Instructions:

There are two types of facial expressions:

- Reflexive everyday facial expressions;

- Conscious facial expressions. It helps actors consciously achieve the facial expressions they want.

Since ancient times, humanity has been familiar with physiognomy. This is the art of reading faces, which was especially developed in China during the Middle Ages, as well as in Japan. In these countries, special schools were even created in which facial expressions were studied millimeter by millimeter. Based on their accumulated experience, physiognomists tried to determine the nature and fate of every bump on the face, every redness or blanching of the skin.

Exercises to develop facial expressions usually start with the simplest and end with complex training, the effectiveness of which will increase with each session.

First you need to develop the mobility of your facial muscles. To do this, you need to make voluntary movements with your facial muscles. Try to loosen your face while restoring optimal mobility. After a certain period of time after starting training, you will notice that your face has become freer and can take on a variety of expressions. At the same time, you will not feel absolutely any tension, because the initial exercises consist mainly of relaxing the facial muscles.

Along with starting exercises for developing facial expressions, it is very useful to do special exercises for developing correct speech. Thanks to this, in the future the development of facial expressions will occur much faster, and the development process will become intuitive and simple.

Next, using the facial muscles, you need to depict various emotions in front of the mirror. Try pronouncing different words with shades of different emotions. For example, you can say the word “Hello!” with joy, with rudeness, with rage, with anger, and so on. It's all up to your imagination. Pretty soon you will see that your face takes on the shades of emotions you need, depending on the color of your condition. In addition, all these movements will not be voluntary. You will be in complete control and awareness of them.

The final stage in the development of your facial expressions will be the following exercise. Have your partner stand in front of you and begin to depict various kinds of emotional states.

Exercises for facial expressions

1. FACIAL WARM-UP

Before playing on stage, the actor needs to do a facial warm-up. This is also a good way to start each theater group lesson. Take the mirror. Find the moving parts of the face: eyebrows and forehead, eyes, lips and cheeks, tongue, nose (nostrils). Take turns moving only your eyebrows, for example. Raise them as high as possible, then lower them as low as possible. Raise one eyebrow at a time, then the other. Then make several different movements with your eyes and lips. 3-5 minutes of warm-up will give you a feeling of mobility in your face. You will feel that it has become easier for you to even speak (provided that you have stretched your lips and tongue well before).

2. STUDY YOUR FACE

It is very important for an actor that his face is expressive. If a person expresses his emotions well on his face, then it is easier for the viewer to understand the scene.

Let's examine our face. I recommend this exercise as one of the first exercises on facial expressions. Why do you need to know your face? We do not always know how we look in a given situation (when we are surprised, for example, or when we are angry). Having studied his facial expressions and corrected them, the actor will be sure that when playing anger in a scene, he is portraying anger on his face, and not fussiness, for example. In my practice, I have met people who depicted some emotions on their faces in a non-standard way, not like everyone else. For example, let’s feign surprise. What do you do when you are surprised? The mouth is slightly open, the eyebrows creep up, the eyes open wide. This is a common facial expression. If an actor plays like this, the audience will understand that he is surprised. But I know a guy who, instead of surprise, could read something completely different on his face. He did this with his eyes, as if he was flirting. In this case, the viewer may not understand the scene correctly. Therefore, you need to study your face.

So, let each actor bring a small mirror with him from home. Sit back and start portraying emotions. Let the whole group do this at the same time at the command of the leader. The leader’s task is to watch who portrays what and correct facial expressions. For example, someone needs to raise their eyebrows higher, or squint their eyes, etc. The facial expression of each actor can be discussed by the whole group, and together they can easily come to the right conclusion. What emotions should actors be able to portray on their faces? I offer 10 of the most common masks.

3. TEN MASKS

These are the masks (facial expressions) that will surely come in handy when acting in Christian theater. Be sure to discuss each mask with the group. Discuss in detail: how should an actor look? Should he blink his eyes? Should he lower his eyes? Should I open my mouth? Should I raise my eyebrows? Etc.

So, I propose the following masks, from which you need to choose the 10 most commonly used, in your opinion.

1. Fear

2. Anger

3. Love (being in love)

4. Joy

5. Humility

6. Repentance, remorse

7. Crying

8. Shyness, embarrassment

9. Meditation, reflection

10. Contempt

11. Indifference

12. Pain

13. Drowsiness

14. Petition (you ask someone for something)

Remember what your face looks like in the mirror when you create these masks. When playing on stage, you must produce in your memory all the masks correctly and expressively. Remember the movements of your facial muscles. Draw them during the game as you did in front of the mirror. Then you will do it involuntarily.

4. SECRET: HOW TO BETTER PICTURE EMOTIONS

It is not always easy to portray certain emotions on your face. Well, how can you make your face angry if you are kind at heart? I'll tell you a little secret. To better portray, for example, contempt, say the appropriate words to yourself (look, who do you look like? Yes, I can’t stand you, look at what you’re wearing? And aren’t you ashamed of what you does it stink? Etc.) It may not be entirely ethical, but it helps.

5. MINI-STORY FOR TWO ACTORS

Have two actors act out the following situations without words:

• One reads the newspaper, laughs, the other peeks
• Two people are traveling on public transport. One is sitting, the other is standing and wants the one sitting to give him a seat, and the one sitting pretends not to notice him
• Two people sit at the table and eat. One treats, but the other does not want to eat some dish, he tries to spit it out while the other does not see, and put it on his plate, etc.

