How to become a professional actress. Profession actress

The question of how to become an actress had never bothered me until recently. As an adult and accomplished person who was lucky to first choose a profession to his liking and then find a decent job, I could not even imagine that one day I would have to search for information of this kind in cyberspace.

Well, I'll start with everything in order. My niece, an eleventh grade high school student, will soon have to make a decision about what she wants to do in the future. Undoubtedly, this is quite difficult and, probably, one of the most important choices in life.

When she told me that she was interested in a very unusual person, I was surprised, to put it mildly, and then thought about it. If she shared her plans with me, apparently she is counting on support and participation.

Well... I'll try to figure it out.

Section 1. How to become an actress. Where does this decision come from?

Probably, any woman will agree with me that in childhood we all wanted to be like our favorite screen star. We copied her gait, look, makeup and clothing style. Articles and photographs were cut out from newspapers, which were then carefully stored in our boxes or diaries. We dreamed that one day the day would come when we, too, would shine on stage, feel the admiring glances of fans, receive flowers, gifts and simply gratitude. And of course, in our dreams we were not limited to the theatrical stage; we wanted to play at least episodic roles in TV series or, if we were very lucky, in serious films.

Today, all this is quite easy to do. You just need to want and make an effort to achieve your goal.

Section 2. How to become an actress. Can I?

This is a really difficult question. This is precisely what representatives of the fair half of humanity most often ask themselves.

1. Appearance. It is believed that for this you need to have an extraordinary appearance, and, of course, bright and noticeable. Probably, I personally would not agree with such a statement. Think about modern actresses, are they all real beauties? Well, of course not. Many of them have the wrong, far from ideal figure and are not at all model height. Is it true? So that's not the point.

2. Complexes. But this is closer. For some reason, I am sure that students and graduates of theater universities once learned to accept themselves as they are, with all their advantages and, accordingly, disadvantages. And rightly so, because trying to discover your own shortcomings is tantamount to placing you in certain conventions and frameworks. But this is no longer acceptable for stage masters.

Section 3. How to become an actress and where to go to study.

I would say there are several ways.

1. Classes in a theater studio. If you have firmly decided that after graduating from school you will become an actress in the theater department, you need to start preparing in advance. Find out what theater studios are available in your city, make inquiries and listen to reviews of the teachers working there.

2. Private lessons. Of course, individual lessons will cost you more, but the prospects that open up will be much wider. Why? You will be able to work with several specialists at once, attend trainings, master classes and seminars.

3. Attending castings. The more events of this kind you attend, the more chances you have to be noticed by famous directors. This method is very suitable for those whose question about cinema or stage arose around the age of 12 - 14, when there was still no question of entering a university.

4. Create a portfolio. Most likely, at the very beginning you will have to work in one of the local theaters on a volunteer basis. Do you think they won't take it? Don't doubt it! It often happens that in some productions, purely children's scenes have to be played by adults, and this, you see, looks comical. Talk to the main director, tell them about yours and don’t forget to mention that you already have basic knowledge about acting. By working this way, you will get comfortable on stage and gain invaluable experience.

If you ask experienced actors what is the secret of their success, each of them will tell their own story. But ultimately, there are only 2 ways to become an actor: being in the right place at the right time or going to the profession through training and many years of work.

How to become an actor without education

The most “correct” path to an acting career is a theater school, a university, countless courses and master classes. But examples of actors without education only once again confirm that it is possible to bypass many years of training.

If you feel a talent in yourself or your child that directors have not yet noticed,

make them pay attention to you.

Start going to auditions
appear more often in bohemian circles,
teach yourself to video blog,
Show yourself as a creative person by any means.

How children become actors

Little actors without education feel quite relaxed and readily show their talent when necessary (and when there is no such need, too). If you feel that your young talent is the future Andrei Mironov or Lyudmila Gurchenko,

try to direct his pranks into acting direction.

You can start with castings for filming in commercials or sitcoms.
If you live in a small town, enroll your child in a school amateur club.

How to become a film actor

Even if you have enormous talent, you may be missing something at the castings. Nowadays any appearance is valued, but you can’t do without clear diction and a well-trained voice.

