Basic Dramatic Principles

September 10th

Skills

Confidence- is having the ability to stand in front of a crowd and not be afraid, not freeze, and to act natural and stay in character. Drama requires you to have confidence due to the fact that at times you must make yourself look like a fool, if you are unable to do this, you would not succeed in the industry. I would argue that confidence is one of the most important skills that an actor must require.

Awareness - is having the ability to know where another actor is on the stage. In simple terms: to be able to walk down the street and know there is a bike behind you, therefore, you must move to the side to avoid the bike, This is key in theatre to know when another actor has moved, stumbled, improvised or fallen. Along with these, having a outward perception and awareness to the world can give you ideas to plays and can help you develop characters due to the fact that you can pull real life representations to use for your character.

Imagination- is the ability to see a man running and picture a werewolf chasing behind him and the ability to take the world for what it is and change it to create pieces of drama that drive the audience to see beyond reality. This is a vital skill due to the fact that if you are unable to see beyond the boundaries of everyday life, then you are unable to create something that is unique and that can spark a light in someone’s mind.

Collaboration - using other actors, directors, and writers to mix multiple minds into one to create higher quality pieces of art. This is imperative in drama due to the simple phrase ‘two minds are better than one’.

Discipline - is an indispensable skill. It means that you are able to stop yourself from doing something that might be negative towards yourself and instead focusing that energy on something positive and useful. This is an unquestionable skill in drama due to the long hours, intense work ethic, competitive industry, and volume of work that is required by each actor.

Listening - is a principle skill in drama due to the pure and simple fact that is you do not listen to a director you will be: fired; or unable to complete and do your job. If this is undeveloped, you will be unable to physically be an actor due to the fact that you will have no understanding of what is required of you.

Open mindedness- is useful because it means you are able to follow instructions well but still have your own spin on it. It also means that you are able to work with several different people and still be a good actor which is important because if you have a willingness to other people's ideas you are more likely to be hired and, therefore, have a job.

Voice- is a paramount skill as if somebody is unable to hear you or understand you, then you have failed your job as an actor. This is key because having projection and articulation are some of the foundational building blocks into basic and advanced acting.

Enjoyment- is a major skill. If you cannot enjoy what you are putting your life, heart and soul into, then you should not be an actor. Seeing an actor truly enjoy what they are doing is a truly beautiful sight to behold.

Fears

Fear is incredibly underrated but useful skill in life. Without fear there is no courage. Without courage you have no bravery. Without bravery, you will be unable to achieve what you dream of.

Shyness- Being shy can be very negative on stage because it can affect your voice, confidence, and ability to perform the character correctly. In some cases, a character may have the characteristics of being shy yet this does not mean that you yourself must be shy, you simply must portray these characteristics correctly.

Getting wrong- The fear of rejection or doing something incorrectly is a strong fear amongst all actors but if you don’t try, you will never know. Failure is also a very large amount of getting it wrong due to the fact that failure is one of the worst things that an actor can have happen to them.

Rules

Accept whatever is thrown at you and accept people for who they are.

Don’t block ideas.
Work with them.
However, if this doesn’t work after attempting, let it go and explain why it doesn’t work in order to progress.

Don't shut ideas down.
Always take everyone’s opinion into account no matter who they are.
Look at it from their perspective.

Watch everything as everything is drama.