6. MINI-STORY FOR ONE ACTOR

Write a task for each person in your theater group on a piece of paper. The actors take turns depicting the mini-story described there using facial expressions. Let the rest of the participants guess what they saw. Mini stories can be the following:

• You turned on the TV. They are showing some kind of horror movie. You're scared. You close your eyes. Then switch to another program. They show something funny there. Switch again. They show football there. They scored a goal. Hooray! Portray your emotions. Switch again. There's some kind of obscene film on here, and you're ashamed to watch it. Another channel - there is something boring here, you fall asleep.
• Reading a magazine
• You are writing a letter
• Listening at the door
• Eat something delicious, then it makes you sick
• You look at the paintings at the exhibition, trying to peel off the paint without being noticed.

7. EMOTIONS IN FACES

amazement	surprise-indignation	suffering
joy	suspicion	cry
fright	thoughtfulness	anger
pain	hopelessness	shock

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ACTING LESSONS FROM HOLLYWOOD STARS

Friday, July 11, 2008 - 19:08 / 3786 views

The idea for this unique photo shoot came from photographer David Schatz. He gave famous actors tasks to depict this or that situation with facial expressions. The stars were at their best.

Hugh Laurie 1. You are an exemplary family man and a good father. You are having dinner with your wife when your 15-year-old daughter tells you that she is pregnant.2. You are a young designer. The morning before your first show, you realize that your collection is not ready to be shown and there is not a single “amazing” thing in it.

3. You are a narcissistic, arrogant member of the British Parliament. You are giving a speech that is broadcast live by the BBC and you are terrified by the sound of your own voice.

David Strathearn 1. You are a 9-year-old boy who hears for the first time from your 16-year-old brother where babies come from.2. You are an exalted evangelist who exclaims during the sermon: “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you Jesus! Thank you!"

3. You are a former athlete. You are incredibly angry at the referee who called a penalty for a foul on your 7-year-old son.

John Goodman 1. You're a nerd who flirts with a cheerleader and doesn't realize that you have no chance of success.2. You are leaving the nursing home where your wife is staying. For the first time, she didn't recognize you when you arrived.

3. You are the coach of a college basketball team yelling at the referee. You know that if you get sent off, your guys will play more aggressively.

John Malkovich 1. You are a young naive actress, you are new to Hollywood. Your agent just called you and told you that you were cast in a big movie, according to the script, George Clooney will be in love with you.2. You are a builder. You and your work buddies are sitting at a construction site about to have lunch. You shout to a sexy girl passing by, “Hey, hottie, want to see what's in my lunchbox?”

3. You are a mediocre drug dealer, you owe a ton of money to the big mafia boss. Your courier just told you that “the wind suddenly came and blew away two bags of your cocaine.”

Whoopi Goldberg 1. You are the exemplary wife of a famous televangelist. You just found out that your husband was having an affair with a call man and the press knows about it.2. You're a rich lady on Fifth Avenue, wishing "Merry Christmas" to the doorman you never tip.

3. You are Barbara Walters, interviewing a recently divorced actress. You ask her about the last film, and then immediately ask the question: “Was it very painful for you that he left you for a young woman?”

Michael Douglas

Self-instruction manual of ACTING

Collectiveness of acting creativity

Theater, being a collective form of creativity, is created from the artistic contributions of various creative specialties: these are actors and directors and musicians and choreographers and many others. Collectivity is the fundamental difference between theater and individualistic forms of creativity, such as literature or painting.

The collective nature of creativity becomes especially important in relation to acting work. Therefore, it is fundamentally important that almost from the very beginning of learning acting skills, it is necessary to pay close attention to developing a “sense of community” in beginners. The authors of this tutorial express doubts that it makes sense to practice the exercises and sketches proposed in it alone: ​​in this case, some of their most important components will inevitably be lost. We recommend that you use the self-instruction materials individually if you have at least some experience in stage performances.

Exercises to develop a collective “sense of community” for beginners in acting training are therefore addressed to the master, manager or group leader and should occupy an important place at the beginning of the team’s work (based on work experience, they should be addressed during the first six months of training). These same exercises are also advisable for further work, as a means of gathering attention and mobilizing the group before the start of a lesson or rehearsal.
In addition to the exercises given below, these goals are achieved with the help of any games, preferably related to movement in space, that are of a collective nature. A set of core games and game elements that can be “woven” into the performance of any exercise, which will decorate it and make it multifunctional, can be found in the book “Pedagogical sacraments of didactic games” from the series Library of the practicing teacher V.M. Bukatov, Moscow, "Flinta", 1997.

Exercises, games and game elements of collectivity.