It is important for an actor to have a well-developed memory, to be able to analyze and interpret, and to be an erudite. In addition, self-discipline and knowledge of etiquette are required. And the most important thing: an actor must be a real fighter - how many hours of rehearsals and how many dozens of takes are you willing to go through so that the audience sees the perfect picture?

Once you have confirmed your desire to become an actor, decide what exactly you want to do. This stage plays a crucial role in your career as the right direction sets the tone for your future preparation.

To become a screen star, you need films to be widely released.

If you live at the extreme point of the North Pole, it’s time to move to large cities that have film studios (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ufa, Vladivostok, Nizhny Novgorod, etc.).
Once you are sure that there is a film studio in your city, start taking it by storm.
Try to act as an extra: the criteria for selecting actors are quite low, and you will easily get a role. In addition, this is a good start for collecting a portfolio. Don’t refuse even the smallest roles – they give your face the opportunity to “shine up”.

How to become a theater actor

To be a theater actor, you must learn to exaggerate all emotions - a whole 2-hour production and only 10 participants in the performance, who must keep the audience on their toes without special effects.

Acting in the theater is much more difficult, because there is no opportunity to replay a take or change the angle - all the “blunders” will be immediately visible to the viewer.

Work on your technique with a professional speech and acting coach.
Sign up for an amateur activity.
But be prepared for the fact that it will be many years before you get a big role.

How to become a dubbing and voice-over actor

Dubbing and voice acting actors have it no better, because they “give” their voice to other people or characters. They not only have to get used to the role, but also convey with their vocal apparatus the features of the actor’s speech on the screen.

To prepare for this type of work, practice dubbing your dialogue.
Turn on a movie and try to synchronize your speech with the movement of the character's or actor's mouth.
Record your voice on a voice recorder - this way you can track all the mistakes and shortcomings of your game.

How to become a famous actor

Even being a talented and hardworking person, not everyone can become a famous actor. To achieve popularity, you need to exactly meet the needs of modern society in appearance, character, interests and roles.

Almost every girl dreams of trying on different roles. Alas, in real life such an opportunity may not present itself: daughter, wife, mother, sister. But you also want to feel like a special agent, a queen, an exotic princess, a witch... And girls all over the world see no other way out but to become an actress. It is this profession that allows all facets of a woman’s changeable character to be revealed.

However, the profession of an actress is not only a constant change of roles and environments, but hard work. Let's look at the important nuances of this craft and decide what it takes to become an actress.

Actress profession

Being an actress is considered prestigious in all countries of the world where cinema is developed. Good actors receive generous fees, which, of course, we know from the network and other sources. However, acting is hard work, despite the outward idleness and brilliance.

When interested in how to become an actress, we must appreciate the following important and especially pleasant feature of this profession: age is not a hindrance. Whether we are very young or already retired, we can always discover our acting talent and become a sought-after professional.

Theater actress

Theater is an ancient art form, very specific, but fascinating. A theater actress is required to create an emotionally rich, extremely vivid image on the theater stage, while hundreds of pairs of spectators' eyes are looking at her. This is the most important feature of working on stage: interaction with the viewer occurs in real time, directly.

A theater actress has a great responsibility: she needs to perfectly rehearse the role, memorize every word and every movement of the character. During a performance, a professional theater actress cannot make a mistake: get confused in her lines or forget from which corner of the stage her partner will appear. Considering that a person can never make mistakes, in cases where a mistake is made on stage, professional actresses are saved by the ability to improvise and charisma. The first of these qualities can be developed in oneself when the second is nevertheless laid down at birth.

The main task of a theater actress

The task of a theater actress is to create a three-dimensional artistic image on stage. It must be multifaceted and “alive”, and for this the actress completely gets used to the image of her character.

However, the most important task of an actress on the theatrical stage is to evoke a reaction from the viewer with her performance. This is the acting talent, and it also leads to success in this field.

Movie actress

Film actresses are very popular due to the fact that modern viewers mostly prefer cinema. In addition, film actresses receive much higher fees than theater stage workers.

At the same time, it is no less difficult for a silver screen actress to work than a theater actress. Her professional responsibilities include studying the personality of her hero and bringing him to life in front of the camera. The only “indulgence” for a film actress is that it is possible to shoot several takes. At the same time, she needs to take care to show herself in a favorable light in front of the camera. It is known that not all people “love” the camera, so this factor is important in the career of a film actress.

