The Acting Blog

Some Assorted Thoughts on Acting

Legs and Spine

Actors spend hours standing. The legs, the pelvis, the hips, the spine, the head, we must spend a great deal of time working on helping them cope with the demands of all that standing. They are so essential, they cannot be ignored. Supple and strong legs are essential, as is a supple, relaxed and lengthened spine.

Kid’s Games

We were all taught a lot of fun nonsense as children, the Easter Bunny, Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy AND that acting was about pretending to do things. For children play pretend is a game, it’s a child’s game, for adults, it’s completely unhelpful to learning how to act.
We teach children about the theatre, about acting and performance through their imaginations, through pretend because their imaginations can make it real for them. We teach adults about acting and performance by asking them to tell the truth, because their imaginations make them miss the truth of the moment.

To You, The Best!

Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2009

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Tags: Acting