Chairs. The presenter or teacher gives the command to build a figure or letter from chairs. The students’ task is to build the required figure as quickly and silently as possible (negotiations are prohibited) (a circle facing outward, the letter p facing the window, etc.). An additional complication of the task is the requirement of simultaneity (get up from a chair at the same time, lift at the same time, etc.).
Stand on your fingers. The presenter turns his back to the group, shows a sign with any number (from 1 to 10), (you can just have a certain number of fingers), starts counting (to three or to five, then sharply turns to the group. At the moment of turning, the number of people standing (or sitting, lying, etc.: as agreed) should be equal to the number written on the sign. The condition of the exercise is complete silence of execution.
Japanese car. Each student thinks of a short word or number (not repeated) and tells the others. Next, the leader introduces a simple four-beat rhythm with some movement for each measure. After the group has mastered the simultaneous execution of the rhythm, for the last two measures the students begin to convey “leadership” using the intended words, calling their own word first, and then someone else’s. The one whose word is called becomes the leader for the next beat and also transfers leadership to the other. “The leader who misses his word or does not get his share is eliminated.
The third one is extra. A well-known game that hardly needs any commentary.
Constructions. Participants must line up as quickly as possible and silently (without communicating) according to any given parameter (alphabetically, according to the first letters of the middle name; ascending apartment number, etc.)
Roulette. Participants are divided into two groups, one representative each sits at the table, opposite each other and puts their hands on the table. A coin is placed between them. When the leader claps, they must cover the coin with their hand - whoever is faster. They should not react to all other signals from the leader (stomping, sounds) - they should not move (one who moves his hand at the wrong time loses). The place of the loser is taken by another representative of the group.
Typewriter. Students distribute the alphabet among themselves (each gets several letters) and use the typewriter keys to determine which letters they get. Hitting the right key is a clap from the right person (who got it). Someone suggests typing some phrase, and the participants “type” by clapping at the right moment with equal intervals between the “letters.” A space is indicated by a common clap for the entire group, a period is indicated by two common clap.
Earth - water - air - fire. The presenter points to one of the participants standing in the circle, telling him one of the key words. The one pointed to must (no later than five counts counted by the leader) name (without repetition) the animal - fish - bird or turn around himself accordingly. The one who makes a mistake is eliminated.
Wand. Participants pass each other a pen (or other object) in a certain order (or at the request of the owner of the wand), offering to continue the sentence (phrase) they started. The person receiving the wand must come up with a continuation on five counts and becomes the master himself, assigning the task to the next one. The owner can guess a person’s profession with a pose, an action with a gesture, etc.
Arms and legs. According to one of the presenter’s signals (for example, a single clap), the participants must raise their hands (or lower them, if they are already raised at the time of the signal); according to another (for example, a double clap), they must stand up (or, accordingly, sit down). The performers' task is to hold out as long as possible without confusing signals and maintaining the overall rhythm and noiselessness of movements. If there are enough participants, it is better to split into two teams and check which team will last longer (using a stopwatch), improving the result of the previous one.
Rhythms. The teacher or one of the participants shows a rhythm consisting of clapping, stomping, etc. sound effects. The participants’ task is to, observing the given tempo and duration of pauses, perform in turn (in a given order) only one element of the rhythm (clap, stomp, etc.)
Rhythmic entry. At the beginning of the lesson, come up with some kind of rhythm common to all participants and take their places to this rhythm (each time the rhythm should change, becoming more complex and varied, including not only clapping and stomping, but also all possible sound effects). When the group can confidently perform this exercise, you can connect creative tasks to the rhythm (bravura, sad, etc.) or achieve development and diversity within a given rhythm, dividing it into parts.
Orchestra. The presenter distributes parts of various instruments among the participants, consisting of claps, stomping, and all possible sound effects. The participants' task is to rhythmically perform a well-known piece of music (or a rhythmic score composed on the spot) under the direction of a conductor who controls the volume of the overall sound and introduces and removes individual parts.
Machine gun fire. Participants sit in a circle and the leader sets the pace of the machine-gun fire (slow at first) with three claps. Participants take turns clapping at exactly the same pace, gradually (very slowly) accelerating to the speed of a machine gun burst (the clapping almost merges), and having reached the maximum speed, they also begin to slowly reduce it.
Pose transfer. Participants stand in a line. The first one comes up with some complex pose (the others don’t see which one) and, at the presenter’s signal, “transmits” it to the second one (he must remember it as accurately as possible in 10-15 seconds). At the next signal from the leader, the first “takes off” and the second “takes” this pose. Then the pose is transferred from the second to the third participant, etc. The task is to transfer the pose as accurately as possible from the first to the last performer. If there are enough participants, it is better to split into two teams and “transmit” one pose given by the leader - who is more accurate.
Bull and cowboy. Two participants stand at a distance from each other (at least 5 meters), one turns his back - this is a bull, the second takes an imaginary rope in his hands - this is a cowboy. At the signal to start, the cowboy must throw an imaginary rope over the bull and pull him towards him (the bull, of course, resists). The exercise will be successful if the participants manage to synchronize their actions so that the audience “sees” an imaginary rope stretched between them.
Mirror. One of the participants becomes the leader, the second becomes his reflection in the mirror, i.e. copies all his actions and movements as accurately as possible.
Wordless elements of influence
“Each human action has a specific goal (even if not always conscious) and it can be decomposed into component actions of a smaller scope. The smallest components of action are assessment, adaptation and impact.”

Grade
“Evaluation is the first moment of any action conscious by the subject, when the goal of the action just arises in consciousness.”
““Assessment” is a moment during which it is necessary, figuratively speaking, to “get into your head” something seen, heard, perceived in one way or another, in order to determine what to do, taking into account a new circumstance.”
“From the mental side, this is the moment of establishing in consciousness a connection between interests (a common goal) and one or another external, objective phenomenon. At the moment of “evaluation,” the general subjective goal, becoming more specific, turns into a private objective goal, that is, into a goal that is both objective and subjective... From the external, muscular side, “evaluation” is always more or less long-term and more or less complete immobility.”
“The most difficult thing to “get into your head” is a fact of extreme importance and extremely unexpected... The more difficult the “assessment”, the correspondingly longer it is - the longer the immobility that enters into it and follows the first reflex movements.”
The “nature of “appreciation” is akin to the phenomenon called “surprise.” But with this word, as a rule, we call only strong degrees of “assessment,” that is, long, difficult assessments.”