A film actress has to find a common language with a huge number of people with whom she has to work. Directors, screenwriters, colleagues in the film (series) - you need to work together with everyone for the highest possible result.

What does it take to become an actress?

In order to become a successful, recognizable actress, in demand for filming or theatrical productions, you need to have a whole bunch of professional qualities and natural talents. Acting education in special educational institutions provides a good springboard for a start.

Not every girl can prove herself in professional acting. Once again, it will require innate talent, improved by a mass of self-developed skills.

So, for an actress to have a successful career, in addition to all of the above, she needs natural charm, charisma, a willingness to devote herself completely to her work, to get used to the image of another person down to the smallest detail, even if you don’t like the person herself. A big plus for an actress is the presence of a well-trained voice and excellent memory for memorizing large amounts of text.

What is valued in actresses is the ability to improvise, to bring their own flair to every role, even one that is 100% formulaic. Many great actors are extremely energetic and spontaneous people.

Also, before deciding whether to be an actress, you need to soberly assess whether you can withstand a busy filming schedule, heavy loads on the set or stage, because according to the script you will have to run, jump, and possibly fly or climb a steep cliff. rock.

Acting training

Acting skills are taught in special educational institutions. To enter such a higher or secondary educational institution, some preparation is required.

At the interview, you will be asked to play a character or recite your favorite poem (fable). You may not be given specific tasks, and then you can present a prepared skit. But most likely, they will name you a very specific character. Here you need to be prepared for any surprises, such as playing Voldemort’s attack on Harry Potter or a mushroom in the autumn rain. You will need a rich imagination, public speaking skills and composure.

Based on all this, entering a theater university is considered a great achievement, and obtaining a higher theater education is even more significant. Despite the importance of education, the comprehensive self-development of an actress both during and after receiving it is extremely important. In fact, an actress's training never ends.

Features of entering a university

When planning to study acting, it is worth analyzing your capabilities. The predisposition to be an artist is necessary, otherwise even the most competent and diligent training will turn out to be a waste of time. If you have the right data, you can confidently continue on the path to your dream.

Having thoroughly prepared for any tasks that may be thrown by the admissions committee, you need to decide where it is best for you to apply to become an actress. The best option is to first choose a convenient city, if yours does not have the necessary educational institutions, and then submit documents wherever you can. Don’t miss any theater schools or acting departments at universities and cultural institutes. This way you can always be up to date, always on point and ready to go through several qualifying rounds, attend preparatory courses and other other situations.

Before the start of the qualifying rounds, visit the departments of the selected universities, collect as much information as possible about the upcoming admission, and talk with teachers. It would also be a good idea to communicate with students from these universities, since they can give valuable advice, as people who have gone through everything that is yet to come. Students of such a challenge can advise how to behave with this or that teacher if he is on the admissions committee. Definitely no one else will advise you to do this, including the teachers themselves. When communicating with people, remember to be polite and courteous, but also do not hide your identity in order to be able to gain some “credibility”.

Is it possible to become an actress without education?

If you do not have the time, desire or opportunity to undergo long-term training at a university, the natural question is how to become an actress without education and whether it is possible to do it at all.

Judging by the experience of famous personalities from Western countries, this is possible. You just need to want it badly and not be lazy.

Secrets of famous self-taught actresses

The answer to this question is obvious: in Western countries, most famous actresses do not have special education. At the same time, they are popular, successful and professional in their field. Their secret, of course, is in their innate abilities and determination. Many of them, from early youth, feeling a burning desire to break into the top of the acting world, began to develop the necessary skills, attended castings and shows. They took part in the smallest, insignificant project, gradually making their way to more prestigious and paid ones. They might simply not have time for acting education, but they had time to work.

Among our beautiful actresses there are also such examples. This is Alena Babenko, Yulia Snigir and others. There are many more such examples in Hollywood: Nicole Kidman, Demi Moore, Marilyn Monroe. Moreover, these megastars did not receive any education (not even full school). At first - due to poverty or other obstacles, then they simply had no time for it.

