Actor Challenges: Part 1

My quest to hunt down useful online resources is continuing apace. Namely, in the form of Paul Brighton from Audition Portal! He regularly suggests challenges to flex and tone the old performing muscles. They’ve certainly pushed me into more variety in my studies. Hopefully this is organically helping me to create a better curriculum (?!) and that can only be a good thing!

Here are a selection of the ones that resonate most with me. I’ll keep coming back to them (probably with very tedious progress reports of the glaringly obvious) but for now, here’s a list.

• Evaluate your use of “Sensory Recall” or visualization, in dramatizing fear, feeling cold or hot. Practice.
• Practice “Sense Memory.” What makes you cry? Can you cry right now? Today, practice remembering something sad.
• Take an acting class or workshop, if you don’t already. It’s never too late to learn something about your craft.
• For today’s audition, eat well beforehand. No simple carbs, drink lots of water.Clear mind+Preparedness=Success!
• Refine your Sense Memory skills. Be in the moment. Understand what you feel. Muscles have memory, so do emotions!
• Take a scene from your favorite movie & videotape yourself acting that scene out. Observe and study it. What fun!
• How good you get as an actor depends on how well you can recollect your life’s history. Study your past.
• Know Thy Prop! How much does it weigh, does it make you position your body differently? Study that Chair!
• Studying dialects & regions can help you do better accents.There are many UK accents. Know the differences.
• How do you look & sound when you sneeze or cough? Can you recreate it authentically, right at this moment?
• Recreate a physical sensation. Remember what sunburn feels like, what a chill feels like? Relive it right now.
• Make sure you work, paying or non-paying. We must constantly work to improve our craft.
• Buy a book on acting. Any book. You will learn something new because you never stop learning!
• Observe your friends & family and how they interact & have fun. Put yourself in the scene, be yourself.
• Think about how you act differently every time you answer the door depending on who’s there. Take note with guests today.
• Acting is a combo of imagination & grasping reality, with a desire to share them. Understand the differences.
• Find a character to play. Practice learning their Rhythm, Metering & Intonations. It’s like listening to music.
• Think of someone in your past. A tender moment, a sad day, or someone that passed.What do you feel at this moment?

The Facts: Writer. Actress. Creatrix. Classic Movie Lover. The Feels: I'm a cat person who deals in the feels.