Extension

“ADJUSTMENT begins immediately after the “evaluation” - at the very moment when a specific, objective goal has arisen in consciousness. “Additionalization” is, in essence, overcoming physical barriers, obstacles on the subject’s path to his goal, while his attention is not absorbed by them, but for the purpose of subsequent influence."
“First of all, “extensions” can be divided into two groups: “extensions” for influencing inanimate objects, and “extensions” for influencing a partner.”
“... when “adjusting” to the impact on a living person, we are forced to proceed from our subjective ideas about his properties and qualities... the nature of such an “addition” is determined primarily by what, in the actor’s opinion, the partner’s reaction to the subsequent impact will be... Moreover, the main role What plays here is the actor’s idea of ​​the balance of power between himself and his partner.
For example, I have the right to demand, my partner is obliged to obey me; I am stronger than him; He needs me more than I need him."
“Thus, “extensions” for influencing a living person can be divided into groups: one we will call “extensions from below”, the other “extensions from below”... and the middle, intermediate group of “extensions” - “equally”.”
“The extensions “below” and “above” differ from each other not only in their mental content, but also from the external muscular side...”
“The muscular mobilization of the attachment “from above” is the opposite of the muscular mobilization of the attachment “from below.” The one who is attached “from below” reaches out to the partner, he is preparing to receive what he asks for in such a way as to complicate the partner as little as possible, he is forced to wait and be fully prepared to perceive any reaction from the partner... In every in a moment he is ready to answer"
“The “on top” extension, on the contrary, is characterized by a tendency to be taller than the partner... to straighten the spine. That is, to lean away from the partner.”
“The extension “on an equal footing” is characterized accordingly by muscular looseness, or even looseness, negligence.”
““Additions” are extremely expressive precisely because they are involuntary. They “automatically,” reflexively reflect what is happening in a person’s soul: his state of mind, his attitude towards his partner, his self-image, and the degree of his interest on target."

Weight

“Many features of “outbuildings” (and human behavior in general) are associated with the feeling (of course, subconscious) of the weight of one’s own body.”
"Body weight is not an absolute value, but a relative value - in relation to weight and human strength..."
"Passion for a task, prospects for success, hopes "inspire" a person, increase his strength or reduce the relative weight of his body... All this entails straightening the spine, raising the head and general muscular mobilization, "up", lightening the head, body, arms , legs, etc., right down to open eyes, raised eyebrows and a smile... A decrease in interest in the matter, the expectation of defeat, extinction reduce strength or increase the relative weight of the body."
“If something significant happens to a person, then his weight changes to the same extent.”
To master this parameter of human behavior, it is technologically convenient to distinguish three “weights”: heavy, light and with dignity.

Mobilization

From the mental side, “mobilization” is this or that concentration of a person’s attention on a goal. One of the key concepts in Ershov’s terminology, which allows one to structure the importance of specific goals for the subject, and, accordingly, the key to the logic of his behavior and character. Mobilization is preceded by “mobilization” - the degree of readiness of a person for activity until the goal is understood. After clarifying the goal, that is, “assessment,” “mobilization turns into one or another mobilization
"Mobilization is expressed in the general concentration of attention and, therefore, in the direction of gaze, in the eyes, in breathing. In the general tightness of the muscles of the body, in particular in the tightness of the back - spine. This is the working state of the body, its adaptability to the expenditure of effort and a relatively wide choice actions - to those and such that are required, as soon as the goal is specified, readiness to overcome obstacles that have not yet arisen, but are about to arise, which are possible, probable on the way to the goal."

Exercises

Mobilization

Mobilization or the degree of concentration of attention on an object is conveniently divided into simple and complex, as well as long and short

• Observe the preparation of athletes for the start, the behavioral characteristics of a person’s body ready to catch, grab, run, etc. Determine how the mobilization (readiness) of a person for some physical action ("simple mobilization") is reflected in the concentration of attention and the spinal muscles. Try to imitate various options for mobilization and observe the characteristics of your own reactions in a state of high “simple mobilization” to things related to the object of your mobilization and not.

• Observe and imitate the behavior of a person’s body during an important conversation, speech, or argument. Find differences in the physical expression of this “complex mobilization” from the “simple” one.
• Find in the life around you moments of change in mobilization (concentration and weakening of attention), trace the sequence of changes in the concentration of your gaze and muscles. Play mobilization and demobilization.
• Having designated the degree 0 as the minimum (i.e., the complete absence of concentrated attention and the corresponding general relaxation of the body) and the degree 10 as the maximum possible mobilization of the body, find a stepwise increase, noticing in as much detail as possible the physical change in the body during the exercise.
• Do exercise 4 as you go, find the most and least “purposeful” gaits and intermediate stages.
• Do exercise 4 during any household activity, conversation, etc., watch how behavior changes with different “degrees” of mobilization.*
  * - an increase in mobilization in the process of performing a task indicates an increase in the subject’s interest in the object of attention, that the “business” is developing in a favorable direction, that it is becoming more important (more dangerous) for the subject, demobilization in the process of performing a task indicates the opposite.
• Observe in life the behavior of a person engaged in some activity (reading, cleaning, etc.), find “periods” of growth and decline in interest in the activity, note the physical manifestations of this process.
• Observe the same thing with people in the process of communication.
• Find the difference between the mobilization of a person attached to a short, important task for himself and the mobilization of a person who is ready for the fact that in the process of completing the task a sufficient number of obstacles and problems may be encountered that will require some time to resolve.*
  * - “short” and “long” mobilization are close in external expression to “simple” and “complex” mobilization, but they have some specific differences, which we leave to you to discover.

Exercises

Grade

• Observe people when they “saw”, “heard”, “recognized”, “understood” something unexpected; find a moment of physical immobility, “freezing” in them.*
  * NOTE After a real assessment in life, a person usually changes somehow (according to Ershov’s classification, changes fit into the following parameters: mobilization, extension, weight), use this rule to check your mastery of the assessment.

