Last week I read a piece on acting that led me to believe that the writer was confusing an audience’s reaction to a performance with the actor’s actual emotions.
That is a dangerous mix-up. We’d be in trouble if actors were only ever acting from an emotional place—that would make them vulnerable and unstable, incapable of handling rejection and criticism. If we were only ever acting from an emotional place, there would be no need for rehearsal; we’d just get up and do whatever we felt like doing. Of course, acting involves being touched by emotion—sometimes even overwhelmed by it—but it isn’t the same thing as being governed by it.
Actors craft their performances in order to give their audiences a satisfying experience; they don’t act out their own private dramas. And the way they craft their performances will depend on what they hope to achieve: laughing, crying, getting angry or cheering—these are the kinds of emotions you want your audience to have. But you can’t have those emotions unless you know what they are!
Here are four tests for finding out which emotions your acting projects and what you need to do about it:
Actors often ask me, “What emotions does my character show?” When I ask them what they think, their response is usually along the lines of “well…I don’t know. I just want to make sure that I am showing the right thing on my face.”
This is not a question of whether you are showing your emotions properly. It is a question of figuring out what emotion your character projects and making sure your choices as an actor match that intention in your script analysis.
This might seem like an obvious statement, but it isn’t always so cut and dry. It is easy to get confused about what emotion you are projecting versus how you feel internally while expressing it. Let’s take a closer look at this to understand the difference between these two ideas.
If you’re an actor, you need to know what you are communicating to the people around you. For example, do you ever feel like no one listens to what you have to say? Do people often misunderstand your point of view? Are you a shy person who is always being seen as timid and quiet?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then perhaps your acting projects insecurity and nervousness. First off, don’t worry. This is a common problem for actors (and everyone).
I am not suggesting that actors are insecure. Many actors are extroverts and confident–but sometimes it can be hard for them to present their confidence on stage and screen. Some actors’ energy is more directed inward than outward. And sometimes an actor’s confidence wavers–sometimes they feel nervous, anxious, or insecure–and this is projected onto their character.
In fact, during college I experienced this feeling of insecurity ALL THE TIME! I acted in a few plays, but mostly I was writing. I spent most of my time alone in my dorm room writing scripts. I would go days without talking to anyone besides my roommate (whom I got along very well with).
One day I decided that I wanted to audition for a play at the theatre
Empathy is one of the most important human traits. It allows us to connect with others and understand their feelings. Empathy is also a crucial skill for actors, who often find themselves in the role of someone else. And empathy is not only important when it comes to portraying real people; it’s also beneficial when creating fictional characters as well.
Empathy can help you bring more depth to your performance. But how do you know what emotions you project? That’s where this app comes in. Emotion Detector uses artificial intelligence to analyze your facial expressions and guess what you’re feeling. To use the tool, simply upload a photo of yourself and press the button. The results will appear on your screen shortly after that.
Emotion Detector analyzes your face and guesses what emotions you’re projecting based on a universal set of characteristics associated with basic feelings like happiness, anger, surprise, or sadness. By comparing these features to those found in a database of facial expressions, the app can make an educated guess about what you’re feeling at any given moment.
When I was in grad school, we did a series of exercises with the goal of understanding how we project emotions. The first exercise was to go around the room, pointing at each classmate and saying what emotion they projected. For example, when we pointed to one girl in our class and said she looked angry, she replied that she had been feeling stressed and anxious earlier that day.
The next part of the exercise was to be on the receiving end of those projections: We were to sit in front of a mirror, look at ourselves and name what emotions we projected. This is not as easy as it sounds. As with most people, looking into a mirror makes me feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. I try to avoid mirrors whenever possible; I’m not alone in this habit.
When we’re acting on stage or camera, we don’t want to appear uncomfortable or self-conscious. We want to be open and present. So how can we use this exercise as an actor?
In order to answer this question, let’s first look at why most actors dislike looking at themselves in a mirror while they act.
If you’ve ever been in a play, you know that playing a character involves more than just going through the motions. It’s about embodying another person, a set of emotions, and a set of life experiences.
How do you get there? The answer lies in the ancient art of storytelling.
For centuries, actors have used stories to create characters. In the 19th century, Konstantin Stanislavski was one of the first to write down this process. His system became the foundation for much of modern acting theory and practice.
Stanislavski believed that actors must reach deep into their own experiences as human beings to find ways to bring characters to life on stage. He thought they could do so by finding connections between the story they were telling and their own lives and emotions.
The theory is this: To convey an emotion on stage, you first need to experience it yourself. This means digging deep into your own past—the good times and the bad—and using your own experiences as the foundation for your performance.
It works like this: You read a play or a screenplay and immediately identify with one or more of its characters. Or perhaps you’re given an audition scene and asked to interpret it for a
The first thing you want to do is determine your emotional range for each of these prompts.
The best way to do that is to record yourself and watch the video. I would recommend using a tripod or a phone stand so you can see your face, and preferably have it at eye level.
This recording doesn’t need to be “pretty” or perfect, since you will be the only one watching it. So the lighting doesn’t need to be great or the background, just focus on getting your face in view!
I also recommend re-recording multiple times until you get a good take. Don’t be afraid to sound silly or feel silly.
The more takes you get, the better you can understand how you react emotionally compared to how you want it to come across.
