makes the audience feel the character is more believable. Sometimes, if you're doing a very serious role it can even be beneficial to think about your character's history; what might have happened in their life to bring them to this point. That can help you say some of the more serious lines with more truth and believability. So, once you know how to use your instrument and you know who your character is the last thing you want to be aware of is what kind of show am I doing? There's actually many different styles of theater. Commedia dell'Arte is very animated and very exaggerated, as opposed to some contemporary reality theater which is much more realistic, musical comedies where you're singing and dancing, or even Greek tragedy where you're communicating some very interesting history. So, know your instrument, know your character, and know your show. And that's the best way to be a successful actor. I'm Janice Creneti. Thanks!"