Acting Exercise - Concentrating on Your Actions

While the majority of acting teachers push the importance of physical actions and emotions that go along with these, you won't go very far with your performance if you are lacking concentration. Concentration is an actor's best friend; however, if you lack experience performing in front of an audience or in front of a camera, then you may that your concentration wavering.

There are many different exercises designed to help control an actor's concentration, and the "Concentrating On Your Actions" exercise is one of my personal favorites. This exercise calls upon the actor to fully concentrate on every movement within his body in order to convey a purposeful and organic performance.

Instructions

The purpose of this exercise is to enhance the concentration and focus of movements performed by an actor. Instruct a single actor to perform the exercise. You will then give the actor a scenario to act out. Do not allow the actor talk, but making sounds is permissible. The actor should concentrate on his body and putting purpose behind his actions.

Sample Scenarios

While you may come up with your own scenarios, you may also use the following scenarios that I've used numerous times throughout my teaching of this acting exercise.

• · Sitting along at a bar, you try to gain the attention of a person near you that you wish to talk with because you find them physically attractive.
• · You are sick, and you're trying to study your homework for the upcoming midterms.
• · While folding your partners laundry you discover an article of clothing that does not belong to you, or your partner.
• · You accidentally break your mother's favorite antique vase. You attempt to cover your tracks by repairing the vase - are you successful?
• · You're searching your room for a lost item that is very important/valuable to you.
• · You are about to run away from home, and are packing your suitcase for the upcoming journey.
• · You're alone, late at night waiting for the bus - you hear noises coming closer to you.