Your body will go numb even if you know your lines, even when you have the script in your hand, and even when the moment comes. In fact, you can find yourself in the middle of the scene, your body feeling like it has suddenly turned to ice and your hands don’t know what to […]
The problem with a monologue, especially at this stage in an actor’s development, is that it is usually treated as an emotional speech. The actor carries the whole piece with one emotional pitch, one pace, and one tone. This is fine for a few lines of dialogue, but then the words merge together into a […]
If you speak just one or two phrases from across a room, you will likely start with your jaw, or your voice will get stuck in the throat. The voice might momentarily become louder, but it quickly becomes tight; the jaw is held hard, the shoulders elevate, and the sound comes out of you like […]
A short scene looks easy because there are so few lines. Then rehearsal starts, and the actor is immediately overwhelmed with voice, body, cues, emotion, movement, and memorization. So before performing, read the scene first in a practical and slow way. The goal is not to make it dramatic right away. The goal is to […]