Results

Being an actress means working a lot, without breaks, on yourself. Before becoming an actress and starting to take the first steps towards your dream, you need to understand yourself in order to make sure of your prospects.

Preparation for entering a theater university should be thorough. After all, you have to show your talent in front of a commission that has previously seen hundreds of the same enthusiasts. Making an impression is the most important task when going through all the stages of entering a university to become an actress. All the time after graduation, you will also need to improve yourself in order to grow and achieve greater success.

Without special education, there are also chances to become an actress. In this case, determination and a natural gift for playing to an audience should come to the fore.

These are the conclusions of our article. In it, we examined some aspects of the bright dream of many girls - how to become a film or theater actress, to be successful and in demand. We hope you found it interesting to read the material and you were able to learn something new from the article.

Many young people who are trying to find themselves have a question about how to become an actor or actress, and how to even get leading roles in films. Today we will give you detailed instructions on how to become an actor in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Few young, inexperienced people suspect that acting is a profession and needs to be learned. To become a lawyer, you need to graduate from a law school, and to become a surgeon, you need to graduate from a medical school. And to become a professional actor, you need to graduate from a theater or cinematography university and receive a specialty in “drama theater actor,” “film actor,” or “musical theater actor.”

Young people must be immediately warned that acting courses and training in theater studios are not acting education, despite what the people who recruit for them claim. They may tell you a fairy tale that after completing acting courses, you will become an actor or actress and will be able to act in films, but not a single director will take you for the role. The most you can get is a small episode in a low-budget series with a couple of lines. Moreover, if you then want to enroll in a theater university and say upon admission that you studied in a theater studio or took some courses, then you will 100% not be accepted, since you already have the mark of another master. Like this!

How those who want to become an actor are scammed out of money

Many swindlers, who have realized that they can easily profit from gullible young people, use all sorts of tricks to extract as much money as possible from those who want to become actors. Admissions to acting courses, where they claim that this is enough to become a professional actor and act in films, can also be considered a scam.

The most common type of movie fraud is this:

You see an advertisement on the Internet or in a newspaper that actors are needed to star in a movie, and it is immediately mentioned for the sake of suckers that you can do it without experience. The emphasis is on girls aged 18 to 25, since those older than this age will already be a little smarter and may not fall for the bait of scammers.

You call the specified phone number and you are invited to a casting with the producer. Here it is necessary to immediately straighten the minds of young people and say that not a single producer or director will meet with people without acting education, but the suckers don’t even suspect this.

You come to the specified address and see a whole queue for the casting with the producer. Get in line and await your fate. You go into the office, they take your photo, you fill out a form, or they do it for you. They may require 500-1000 rubles to be added to the database, but it can also be free, since scammers will soon scam the victim for a larger amount. After the end of this casting, which actually is not, but simply entry into the database, you are told that if there is something suitable for your type, they will call you. Are you leaving.

After 1-2 weeks, you receive a call from this agency and they tell you that the director really liked your photos and there is a supporting role for you in the series, where you will be busy 2-3 shooting days a week during the filming of the entire series, and salary 3-8 thousand rubles per shooting day. This information completely blows the minds of young and inexperienced girls, and many guys too. Next you are informed that the director wants to see how you look in other images, since it is not clear from the photos that were taken at the agency. You are offered to create a portfolio in several images. The sucker immediately has a question: where can this be done? And then they tell him that they are making a good portfolio in a photo studio at Mosfilm and in another photo studio. They give you the phone numbers of both of these photo studios. You initially call Mosfilm, but no one picks up the phone on the phone number they gave you (this is how it should be). And on the second try, you call the second phone number that the scammers gave you and, lo and behold, they pick up the phone and say that they are making the required portfolio for 8 thousand rubles. You don't have to be smart to figure out that these are the same gang. However, despite the fact that this fraudulent scheme is already described on many portals, young people pay every day for a portfolio that no one needs.

After the sucker makes a portfolio for 8 thousand rubles, he brings it to the agency. They tell him that they will show it to the director. Naturally, they won't call you again. If you then call this agency yourself and ask what’s going on with your role, they will tell you that the director has not approved you. Legally, you will not be able to get close to these offices, since they did not commit anything illegal.

