“Scene chewing” is an almost polite term for what most would call over acting. The etymology seems to be the idea that an actor is so absorbed by the performance he is giving that he actually leaves teeth marks on the set from having bitten down on same.
You know what defensive driving is; proceeding with caution when behind the wheel and being prepared for the event that the other driver(s) are not going to do what is expected of them. We don’t assume that they are certainly going to do the wrong thing, because then we would be distracted. But we try […]
What do a ballet, an opera, and a poetry reading all have in common?
Too many actors try to perform, both on stage and off of it, in a bubble. They don’t choose to interact with their fellow cast members, nor do the invest much in the venue in which they appear. Only their own ego and image are maintained within their head, and whatever lies outside of it […]
There are all kinds of ways for a person to die. Morbid but true. This means there are many ways in which a character in a play may die, thus necessitating an actor to perform various types of death scenes throughout his career.
In theatre, as in life, one cannot prepare for every single possible contingency. Things happen that catch us off guard, and that is the way it goes. But there are certain common things that can happen to an actor which may be minor in and of themselves, but wreak havoc on a performance. Ergo being […]
The actress Cynthia Nixon made history in 1984 by being one of the few known people to be in two Broadway shows at the same time. Both directed by Mike Nichols, the shows The Real Thing and Hurlyburly appeared just two blocks from one another, allowing Nixon to walk back and forth as needed between […]
Irony alert: audiences do not enjoy theatricality when they come to the theatre. People come to see a story. And in order to enjoy that story, they must be willing and able to ignore the fact that you are an actor performing a role. This cannot be done if with every step, word, expression and […]
My fellow actors have asked me about music enough lately that I thought the subject warranted a closer look. Specifically, what sort of music should (or shouldn’t) an actor listen to before starting a show.
No level of performing, (professional as well as community level) should have tolerance for rudeness as a prerequisite. A sense of self respect not only as an actor, but as a person should always be at the center of what you are doing. Yet I have found that in more cases than one might think, […]