• Observe in life and master organic “freezing” in the process of doing something*: when reading a newspaper, while walking.
  * NOTE It is necessary to clarify the concept of “business”, which appears hereinafter. By “business” we mean any process that has a beginning and an end and requires the subject to concentrate attention on the obstacles encountered during implementation. From this position, this or that activity may “be a business”, or it may “not be.” For example, driving a car is not a task under normal circumstances, but it can be a task when learning to drive, chasing, etc. When performing exercises, it is necessary (this is especially visible from the outside) to control whether the person is engaged in the task or not (if not, then neither what parameters of behavior are out of the question) Observe in life and master organic “freezing” in conversation.
• Try to play a sketch according to the scheme: I was doing something - suddenly something unexpected happened (saw, heard, noticed, understood) - it became urgently necessary to do something that had arisen, a “new” thing.*
  * NOTE To successfully master the “assessment” in all exercises, it is necessary to achieve focused attention on the matter preceding the “assessment”, i.e. “importance of the matter” for the character.
• Play the sketch according to the scheme: I was doing something - suddenly something unexpected happened (saw, heard, noticed, understood) - it became necessary to make “amendments” to my activity, to somehow change it in order to successfully achieve the goal.
• Play the sketch according to the scheme: you were doing something - suddenly something unexpected happened (saw, heard, noticed, understood) - you need to “hide” the fact that this circumstance seriously affects your entire life activity.*
  * NOTE At first, it is easier to master “assessment” in matters that require “urgent”, simple physical actions (turn off the kettle, open, grab, run, hide, etc. Gradually “add” circumstances that make the “assessment” not so simple and unambiguous, requiring some time (usually a fraction of a second, sometimes, in rare cases, a second) to make a decision.
• "Three things at once." List three things that require concentrated attention (For example: getting ready for a hike, keeping an eye on the food being prepared, talking on the phone), do them “at the same time.” If you manage to ensure that all three things are important enough for you (don’t brush aside from none) “assessments” themselves will arise in places unexpected for you.
• 
  "Important conversation." After each partner's remark, make a more or less large assessment.
  Machine gun burst of assessments. For any word from your partner, for any subject, make a series of assessments with the general subtext “it can’t be!”, “Really!”.
• “Great score.” Come up with a circumstance that radically changes the fate of your character. (In any play, almost every character has such circumstances). Outline the activity that the character is engaged in before and after this circumstance occurs. Play a moment of long, organic stillness during which the character “understands” what happened and decides to do something new.

Modeling a phrase in the logic of verbal influence

The object of verbal influence is the human consciousness. The distinctive features of an action performed by a word are revealed with the greatest clarity and completeness in cases of verbal influence on the consciousness of a partner in order to remake, rebuild his consciousness, adapt it to the interests of the actor.
All people, speaking about something among themselves, “influence” more or less vividly and convincingly the consciousness of their partner with pictures that, for one reason or another, arose and exist in their consciousness. ...to act with words means to paint with them a picture “not for the ears, but for the eyes” of the partner, ... to introduce one’s visions into the consciousness of the partner. To act with words, you must, first of all, see, clearly imagine what you are talking about...

The external side of verbal action is sounding speech; in it the mental side of the process is physically and materially realized. If a person passionately achieves his goal - if he really needs to remake the consciousness of his interlocutor...; then his speech becomes rich in intonation colors, it begins to sound expressive. To paint a picture with these words as brightly as possible, a person paints it not only with a variety of colors, but also with contrasting colors, using the entire range of his voice.
The picture drawn in words, depending on its content, usually consists of parts, which in turn consist of even smaller parts. It is impossible to reproduce such a picture in speech except in parts and in the elements from which they are composed.
In order to be understandable, the picture being drawn must consist not only of elements familiar to the listener, but also of familiar connections between these elements... in the limitless set of possible connections between the individual elements of the pictures being drawn, general, repeating patterns can be identified: they can be called “general” logical or intonation constructions"
The internal mental side of “sculpting a phrase” lies in the ability to see not scattered or randomly interconnected elements of reality, but a whole or single picture consisting of interconnected parts.
The picture painted with words should be imprinted in the mind of the partner. What exactly comes first and how

Now we will talk about how you can learn acting skills on your own. The fact is that not everyone has the opportunity to attend acting courses in Moscow, for example, despite the fact that there are many of them in the capital. How can you master the great acting profession on your own? It turns out that it is not only possible, but also necessary. An acting textbook can help you with this. But in general, the textbook is designed for people who are already studying at some theater school. So it is best to purchase an acting tutorial. As a rule, the basics are laid out there, with which you can easily begin to study the profession of an actor.
An acting coach can teach you even better than a self-taught teacher, because it is usually clearer when the material is explained by a person. An acting school, as a rule, recommends reading books and various tutorials as additional education. Sometimes independent education turns out to be much more effective, because a person sets his own program for himself. Although it requires enormous self-discipline. The acting tutorial includes such an interesting exercise as practicing in front of a mirror. Imitating an actor can be very effective. If you practice regularly, your skills will move to a subconscious level, and you won’t even notice how you will gradually become like an artist in manners. But others will notice it. In general, several stages of independent learning can be distinguished. The first stage is a tutorial. After the tutorial, you can take an acting textbook, because it contains more “advanced” skills. Then the final stage is an acting tutor. Here you are given the opportunity to show another person what you are capable of. At this stage, your skills are polished to the limit.
After all this, feel free to go to the theater. Your skills will pleasantly surprise everyone. Even if you haven’t been admitted to a theater studio, self-study is a great way to prepare for such a complex and incredibly interesting activity as acting on stage. Drawing a conclusion, let's say that there are a lot of teaching aids now. Choose a textbook or self-instruction manual, depending on your level of preparation, set yourself goals and study. Everything is in your hands!

No matter how much you put your teeth on the shelf, creative people need self-expression. And in order to reveal acting talent and improve stagecraft, you need perseverance and patience. Acting exercises will help you acquire and hone all the skills necessary for a professional actor. After all, an actor on stage is not just a mechanical doll that mindlessly carries out the director’s instructions, but a doll that can think logically and calculate actions several steps ahead. A professional actor is flexible, has good coordination, expressive facial expressions and intelligible speech.