Also, in these agencies there is a similar type of scam, where they tell you that since you do not have an acting education, no director will take you for the role (which, in fact, is the truth), so they offer you to take a one-day course, after which You will be given a document stating that you have completed an acting course, which will indicate your acting education. Those. you are offered to go through the entire training program in 1 day, which truly gifted people completed in 4 years at a theater university. There is no need to tell you that the document confirming the completion of such a one-day course can then be hung in the toilet.

How to become a professional actor or actress

The only way to become an actor or actress is to enter a theater university in Moscow, since similar institutions in other cities of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are not valued among directors in Moscow. In cities other than Moscow, you will not be able to fulfill your dream, since all film companies are located in the capital of Russia and this is where you need to go to act in films. You can only enroll in a theater university until you are 25 years old if you want to study to become an actor. Although there are also commercial universities where you can enroll at any age, as long as you have the money for the education itself. Commercial universities are not valued by directors, since they accept everyone who has money for education.

The most prestigious cinematographic and theater universities in Moscow are: VGIK, GITIS, Moscow Art Theater, Shchepkinsky Theater School and Shchukinsky Theater School.

Question: Which theater university should I go to?

Correct answer: all at once! If you are not accepted into one, two or three, then there is a chance that you will be accepted into the fourth. The competition in these universities is 200 people per place. They hire the most gifted and rightly so. Only if you enter this university and study there until the very end, you will become a professional actor who will have every chance of getting into the main roles in films. All the rest will be filmed as extras and group scenes.

How to become an actor or actress without acting education

People without acting education can also act in films and even in roles with words, but recruitment for such small roles is carried out not by the casting director and director, but by the extras foreman. First, you will have to be an extra and be filmed by passers-by before they can entrust you with filming a small episode. Most of the actors in crowd scenes begin to feel stupor in front of the camera and cannot squeeze out even a few words. In life, such people can be quite eloquent, but in front of the camera they change before our eyes. Watch the video, which will show you, using a clear example, whether it is possible to become an actor without acting education.

Have you looked? Do you think you would be better at this role? This is what a typical representative to whom the extras foreman has entrusted with the role looks like in front of the camera.

After some period of time, many actors in crowd scenes themselves understand that without acting education they will not be given any role, so they begin to deceive everyone around them and insist that they have incomplete acting education or that they are professional actors and have a graduate diploma theater university. However, if they managed to deceive the extras foreman, then this act will not work for the director, since a professional actor can be easily distinguished from a non-professional one. In the video posted above, you yourself saw this clearly. Then the whole country goes crazy with such professional actors, but for this person it was the last day of filming, after which he hastened to leave the set and the film industry in shame.

How to become an actress at 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 years old

Watching films, you can see child and teenage actors who are quite successful even in serious roles with words. Naturally, at their age they could not graduate from a theater university. In most cases, these teenagers are children of actors and have been involved in theater plays from an early age. Those. Before they got to filming a movie, they already had experience working in the theater, which in this case is equivalent to acting education.

Now you may be interested in:, and.

What separates a good actor from a bad one? There is such a famous expression by T. Edison, which has become popular: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% effort,” and an equally famous variation of it: “Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work.” In accordance with the Stanislavsky system, training also begins with long and painstaking work on oneself. It consists, firstly, of developing professional acting qualities, and secondly, of training the ability to use special techniques of stage acting. The first block will be discussed in this lesson, the second - in the next one.

Determining the qualities an actor should have

Actor Qualities- these are the personal characteristics of a person, which together provide the opportunity to successfully play various roles.

Unlike specific skills, for example, the ability to laugh in time or show surprise, professional qualities combine a whole complex of skills and abilities, which is why it is impossible to consider each quality in detail in one lesson. Therefore, this lesson will describe the general features of what qualities and skills a good actor should have. In addition, a stage artist must not only have a certain set of personal and professional characteristics, but also constantly, daily work on himself, improving his skills. Therefore, for each quality, recommendations and exercises for its training and development are given. They will be considered in accordance with the structure, his followers and students:

First group "The qualities of any good actor"- these are the skills that are necessary for any person to use acting in life, regardless of whether he plans to use them for acting in a theater or filming, or simply wants to look believable when explaining his hour-long delay to work. With regard to these characteristics, you can safely apply the “required minimum” - this is what everyone should know and be able to do.

