Tonight, I taught a fabulous group of developing actors. We have been working on a monologue for 6 weeks (with the extra week for Memorial Day (thank you who serve!) off.
Not to get into too much detail, but the biggest note I found myself giving to my students is for them to go ALL THE WAY...to rehearse their monologues "over the top" physically, emotionally & technically on their own. ***Then they can find safety in that huge release of extreme emotion...(in the way of control that only the character can dictate) (read that again, that was totally important, Folks!). They can blow each moment (beat) absolutely out of proportion in a personal rehearsal (or with me coaching them with my acting whistle) . By giving themselves poetic license to go bananas, it will make it more clear to "tell the story" of each moment in this monologue HUGE and then AND ONLY THEN can the actor honestly whittle it down their performance to appropriate audition scale. In theatre, we have to remember that we must project every detail. On camera, every detail will give you away as an amateur or a pro.
Not to get into too much detail, but the biggest note I found myself giving to my students is for them to go ALL THE WAY...to rehearse their monologues "over the top" physically, emotionally & technically on their own. ***Then they can find safety in that huge release of extreme emotion...(in the way of control that only the character can dictate) (read that again, that was totally important, Folks!). They can blow each moment (beat) absolutely out of proportion in a personal rehearsal (or with me coaching them with my acting whistle) . By giving themselves poetic license to go bananas, it will make it more clear to "tell the story" of each moment in this monologue HUGE and then AND ONLY THEN can the actor honestly whittle it down their performance to appropriate audition scale. In theatre, we have to remember that we must project every detail. On camera, every detail will give you away as an amateur or a pro.