Before you start studying and working on etudes and scenes to the fullest, you need to understand yourself a little. A real actor needs certain character traits that must be actively developed in himself. Other qualities should be hidden in a far corner and remembered extremely rarely.

Let's consider such a quality as self-love. It would seem that this is a normal state for every person. But this quality has 2 sides:

• Self-love makes you develop and learn every day, and not give up. Without this quality, even a very talented person will not be able to become a famous actor.
• Self-love and narcissism are a dead end for an acting career. Such a person will never be able to work for the viewer; all attention will be focused on himself.

A good actor cannot be absent-minded. He should not be distracted by extraneous noise while playing on stage. Because acting inherently implies constant control of oneself and one’s partner. Otherwise the role will simply become a mechanical performance. And attention allows you not to miss important details while studying, watching theatrical productions, master classes and trainings. In order to learn to concentrate, use exercises to develop attention from stagecraft.

Attention is the basis for a good start to a theatrical career

The development of attention begins not with special exercises, but with everyday life. An aspiring actor should spend a lot of time in crowded places, observing people, their behavior, facial expressions, and characteristics. All this can later be used to create images.

Keep a creative diary - this is an ordinary diary of a creative person. In it, express your thoughts, feelings, write down all the changes that have occurred with surrounding objects.

After filling out the creative diary, you can move on to practicing sketches and sketches. A novice actor is obliged to convey as accurately as possible the image and facial expressions of the person he was observing. It is necessary to place prototypes in non-standard situations - it is precisely such productions that show how much the actor was able to understand and get used to the image of an unknown person.

"Listening to Silence"

The next exercise is the ability to listen to silence; you need to learn to direct attention to a certain part of the external space, gradually expanding the boundaries:

• listen to yourself;
• listen to what is happening in the room;
• listen to sounds throughout the building;
• recognize sounds on the street.

Exercise "Shadow"

It not only develops attention, but also teaches you to move consciously. One person slowly does some pointless actions. The second’s task is to repeat all movements as accurately as possible, try to predict them, and determine the purpose of the actions.

Pantomimes and dramatizations

A good actor knows how to convey emotions expressively through words and body. These skills will help to involve the viewer in the game and convey to him the full depth of the theatrical production.

Pantomime is a special type of stage art based on the creation of an artistic image through plasticity, without the use of words.

• The best exercise to learn pantomime is crocodile game. The goal of the game is to show an object, phrase, feeling, event without words. A simple but fun game perfectly trains expressiveness, develops thinking, and teaches you to make quick decisions.
• Dramatization of proverbs. The purpose of the exercise is to use a small scene to show a well-known proverb or aphorism. The viewer must understand the meaning of what is happening on stage.
• Gesture game– with the help of non-verbal symbols, an actor can say a lot on stage. To play you need at least 7 people. Everyone comes up with a gesture for themselves, shows it to others, then shows some other person’s gesture. The one whose gesture was shown must quickly repeat it himself and show the next someone else's gesture. Whoever gets lost is out of the game. This game is complex, develops attention, teaches teamwork, improves plasticity and hand coordination.

Exercises for the development of plasticity

If things are not going well with plastic surgery, this deficiency can be easily corrected. By regularly performing the following movements at home, you can learn to feel your own body better and control it skillfully.

"Painting the fence"

The exercise “painting the fence” develops the plasticity of the hands and arms well. It is necessary to paint the fence using your hands instead of a brush.

What exercises make your hands obedient:

• smooth waves from one shoulder to the other;
• invisible wall - you need to touch the invisible surface with your hands, feel it;
• rowing with invisible oars;
• twisting clothes;
• tug of war with an invisible rope.

"Pick it up piece by piece"

A more difficult task is “assemble the parts.” You need to assemble some complex mechanism piece by piece - a bicycle, a helicopter, an airplane, or create a boat from boards. Take an invisible part, feel it with your hands, show the size, weight and shape. The viewer must imagine what spare part is in the actor’s hands. Install the part - the better the plastic, the faster the viewer will understand what the actor is assembling.

"Stroke the animal"

Exercise “petting the animal.” The actor’s task is to pet the animal, pick it up, feed it, open and close the cage. The viewer must understand whether this is a fluffy hare or a slippery, wriggling snake, a small mouse or a large elephant.

Development of coordination

The actor must have good coordination. This skill allows you to perform complex exercises on stage, performing several movements at the same time.

Exercises to develop coordination:

• Swimming. Extend your arms straight parallel to the floor. Make circular movements backwards with one hand, and forwards with the other. Move your hands simultaneously, periodically changing the direction of movement of each hand.
• Knock - stroke. Place one hand on your head and start stroking. Place your other hand on your stomach, tapping lightly. Do the movements at the same time, not forgetting to change hands.
• Conductor. Stretch your arms. One hand moves up and down for 2 beats. The other one makes voluntary movements for 3 beats. Or draws a geometric figure. Use both hands at the same time, changing hands periodically.
• Confusion. Extend one arm, make circular movements clockwise with your straight hand, while simultaneously rotating your hand in the other direction.

These exercises are not easy to do at first. But constant practice gives results. Each exercise should be repeated at least 10 times every day.

Scenes and sketches for beginning actors

A novice actor does not have to come up with everything from scratch. The ability to copy and imitate well is an integral part of stagecraft. You just need to find a film with your favorite character, try to copy his facial expressions, movements, gestures and speech as accurately as possible, convey emotions and mood.

