Over the last few months, I've noticed something happening to actors and it is severely impacting many of them.
Because of the changes that have happened with how we interact with one another, many actors find themselves losing touch with the nuances that make for great performances.
To be honest, most of them didn't have a very good grasp on this to begin with.
See, most acting classes will teach you how to portray certain emotions but they leave out a huge part of what makes a performance believable.
Successful actors know that "showing emotion" isn't enough and they go multiple layers deeper than that.
We'll talk about those layers in depth over the coming weeks.
What we'll start with today is the biggest piece of what makes a performance stand out to the audience and makes CDs and industry decision makers want to work with you over and over again.
If you want to be a successful actor, this is something you have to master...
World class actors know that what your character is saying isn't nearly as important as how they say it.
Regardless of what type of character you're playing, there are really only 3 major things they are trying to communicate at any time.
Everything else mostly falls into those.
The majority of what the audience perceives is through your tonality.
"Hello." Is different from "hello!" which is also different from "hello..."
The meaning behind what you are saying is completely driven by the tonality behind it. Here's what I mean...
The simplest way to think of tonality is to break down the 3 major things you are trying to accomplish through what you're saying.
With every line, your character is either in rapport seeking mode, rapport breaking mode, or neutral.
Just about everything else falls into one of those 3. Let's start with rapport seeking mode.
When your character is in this mode they are, on some level, seeking approval from the person they are talking to.
This would be the kind of interaction you would have when meeting someone for the first time, provided it's someone you wanted to be friendly with.
When in rapport seeking mode, your voice goes up at the end of your statement. It's like a subconscious signal to open a conversation.
Compare that to rapport breaking mode.
This one is the exact opposite. Your character is trying to signal that they don't want to continue a conversation.
When in this mode, your voice goes down at the end to signal to the other person that you would rather keep the interaction short.
This would be how you would talk to someone you have nothing in common with and don't want anything to do with.
It's also used by people in a position of authority, because it's a very matter of fact way of communicating.
It's a way of controlling the pace of the conversation, while maintaining control of the interaction.
Neutral tonality is similar but it is intended to show that you are neither interested nor disinterested in the conversation.
Your voice stays in the same range throughout, as a subtle sign that you are open to keeping the conversation going, but you're not totally bought in just yet.
You would use this tonality when your character is looking for more information or when they are unsure what to think about someone and what's going on in the scene.
I could literally write an entire book on what we talked about today, but this is enough to get you started and it can give you a big advantage over other actors.
Take an old script and read it through.
Identify what tonality should be used for each of your lines.
Then watch your scenes and see if your tonality on screen matches what you identified it should have been, when reading the script.
You can also do this when preparing for an audition, to help you create dynamic characters that will be way more developed than anyone else you are reading against.
When actors aren't booking as much as they should be, there could be a few factors at play.
What we went over today will help if the problem is related to your performance. However, that's only the only thing that matters.
Casting will typically build a file and look into you before moving you along in the process. That's why it's important that your industry reputation is always in top shape. Here's how I can help.
A terrific audition does not guarantee a call back. There is a lot that happens before casting takes the next step with you.
If what they find about you isn't up to what they expect, then it could be why you are having great auditions but few callbacks. This is why successful actors make it a point to manage the way they show up in the places where CDs and decision makers are looking.
This is something most actors don't think much about.
They also don't really put in much of an effort to get in front of CDs, other than when they are reading.
If you've been around Boost My Star for any length of time, you know that this alone can be a career killer.
So, in 2022 focus on making yourself visible to the industry. Don't just wait around for your agent to get you an audition.
Successful actors know that if the industry doesn't know you, they can't hire you. They consistently try to get in front of CDs using something that is indispensable to them. Here's how I can help.
As we enter a new year things will continue to change in the industry but I will always only be an email or a comment away. I'm happy to help however I can so feel free to get in touch anytime. I want 2022 to be the year when I...
See you at the top,
Scott