Category: acting
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acting 101: #16 stage directions (theater)
Finally, your acting 101 guide resumes! For a theater actor/actress, the stage is where all the magic happens. Effective navigating on stage is vital for a seamless work day with the director and crew of a play. So here are directions to know before you step on stage. Before I list them, keep in mind:…
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acting 101: #15 “Yes! And then…!” (improv exercise)
Are you in need of an acting exercise that you can do wherever and whenever? I’d like to introduce to you a fun and fast-paced game to squeeze in during busy days: Yes! And then…! is the perfect game to play with a friend or collegue to get your creativity and focus flowing! Read on…
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acting 101: #14 ten words, one story (impro exercise)
When improvising, we need to be creative and think beyond given situations to create new ones. I’d like to present to you a good exercise to train that exact skill: I call it ten words, one story (if you’ve been around my acting 101, you know how I like to make up names for already existing…
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acting 101: #13 wild walks
I had the most inspiring acting class two weeks ago. Thanks to one of my favorite teachers, I felt like no time had passed since my last acting lesson in Cologne (over a month did pass in fact, but I got to take an acting lesson whilst my travel in Los Angeles at Gray Studios…
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acting 101: #12 Auditing David Rountree’s Camera Acting Workshop at Gray Studios, North Hollywood
David Rountree is a talented actor and great producer (check out his IMDb profile). He also teaches acting at Gray Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. I got to audit one of his classes in June 2017 during my L. A. Summer Love experience. Being an acting enthusiast, entering the doors of a renowned acting…
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acting 101: #11 double-take
Have you ever consciously noticed the double-take happening in movies & on television? In real life, it happens more often than we are aware of (& not rarely does it cause me to stumble or fall, you with me?): You are heading somewhere, absorbed in thought, when suddenly, something particular catches your attention from the…
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acting 101: #10 spatial awareness
As actors, we are not always lucky enough to be playing scenes in real-world settings. Location shooting is not always the case or even possible for that matter — films are often shot in studios or backlots. Or you play scenes in front of a green screen, which can be pretty irritating. When the scene shows a…
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acting 101: #9 table reading & cold reading
For you as an actor, table reading is a great tool to get used to your acting partner and to test your chemistry. Table readings also most importantly give the producers a sense whether the scene/dialogue works or not. What is this “table reading” and how does it work? Read on to find out 🙂 TABLE READING With…
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acting 101: #8 freeze (improv game)
An absolute classic improvisation game, Freeze is much respected by beginners. But once adjusted to the pace of Freeze, it is great fun. Not only do beginners overcome the fear of playing and establishing silly or extraordinary scenes (which you have to consider when playing Freeze on a regular basis), they also grow through the speed of…
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acting 101: #7 warming up methods II
I have written about the importance of a vivid and expressive face for an actor before. One method to warm up your face is the “the mouse & the bear”-technique. Another one is the following — which also has no official name, I guess, so I call it “chew baby chew”. Chew baby chew focuses…
enchanting notions 