The task seems simple, but at first it may be difficult. Only regular practice will help hone the skill of imitation. In this exercise you cannot do without attention and the ability to concentrate on little things. Jim Carrey has a good gift for imitation - there is a lot to learn from him.

Exercise “Think it through”

The acting profession requires a well-developed fantasy and imagination. You can develop these skills using the “think it through” exercise. You need to go to places with large crowds of people, choose a person, observe, pay attention to their appearance and behavior. Then come up with a biography, a name, and determine his occupation.

Stage speech

Good stage speech involves more than just clear pronunciation and good articulation. A good actor must be able to scream quietly and whisper loudly, and convey the emotions, age and mental state of the hero with just his voice.

To learn how to convey emotions in words, you need to pronounce a simple phrase from the point of view of different characters - a little girl, a mature woman, an older man, a famous actor or politician. You need to find special intonations for each character, use typical speech patterns.

Exercises for developing stage speech:

• Blowing out the candles. Take in more air and blow out 3 candles one by one. The number of candles must be constantly increased, and the muscles of the diaphragm must be used when inhaling.
• Practicing exhalation technique. The poem "The House That Jack Built" is appropriate for this exercise. Each part of the piece must be pronounced in one breath.
• Improving diction. Slurred speech is unacceptable for a good actor. You need to honestly identify problematic sounds in your speech and pronounce tongue twisters every day that are aimed at eliminating the problem. You need to exercise for at least half an hour 3-5 times a day. Tongue twisters teach you to speak clearly at a fast pace, which is extremely important in acting.
• Intonation plays a prominent role in creating the right image. To practice, you need to read literary dramatic texts aloud every day.

Acting exercises can be studied independently; various trainings will come to the rescue. But it’s better to study in the company of like-minded people - you can take courses or organize theater evenings at home. The main thing is to never give up, always believe in your own talent, and move towards your goal.

It is actively used not only by the actors themselves. If you look closely, you can see that many people play in life. And we ourselves often have to play - at work, when communicating with friends, at home. Many participate in creative amateur groups or competitions, and perform at corporate events.

In order to evoke not condescending grins with your performance, but admiring glances, you should pay attention to the basics of acting.

Basic Concepts

Both an aspiring theater and film star and an amateur need to understand what is required of him in acting classes, what qualities need to be actively developed in himself, and which ones should be hidden in a distant drawer and remembered as rarely as possible.

Selfishness and selfishness

Loving yourself is the natural state of every person. But it is worth distinguishing between a positive feeling - healthy self-love and negatively colored self-love.

Self-love forces us to improve day by day, to be better than ourselves yesterday, not to allow ourselves to be weak, not to give up, even when it’s hard. And acting lessons, especially at first, are not an easy task.

Self-love is, in other words, narcissism. When a person only thinks about how beautiful he looks now, revels in the thought that he is on stage, then, as a rule, he forgets about his immediate task - to live on stage in the image of a hero, and slides into banal narcissism.

Healthy self-esteem pushes us to new heights and achievements, to constantly work on ourselves. Selfishness kills any creativity, extinguishes impulse, and devastates the soul.

Attention

In any field of activity, a person with is unlikely to achieve success. Acting for beginners includes many exercises aimed specifically at development. A lot is tied to this in acting, starting with the fact that in classes, first of all, attention is included so that not a single word of the teacher is missed, and ending with the fact that on stage, the actor must act exactly along the line of the role, without being distracted by extraneous noise, but at the same time keep control of the partner and his actions, so as not to turn into a mechanical performer.

To improve attention, acting for beginners offers fairly simple exercises.

Keeping a creative diary

The development of attention begins not even in the classes themselves, but in everyday life. The beginner is encouraged to observe people and situations wherever he is, paying special attention to interesting personalities and their behavior, because in the future they can be used as prototypes for roles.

This exercise also includes an attentive attitude to surrounding objects. Every day you need to write down what changes have occurred, what was not noticed before, what specifically has changed.

Listening to the silence

The exercise is to learn to direct your attention to a certain circle of external space. Gradually this circle is expanding.

• Let's listen to ourselves.
• We listen to what is happening in the audience (class).
• We listen to what is happening in the building.
• We listen to what is happening on the street.

Showing Observations

After the beginner's creative diary is filled, acting lessons are transferred to the stage. The student must, based on his observations, convey on stage the image of the observed person as accurately and interestingly as possible: his gait, gestures, behavior, facial expressions. At the same time, the teacher can place this hero in non-standard situations that did not actually happen. At the same time, it will be clear how carefully the aspiring actor observed, how much he understood this person and was imbued with his image - his organicness in the given circumstances will depend on this.

Action

When taking the Acting Skills course, training begins with an analysis of basic concepts. So, without such a concept as action, there can be no performance. The definition of action is the main meaning of any role. The main thing from this is that action is an act of will. An actor on stage is not a thoughtless mechanism that performs movements and actions because he was ordered to do so, and not a monkey who, without realizing it, simply repeats a set of actions and words. An actor thinks first, and every action on stage must be understood and logically justified by him.

Acting for beginners is based on the fact that there is no action for its own sake. Every action must have a purpose for the sake of which it is performed. Therefore, it turns out that everything that an actor does in the image of a hero, he does consciously and of his own free will, and not just for the sake of beauty.

Any acting exercise involves conscious action by the person on stage.

Work in the proposed circumstances

In this exercise, students are offered a locale: a forest, an old hospital, etc. Beginning actors need to find an excuse for who they are, how they got here, they need to see this place in their imagination down to the smallest detail. Then the teacher produces sounds to which the actors react depending on the proposed circumstances. With the help of music, an atmosphere is created - it can be a dark fairy-tale forest or a light birch grove. And here acting for beginners has three goals. Firstly, this is a test of attentiveness (how quickly the actor reacts to changes in music or sounds), secondly, it teaches novice actors to act in given circumstances, which need to be adapted to themselves, and thirdly, it teaches them to maintain the atmosphere, without jumping from sadness to joy and back.

