Tips For New Actress

[IWasBornToLoveDisney]

i was just cast in a play yesterday, technically speaking it's my first play.

i've never really done anything like it, i mean sure i've done like Christmas programs but nothing to this scale.

the play is Our Town by Thornton Wilder and i'm Mrs. Webb.

i haven't gotten my script yet, but should be getting it on Monday.

i guess my question is; what is your advice for a new actress?

the play is student directed and the student directing the play i'm in (there are four plays going at once) i think is going to be tough.

Any advice?

thanks!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Our Town. A classic American play. When we read it in 8th grade English, I was Mrs. Webb, myself. Good times.

Tips for actors/actresses:

BE the character. What would they be thinking in this scene? How do they act? How do they carry themselves? Are they loud? Quiet? Intellectual? BE the character.

Memorize, memorize, memorize. Not just your lines, but the ones before them. Memorize most of the play if you can.

Look the other actors/actresses directly in the eye, as if you were talking to them as a friend/crush/etc.

Talk to the other actors/actresses as if you were having a normal conversation with them; acting should never be forced.

Break a leg

 

[DramaQueen]

there are sooo many different techniques you can use for learning your lines/acting etc.

my advice is just learn your lines so well that they're second nature, so that when you're performing you're not just yourself on stage saying the lines, but you can say the lines as the character would/should.

it's really up to you to interpret the character however you want, it's up to you to decide what mrs webb's personality is, how she would react to certain things, how she says things. One thing you can do is go through all the lines of think of what emotion/attitude you want to portray when you're saying that line. the director can certainly tell you that they don't think a certain line is working, so just change it up and try new things. eventually you'll figure out who mrs webb is (to you) and it'll all click.

also decide how mrs webb feels about the other characters. i don't know if you've been taught what 'subtext' is yet or not, but it's what's REALLY being said in the scene without actually saying it. (for example if someone says i love your skirt but they really hate it, the hating it part is the subtext). so you'll have to go through and read the whole play many times (not just your lines) to determine the subtext of each scene and determine your characters relationships with others, how she feels about others and how they feel about her.

work on your lines ever day even if you don't have rehearsal, just when you have nothing else to do, like when you're watching TV or something go over them in your head or out loud if you can.

i'm studying theatre in university and i've learned tons of stuff in my years of drama so if there's something specific you need advice on feel free to PM me because i could go on forever hehe.

anyways congrats on being cast!!! hope all goes well in the rehearsal process!

 

[LittleMissMusical]

develop your backstory: what happened to the character to make her act like this? what was life like for her when she was little? etc... i was just miss hanigan in annie and me, my director and the kid who played rooster spent a good two hours a week on backstory, who was older: rooster or hanigan? why does hanigan work where she does? why is she so mean? what is the relationship between rooster and hanigan?

it's never too early to memorize! if you start as soon as u get your script you'll have the ENTIRE show in your head by opening night.

cheat front: never turn your back to the audience, they didn't come to look at your butt.

don't eat/drink dairy products before a show, it messes up your voice.

if you are using mic's remember that at any given point it may be turned on, never get right off the stage and start talking, sometimes the techies forget/turn off the wrong mic. and if your mic turns off/ doesn't work remember to project!

identify relationship between each character you have lines with. if you two are very close relationship wise you can stand within three feet of there "bubble", if not, stay out of there bubble.

if you mess up pretend it never happened, you where meant to di that! the audience doesn't know if you came in late or said a variation of your line.

have fun!!!! people can tell if your not having fun, and it puts a different tone on the show. and remember you are all a team, and there are times when you have to save your teammates!!!

take direction from your director. if what they tell you doesn't seem right do it anyways, most likely they won't like it either and change it or ask for your interpretation.

your going to have a blast!!!! keep us posted on how it's going!

 

[Ppufi]

One thing not yet posted: STAY HEALTHY. You'll most likely be putting in long hours, especially towards the end. Stay hydrated. Bring water + 100% juice to your rehearsals. Try to eat healthy as well. And get enough sleep, even if you have to take naps or sleep in on weekends. No one wants to be sick for a performance; take it from someone who was sick for her last 2 weeks of her school's musical.

 

[froggy5657]

Congrats on the Part, I am assuming you will be having a ton of rehearsals for the show, so like the previous poster stay healthy, don't overexert yourself.

You shouldn't try to memorize your lines until you have rehearsed the scene at least once, that way if anything is changed it won't throw you off your game. After you rehearse the scene look over it at home, and transfer it into your memory banks, remember what you are doing on each line, and work on memorization.

Write down your blocking. The script is like a map, write down whatever you need to get to your destination correctly. Write down where to go onstage, the reason you want to go there, whatever helps you make the scene more natural.

Create a backstory, you ARE the character, so know yourself.

Know what you want out of the scene, what is your goal as a character, do you want to convince someone of something? Do you want to get a date? What is your character's goal in the scene?

Don't use the lines of others to get your lines, if they mess up it will throw you off. Know what they are supposed to say, but be prepared to work around other peoples mistakes if they forget a line, mess up a line, or skip a line.

Break a Leg!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mtukufu]

I think the best advice for any actor/actress is to know your part and to try to understand the emotions and personality of the character you are playing to the best of your ability, and to have the confidence to deliver lines as effectively as you can. Theatre is driven by character and story, and if you've got your character down flat, that's the best job you can do.

Break a leg!

 

[LittleMissMusical]

nothing is worse then being sick for a show!!!!!!! i came down with a 103 fever the last day of tech and had to preform with it too!!!!!! than k god the woman who played my mother in the show was a nurse!!!! it sucked! they had to put bronzer on my face and hands so i wouldn't look so pail under the already pailing stage lights!!!!