Learn...... Act.......Play
Acting isn't just for movie stars. It's for all of us. It lets us walk in other people's shoes, people and places from other moments in history. It gives us another avenue to communicate with each other. Acting entertains us with stories, shares information and can give us a place to practice what we might do in the future.
Now, how can we do it?
Energy
If I had to only pick one word to give to a generic acting student; one piece of acting advice that would affect in a positive way the greatest number of actors, it would be Energy.
I think it separates the men from the boys (so to speak) and it’s also maybe the easiest element of the actor’s toolbox to apply. A couple of kids from my church are auditioning for the high school play this week and their mom asked me if I could coach their audition pieces. During the hour I spent with them, I continually came back to Energy.
If your character is nervous, it’s nervous Energy.
If your character whines, the whine has Energy.
If your character laughs, the laugh has Energy.
If your character is angry or annoyed, it’s an angry kind of Energy.
A play isn’t really like ordinary life; it’s boiled down to the greatest hits of someone’s lifetime. The standout moments with all of the mundane edited out of the narrative. When we get to those highpoints in our own life, we’re wound up like a watch. We move with a purpose, we talk with a purpose; we interact with others in a very purposeful way. To step on stage and not create that Energy betrays the realism of the moment and makes the character uninteresting to watch.
Years ago, I had a friend named Tim whose acting I always enjoyed. I wanted to act the same way he did so I studied the way he did things and tried to boil down what it was that made him interesting to watch. It was his Energy. A few years later Tim had a scene in a movie where his only line was “Sit.” Tim delivered the line “Sit”.
And everyone in that scene did.