Second group "Professional quality" It is necessary to a greater extent for professionals, for those for whom acting is a craft. These qualities are associated with working on stage, interaction with actors, spectators and many other important components of acting.

Qualities of any good actor

Developed attention

Any person does his work better if he is not distracted by anything, but only on the subject of the current lesson. Actors are no exception, for whom life on stage is impossible without the ability to observe, the ability to switch and focus attention within the stage environment.

In this regard, one of the foundations of an actor’s internal technique is the selective orientation of perception during a performance. Many of our readers who are familiar with will probably notice that at a certain level of training, the ability to concentrate becomes voluntary. This is true, but in the case of the art of acting, everything is much more complicated than it might seem at first glance. The fact is that in everyday life our attention is driven by unconditioned reflexes, in other words - instinctively. During a conversation, we never think about how to stand or sit, how to control our voice, etc. But for the artist this matters, because in a real stage environment he must pay attention to all aspects of the game - speech, gestures, facial expressions, posture, prompter, and when events change, change the direction of his perception.

The following recommendations will help the actor achieve success in developing this quality:

Don't try to pay attention to too many details. This leads to so-called acting clamps: involuntary actions on stage that betray your insecurity. Remember that the “” rule works for the attention of any person.
Attention and short-term memory are skills that can be purposefully manipulated using, for example, gaming techniques. Read how to do this in the special lesson “” on our website.
Attention very much depends on the current and physical state of a person, for example, how much sleep he got, whether personal problems are bothering him today. Try to always perform in a good mood. For this purpose, you can use yoga and.

Also, K. S. Stanislavsky believed that the process of improving a skill should be constant: “When observing life, an artist should look around him not as an absent-minded layman and not as a cold statistician who only needs the factual and digital accuracy of the information collected. The artist needs to penetrate into the essence of what he observes, carefully study the circumstances and actions of people offered by life, understand the disposition of the soul, the character of the one who commits these actions.” In addition, a set of special exercises has been created to teach stage attention:

Exercise 1. Take an unfamiliar picture, look at it carefully for 5 seconds, and then try to remember all the details. In the future, take large canvases with complex patterns.

Exercise 2. Take a pencil in each hand and start drawing at the same time: with your right hand - a circle, with your left - a triangle. It is important to complete both figures at the same time. You can also write different numbers or letters.

Read more about stage attention and the stages of learning this acting skill in our blog. There are more useful exercises for its development.

Oratorical skills

“We hate theatricality in the theater, but we love the stage on stage... the voice should sing in conversation and in poetry, sound like a violin, and not knock words like peas on a board”, wrote K. S. Stanislavsky. The ability to deliver speeches, which have long become rhetoric (and there are many of them in drama), is an important quality not only for university lecturers. The same speech can be delivered in such a way that everyone falls asleep, or, on the contrary, they hang on every word. Much depends on the speaker, so it is important for every aspiring actor to develop his stage speech.

You should also pay attention to the development of your voice and its sound. To do this, you need to perform a set of exercises on breathing, articulation, tonality, and diction. Here are some of them:

Exercise 1. Breathing development. Starting position: standing, arms from shoulder to elbow in a horizontal position (parallel to the floor). From the elbow down (forearms and hands) - hang vertically. Inhale through the stomach, as you exhale, pronounce the sound “p” and make a circular movement with your forearms and hands, the shoulder remains fixed. On the next exhalation we make 2 circular rotations, then 3 and so on until 6. Then we reduce the speed from 6 to 1.

Exercise 2. Diction. Try to reproduce the sound of hammering a nail into a wall, a horse stomping on the asphalt, or releasing a bow string. What you should get is not a banal “tsok”, but something along the lines of “svsa”, “tztsu”, “vzsi”, in other words - break down the action into the sounds that you hear.

