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How to be a better actor?

I am in Brigadoon right now, cast in the role of Charlie Dalrymple. I can sing and I can dance, but my acting is not up to what it should be and the director is not happy. What do I need to do to keep my role? Character info: Betrothed, effervescent, kind, ecstatic, “larger than life”.

How to be a better actor?

Hi,

It’s not uncommon that some actors go through what you are going through.

If you had more time, I would tell you certain things, but this is an emergency situation.

I’m not an acting teacher and I don’t want to overstep that boundary and try and teach you things I’m not qualified to teach you. If you need help in getting your career going, then I can give you a lot of information. The thing is though that part of your career building strategy IS becoming a better actor.

The only piece of technical advice I will give you is:
remember don’t ACT, but rather BE Charlie Dalrymple. Don’t try too hard. Be that person. Build the character. The script and the story line give you clues as to the the person you are interpreting. You have to put in everything else. If it’s not in the script, create it. Create everything you can think of about his life, where he came from, grew up, how he lives, the things that are important to him, his points of view with regard to certain things, etc. It’s an enormous piece of work that really should be done in your preparation phase when you first get the script.
Another thing you will need is a technique that will help you access your emotions; the emotions you will need especially in certain moments throughout the play.

But to do these things all on your own, when you really don’t know how, will be difficult.

THE BEST THING that I could tell you if you really want to have the best chance of saving your job is to hire a personal acting coach, immediately.

Let this be a lesson to you though for future reference. You need to be in a GOOD acting class, on-going and have the mentality that you are never finished learning how to act! You need a good, solid technique to fall back on. I would suggest doing some research.

Start reading books by or about:

Stella Adler
Lee Strasberg
Sandford Meisner
Uta Hagen

for starters. They will enlighten you!

Then get into that class. This should be your number one priority.

Thank you for posting your question, because this is a great case study for my website visitors. It’s a great lesson! Especially for those who ask the question, “I want to get into acting. Where can I start auditioning?”, before they even take a class!

Good luck!

Tony

http://www.actingcareerstartup.com

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