Shadow

In the “Acting” discipline, training is always comprehensive, the basic concepts are intertwined in one exercise, requiring constant concentration of strength from the actor.

An interesting exercise with shadows. The first person makes some movements, justifying them with a goal (this could be some pointless action), and the second person is his “shadow” - he completely repeats every action. Of course, the first one must work slowly so that the second one has time to repeat. But the task of the second participant is to very carefully monitor the leader and try to predict his actions. In addition, he also needs to understand what kind of action is being performed and justify it, because the goal of a person and a shadow always coincides.

Such exercises, with the help of which acting skills are honed for beginners, develop a sense of leverage - it always reminds the actor that he does not work alone, but depends on everyone, and everyone depends on him in the same way.

Acting classes represent a set of exercises for the psychophysical development of a person. Thanks to special training, you can become an excellent speaker, actor, teacher, or persuasive coach. Acting courses help get rid of facial, speech and internal constraints that prevent you from moving through life and communicating with others easily.

Exercises for beginners

Before an actor goes on stage or into a frame, before acting and speaking his first lines, it is necessary to prepare the actor’s apparatus – his own body. The basis of good acting is imagination, attention to your partner, trust and perception. It is important to understand: anxiety, as with any stress for the body, is absolutely normal. Fighting anxiety, which sometimes serves as fuel for creativity, is stupid. The main thing is to be able to prevent the degeneration of excitement into panic and fear. Simple exercises from a professional actor will help you “reset”, tone your body and get ready for work.

Emotion training

A lesson with an acting teacher from the St. Petersburg School of Television teaches aspiring actors to work with emotions. First you need to understand the types of emotions. Having identified positive, negative and neutral emotions, you can begin training. Successful work will require imagination, the ability to recall certain events from your own life experience. The exercises will teach you to quickly enter the desired emotional state and concentrate, relax and express vivid emotions without hesitation.

How to cry just like that

The heroine of the popular youth series "Deffchonki" shows a master class in acting of the highest level - the ability to show tears at the right moment. You can master the tear skill using several classic methods. Many actors retire and recall sad episodes from their own lives or imagine a terrible picture. Galina Bob shows alternative options: with the help of special breathing, bright light, completely getting used to the image, evoking certain emotions. The actress demonstrates examples of good and bad acting and talks about external technical assistants invented specifically to make the life of a film actor easier.

Learning to play strong emotions

One of the most troubling questions for aspiring actors is how to play a strong emotion. For a natural game, facial expressions alone are not enough; mental effort is required. First, you need to remember the ways of expressing emotions in real life, then feel and convey the right mood. Evgenia Dean, director of the Gamma Theater Studio, talks in detail about the method of acting and shows several game emotions using her own example.

Meisner's acting technique for film

A unique video featuring two aspiring actors introduces beginners to the Meisner technique. The technique was created specifically for cinema and is one of the most popular and large-scale in America. The activity helps to get rid of psychological pressures, connect the thought process to the game and activate emotional memory. The technique teaches partner play with the exchange of impulses, thoughts and moods.

Basics of the Stanislavsky system

More than 80 years ago K.S. Stanislavsky came up with a system that helps any actor, beginner and established, brilliant and mediocre, to play with dignity. The basics of the system are useful for all public speakers: actors, speakers, lecturers. Special knowledge is designed to turn an ordinary speech into a charismatic one. The author of the video sets out the complex system in accessible language, explaining three key points for understanding: “super-task”, “stage action”, “belief in the proposed circumstances”.

Acting lessons with Mikhail Koltunov

The main task on the path to acting is getting rid of tensions and liberation. An actor must boldly try new movements, actions, and experiment with his voice and body. During the group class, Mikhail Koltunov teaches how to develop acting energy and use the acquired skills in further acting.

Exercises to develop facial expressions

Facial expressions are an integral part of the acting profession. Along with the main instruments of the game (voice, vocals, stage movement), it has a certain palette that is developed with experience and exercises. How to develop and train rich, varied facial expressions? The video shows effective exercises for elasticity and efficient functioning of the facial muscles.

Master class for beginners

The training video presents a simple lesson on acting skills. Beginners will replenish their repertoire of diction and plot exercises, learn about the possibilities of pronouncing the sound [r], learn to work with a partner, and practice changing emotions, facial expressions and exclamations. The advice of a professional teacher will teach individuality, freedom and the ability to fantasize and turn on the imagination literally at the click of a button.

Game improvisation

The ability to improvise is given to some by nature, to others as a result of hard training. There are a lot of exercises to increase the speed of thought processes, as well as auxiliary techniques that help you quickly respond to your partner’s remarks, giving an instant response. The “Yes and No” exercise-game clearly shows how you can conduct an impromptu dialogue or argument ad infinitum.

Body language. Gestures

Acting teacher German Sedakov shows exercises to give flexibility to the body and plastic movements. An online acting class includes an interesting warm-up and games that train reaction speed, smoothness and sharpness of movements, bodily and speech improvisation. Such practices are actively used by personal growth coaches at team events for the purpose of team building.

Warm-up before the performance

The channel reveals behind-the-scenes work in the theater. To prepare for the performance, each actor does articulatory and motor warm-ups. Special gymnastics allows you to prepare the body and speech apparatus for creative actions on stage, and saves you from loss of voice, stuttering and stiffness on stage. The proposed exercises are suitable for daily training and toning your speech and body.

Acting skills help you feel confident on stage and in life, reveal your own potential, and boldly step out of your comfort zone.