Imagination and ability to think creatively

Sense of truth- this is the ability to feel the plausibility (realism) of the action being performed. It is associated primarily with understanding the principles of human actions, logic and incentives for the actions of the played hero. Secondly, this is the actor’s ability to distinguish natural emotions and behavior from unnatural ones, not only those of others, but also his own. “Physical constraints” interfere with the development of a sense of truth - conditions that dull realism and naturalness (the desire to stand out, stiffness, self-control). K. S. Stanislavsky recommended getting rid of them in 2 stages:

Development of the truth of simple physical actions. In life, we pour boiling water over tea, stir sugar, drink, without thinking about the nature of these actions, performing them automatically. The simplest physical actions are understandable and close to everyone, so it is worth starting with their training within the framework of a stage environment, gradually moving towards the truthfulness of emotions.
Development of logic and consistency. Physical actions are instinctive, but in the theater events are fictitious and take place, for example, a couple of centuries before our time, and therefore everyday instincts fail. Therefore, actors must subordinate their actions and sequences, performing them as in life, because without this it will not be possible to develop a sense of faith.

As mentioned above, imagination and fantasy play an important role in providing a sense of truth - qualities that allow the actor to explain and justify the actions of his character. The sincerity of the role, experiences and emotions is achieved not only through an emotional response, but also through the ability to believe in the actions of the hero, to stand in his place in order to understand their nature. Without this, there is no good, truthful game.

Emotional memory

Stage freedom

They say that a skilled fencer can always be identified by the way he moves: his gestures are smooth, but quite skillful, confidence is seen in every step, as in any movement - cold calculation. This idea may be a little romanticized, but it reflects the general essence - people of different professions move in different ways. Actors are no exception: their poses, gestures, even banal walking should be distinguished by freedom.

Freedom refers to the natural behavior of an actor on stage, when he is not acting, but living. It is acquired in the process of developing such a component of acting technique as. Both in and his followers, in particular, the movement was given the place of the main means of external technique of the actor. At the same time, they argued that there are no special methods for teaching beginners the art of moving correctly: “You cannot teach the creative use of movement, but you can only educate the neuro-physical apparatus in a direction that is especially beneficial for stage work.”

In this regard, the actor should develop such qualities as plasticity and control over muscle tension. Plasticity - the beauty of movement, grace, expressiveness of the artist - the external appearance of the movement performed. Control of tension allows the actor to perform movements correctly - not mechanically, but also not in a hyperbolic or careless manner. Since the lack of movement has become a common phenomenon for modern people, the actor needs to pay due attention to his performance. Here are some exercises:

Exercise 1. Learn to dance. In theater education, dance is a classic subject. Nothing develops plasticity better than a waltz or polka.

Exercise 2. Puppet doll. Imagine that you are a marionette doll that hangs on a hook in the dressing room after the performance. Try to depict the pose as close as possible to the position of the doll. Now imagine that you are “hung” by the neck, then by the arm, shoulder, and even ear - the body is fixed at one point, everything else is relaxed. Performing this exercise several times a day will help develop body flexibility and free yourself from muscle tension.

Exercise 3. Stand on one leg for as long as you can. Usually, focusing on an imaginary object helps prolong this time. You can, for example, mentally go through the daily journey from home to work or to the store. From excessive stress, the muscles will relax after some time, and muscle tension will disappear after returning to normal.

Other exercises are described in.

Qualities of a professional actor

Charm and charisma

Think about how many actors you know and how many of them you can call charismatic. Not that much, right? Charisma is your own style, something that allows you to stand out among others, a feature and even exclusivity. Charisma is when a role that hundreds of actors have “tried on” is associated with only one name. Ask Bond fans who played James Bond best and most will answer you - Sean Connery.

Nowadays there is a mistaken opinion that an actor must be beautiful. In fact, this is not so: he must be charming. Remember Adriano Celentano, who, with his acting, manner, and style, made an entire generation fall in love with him, without having any extraordinary appearance. Beauty matters, but not nearly as often as charisma and charm, which turn a good actor into a better one.

Communication skills

Acting is a continuous process of communication. This is an internal dialogue to understand the role, professional communication with colleagues and honed verbal and appeal skills. This is the essence of theatrical art and the craft of an actor.

It is not difficult to develop communication skills; it is enough to adopt three simple laws of communication:

be open and friendly, develop an attitude of mutual understanding;
smile, show true interest in the interlocutor;
be able to listen.

