Professional Acting Tips - Discovering Your Circle of Attention

Concentration - for actors this is one of the most valuable skills to sharpen as when you are working in rehearsal and performing on stage, you must be able to concentrate solely on your character and the story at hand.

I have been too many plays that featured an actor whose concentration was clearly not on performing and on his character and story. How could I tell? His performance was not sincere, he was not fully present in a scene and his dialogue came across as if he was trying so hard not to forget his lines.

An extreme level of concentration is defined as having a circle of attention, according to the great acting coach Stanislavski, and it identifies the headspace every actor should strive for. You see, when you are performing in any way, shape and form your entire aura should be consumed in the happenings of the scene.

Although you may be focusing on the actions of the scene, your mind will naturally be aware of outer elements. These elements, or distractions, can dramatically hinder your performance by taking you out of the safe haven of your scene and exposing you to the "real" world.

The term circle of attention is a way of describing your concentration sphere. As you engage in your character, you are building a sphere of concentration, or a circle of attention, and the only elements you allow to enter this sphere is whatever is relevant to the scene.

This sphere is not a static one, either. You must be able to expand and contract this circle based on the circumstances within a scene. For example, you are having an intense conversation with your lover in a park. Your circle of attention will be very small, only allowing your lover in; however, a gang of criminals come running across the field toward your direction. Suddenly, your circle of attention must expand to encompass the scene that has quickly widened and invited more persons and actions into your immediate world.

Concentration can be achieved by properly channeling your energy toward the accomplishment of a goal, or focusing solely on the happenings of the scene. This command of concentration will also command that attention of audience members, as they will see only what you allow them to see and hear what you will allow them to hear. The only way to guide audience members throughout this suggestive attention is to have a precise circle of attention and concentration that cannot be broke - by anything.