Acting Performance

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Top six of hardest things to do in acting

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1- Laughing:
Being convincingly overcome by laughter remains for me one of the most impressive tricks I ever see in movies. The act is involuntary and often springs from utterly spurious and inexplicable sources. Since crying usually has a traceable cause of some sort, I'm guessing that it's an easier act to summon up (even if the tears themselves can be elusive - see below).

Good laughter is terribly infectious, yet you don't see a lot of it in movies, and I'm guessing that it falls into the same category as complex special effects and scenes with animals, in that time and money often force a director to think whether they really have the time in the schedule to get the scene.

Therefore really out-of-control laughter remains one of the things that we accept movies can't necessarily deliver, along with genuinely convincing 'aged' make-up.

A fund of jokes seems to be a part of most experienced directors' repertoire of save-the-day techniques - not only can a good punch-line heal an on-set rift but a real stinger can get an actor's sense of humour going when laughter is on the agenda. But 6 takes of a convincing laughing jag has got to be one of the hardest things to get in the can.

When the fates favor a director, howling hysteria leaves a lasting impression on the viewer...

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2- Not laughing ('Corp-sing'):
Known in Hollywood as 'breaking face', the act of being unable to stop laughing inappropriately during a take is believed to have taken the name 'corp-sing' from the English theater. There was apparently a beastly thespian practice among-st bored casts of trying to provoke mirth from actors playing corpses.

The problem with corp-sing is that the more serious a problem it becomes, the worse it can get. With a 15,000 dollar-a-minute meter ticking and the sun going down, it just seems all the more absurd...

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3- Simulating sex:
When wondering if we could be actors, this is probably one of the first set-ups that intrigues us; could we convincingly recreate the most intimate and private act of two people surrounded by sandwich-chewing gaffers and paparazzi hiding in the rafters? What will our partners think of it? And, if you're a fella, there's one thing you're going to be particularly worried about...

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4- Crying:

Yet being unable to cry on demand can prove a face-losing shame akin to impotence for actors, with glycerin or CGI tears the 'cop out' no 'real' actor should need to resort to. At least, many actors seem to feel this, based on their anecdotes.

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5- Learning Lines:
If you moan about having to remember a new password, can you imagine trying to cram a Shakespearean soliloquy into that 14k of RAM you call memory (actually, I'm talking about myself here)...?

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6- Nerves:

Whenever we don’t accept whatever we’re feeling, that feeling will only become stronger. So when we’re nervous and try to pretend everything is fine, we become more nervous. Solution? Accept whatever it is you are experiencing, without deciding it is wrong for the scene. And remember, the character you are playing might also be nervous, she’s a person, right? Even if it appears in the script that she is calm, cool, and collected, she may have the same fears about what’s about to happen that you have.

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How can hypnosis help you?

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Under hypnosis our hypnotist will suggest and help you to:

 

Be Confident

Actors needs to be confident in themselves and in their abilities. Unfortunately, many actors work in the trade, but don’t really see themselves actors, much less as people who can command top roles and pay. Hypnosis can help you see yourself as who you want to be, which makes getting there so much easier. 

 

 

Stay Calm In Your Auditions

Stop seeing your auditions as stressful and vulnerable moments. Feeling nervous and self conscious leads to performances that comes across as stiff and stilted, rather than the natural flow that characterizes an exceptional performance. Hypnotherapy can help you keep your mind calm and focused during your auditions. This is done by training your mind to reframe the audition experience, making it into an empowering situation in which you come into your own. This is done through a combination of guided imagery and positive suggestions while in the hypnotic state. With the use of hypnosis, you can train your mind to act, regardless of distractions such as who might be in the room. Train your mind to be in the moment so that you can give a stellar performance.

 

 

Get In And Out Of Character

A good actor becomes the character he or she seeks to portray. Truly memorable performances are partially a result of this ability. When you are your character, every gesture flows with ease, including your vocal inflections and intonations. Your character’s affect and demeanor takes front stage center, because you’ve already left yourself at the door. This requires a level of immersion that is not unlike the hypnotic state. Since the process of role immersion and hypnosis have many common aspects, learning self-hypnosis will improve your ability to get into your characters quickly and thoroughly. By giving yourself the ability to go in and out of character on command, you give yourself the ability to retain a strong sense of who you are. This ensures that you do not inadvertently create any psychological issues resulting from blending the lines between your characters and your own identity. In addition to helping you get into a role, hypnosis can help you retain a clear sense of yourself, apart from the roles you play.

 

Overcome Stage Fright/Performance Anxiety

Stage fright, also known as performance anxiety, can be crippling to actors, whether they perform on stage or in front of the camera. Stage fright is the anxious feeling or downright fear that comes over some people when face with the prospect of having to perform in front of others. For some, it can be paralyzing, while in others, it takes the form of “butterflies in the stomach,” as the colloquialism goes. Just as with helping the actor stay calm for auditions, hypnosis can help with stage fright in the same way, by engendering positive associations tied to performing on stage or before the camera.

Through hypnosis, you can train your mind to experience a new reality in which you are calm and in control.