The scene is great. You love the story and you’re thrilled to have the part. Your character has been through a lot and now the story is climaxing and you want to make sure you come of strong - but real. How do you act out those strong emotions so well that we can’t help but think it’s really happening to you?
There are some fine lines to this skill and not everyone is able to find them. And if you don’t, your scene will be a wash and feel like a B level performance. That’s what you don’t want. So give me just a few moments of your time to share some helpful valuable ways to sell the scene and own the emotion of the moment.
Get physical. This is the first tip. In order to be totally convincing, you need to make sure your whole body is behind the emotion. Think about a time in your life when you’ve been in similar situation. And if you haven’t - activate empathy and imagine what your body might be going through. Would your heart race? Would your face change? Do your shoulders round forward or chest pop out? Consider the emotion you’re needing to feel and embody it in your home. What would you do right now if you were really furiously angry? Maybe you’d close your hands in a fist and stomp around. Maybe you’d freeze and look around frantically. Maybe you’d freeze in maniacal shock. Think about your character now. How might they experience those emotions in their bodies? Practice this.
Building on the first step, the second step is simple. Think of the last time you were passionately angry, hurt or even excited. Could anyone keep you quiet? What did you go on and on about? Put yourself into an emotion from a scenario and rant about it. Go off on all the reasons you feel the way you feel, on all the reasons you have the right to feel that way and all the things going on inside you. Try this with a partner.
Once that build up has happened, it’s time to get noisy. Scream. Oh yes. Whether you’re sad or angry or excited, the scream is your dam breaking and allows your body to enter into full embodied emotion.
Lastly, if you know that’s the scene you’re about to do, get all in ahead of time. So the day before, feel those feelings and become the person. Focus on your pain. Focus on your anger. Focus on your joy. Focus on being consumed by the feeling and then let it all loose in your scene… not being dramatic, but feeling it.
I hope those tips help you take your skills further. And of course, there’s more where that came from at the New York Acting School for Film and Television, whether you choose to be coached or join a class. Contact us today to find the path that’s right for you!
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