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Simple Acting Exercises You Can Do Frome Home

 

Donald has always wanted to be an actor since he was a kid. Every month his father would take him to see a movie; sometimes, the movie was an action-packed blockbuster, and other times, it was a drama about a struggling family. Regardless of what genre he saw, Donald enjoyed every second of those films. But when he went to audition for his school play, Donald realized he had a problem; he could not act the same way his favorite stars did in the movies. Donald thought it was as simple as acting like she normally does, but it was difficult for him to properly convey the same character and emotions that amazed him on the big screen. Therefore he decided to do some acting exercises.

 

The importance of acting exercises

 

Some people liken famous actors to having incredible talent. However, acting, like many things in this world, is, first and foremost, a skill. It is exceedingly rare for someone to be exceptional at anything with minimal experience; even then, there will be flaws to be worked on. The talented are those who enhance their natural abilities with hours of hard work and refinement. Normally, it would be best for someone like Donald to take acting classes, but there are some exercises he can do in the meantime by himself. Acting classes use various games to teach skills, but Donald especially wants to know what skills he will practice.

 

Using Imagination

 

One thing Donald should do is train his imagination. While imagination may seem like a skill more related to writers and directors, imagination is a powerful tool for actors. An actor must be able to imagine how a scene would play out if it were real to sell the audience on a scene. Therefore, an actor should be able to imagine entire scenes in their head. 

 

Attributing Traits to Things

 

There may need to be more than just imagination to help actors bring scenes to life. They must understand the scene's details to translate it to an audience. One way to flex the mind is to think of different emotions and add details. For example, if Donald picks anger, he should imagine what makes him angry. It could be anything from annoying neighbors to a memory of his siblings stealing a toy from his room as a kid. Adding these details to each emotion will help Donald understand how to act an emotion. But Donald can apply this exercise to more than just emotions. For example, he can imagine himself in a car crash scene. In this acting exercise, he should think about the different sensations he would feel before, during, and after the crash. Donald can attribute ideas like how soft the seats are, the intensity of the car’s speed, the sudden rush, and panic when the car suddenly jerks and goes flying, what his character would think in this situation, and the emotions they would feel, etc. By practicing attributing details, Donald will gain a greater understanding of how one would act in his scenes. 

 

 Sense Memory

 

Memorizing a script is key to any acting role. Of course, Donald can attempt reading and acting out the script, but an easier way may be to apply some of the abovementioned skills. Therefore, if Donald applies ideas and details to each scene, it will make his lines easier to remember. For example, if a scene occurs in the cold, Donald can imagine himself shivering. This is a concept called sense memory.

 

Physical and Vocal

 

Training one’s body is important for acting. Actors often use their bodies to help convey gestures and emotions but may even need to do stunts which will require some fitness training. Even voice actors often emote with their bodies to bring out quality in their lines. To start with, do some stretches; roll the neck, circle the arms, bend the waist, and more. If Donald wants to be in active production, he may want to do some cardio or calisthenics. On that topic, training someone’s breathing also can help with acting. Donald should also consider facial exercises to help make dynamic faces. He can massage his face in front of a mirror to loosen everything up. Then he can practice opening and closing his mouth, stretching his face and tongue to make a variety of expressions. Donald should also consider expanding his vocal range by practicing humming, flurrying the tongue, and even saying tongue twisters repeatedly are all simple exercises Donald can do by himself.