Coping with fear

Public speaking phobia is one of the most common among people in the United States. And most of us have probably experienced a feeling of anxiety when faced with the need to speak in front of a large audience (and sometimes in front of a couple of people). It’s even more difficult for actors, because their performance cannot be diluted with informal techniques, and besides, they are associated not only with delivering a speech. Therefore, a good artist must be able to perform in front of the audience and the stage. This quality needs to be developed in oneself by training not only professional skills, but also confidence, concentration,...

Mental balance

Nerves of iron are needed not only to overcome stage fright. The costs of being an actor are such that he is constantly in the field of view of the director, the public, critics, and journalists. Therefore, he needs to be able to take a blow, adequately perceive and respond to criticism, encourage constructiveness in it, which contributes to the development of talents and qualities, and sets the direction for improvement.

Hard work and efficiency

Filming and rehearsals take up a lot of time in an actor’s life, and he needs to be prepared to spend significantly more than the standard 8-hour working day on set, sometimes sacrificing rest and personal interests. Here you cannot do without patience, endurance and stability in terms of heavy loads.

Knowledge of theories, genres and techniques of theatrical art

It is unlikely that you would trust someone who does not understand the difference between an adjustable wrench and a wrench to repair your plumbing. The situation is similar with the craft of an actor. This does not directly affect the ability to play a role, but it is impossible to become a professional without a store of special knowledge. And the first step for anyone who wants to master the art of transformation is getting to know the types and.

Musical and choreographic skills

Music develops hearing - it teaches you to listen, catch tempo and rhythm, which is necessary for the development of stage speech skills and more. An actor cannot do without choreography, which helps to develop plasticity, achieve naturalness, and overcome stiffness in movements.

Taste, aesthetics, sense of harmony

Playwright A. N. Ostrovsky demanded from his actors a developed aesthetic taste, without which it is impossible to understand either the essence of the theater or the nature of the characters. Without it, without a sense of harmony, the actor himself cannot understand beauty, or convey as much as possible what the image and character of the production require. Aesthetic abilities are discerned in every aspect of technique - speech, movements, emotional content of the game.

Striving to improve

An actor must constantly develop his qualities and skills, progress from role to role, leaving the best and getting rid of the unnecessary. The point here is not only in the competitive environment, where there is a constant struggle for the main roles and success, but also in the desire to be realized, which must be there. The experience enriches the emotional baggage, and each role is a step higher in terms of professional development.

Ambition, desire for success and fame, determination

Ambition is a socio-psychological trait of a person, expressed in the desire to perform actions aimed at achieving goals and self-realization. In essence, it is a stable positive motive that forces a person to move towards his dream. Without love for a job, without realizing its significance for yourself and others, without the desire to do what you do well and constantly progress, any job turns into torture, even something as interesting as an actor.

Other qualities

Here we will not really talk about qualities, but rather about the direction of personal development in order to become a good actor.

Oratory. We indicated above that stage speech and rhetoric are closely interrelated. Classes on speech technique are a compulsory subject in all theater universities without exception. Therefore, to get a more complete picture and gain the necessary knowledge, we recommend taking training on our website.

Logical thinking.- this is one of the main elements of the artist’s inner well-being. Everything that in life is done instinctively on the basis of everyday logic, in the theater is feigned. But the actor must strive to recreate a logical sequence, not only in actions, but also in the thoughts and aspirations of his hero. “If all areas of the artist’s human nature work logically, consistently, with genuine truth and faith, then the experience will be perfect,” taught K. S. Stanislavsky.

Leadership. an actor must have for a number of reasons. Firstly, being a leader means taking and being responsible for your actions, being proactive, and always looking for opportunities to achieve more. Secondly, leadership is unthinkable without the ability to establish effective communication and build relationships with others, which is very important in terms of teamwork. Thirdly, the main roles are quite often images of extraordinary personalities, leaders, and those who have developed leadership qualities can understand them, and, therefore, play better.

Test your knowledge

If you want to test your knowledge on the topic of this lesson, you can take a short test consisting of several questions. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question. The points you receive are affected by the correctness of your answers and the time spent on completion. Please note that the questions are different each time and the options are mixed.