Hi everybody and welcome to another post of this blog which is getting always more visitors day by day: thank you about it, I really appreciate it. First and foremost I must say that by all means I’m not a stage actor, I briefly worked on stage back in my 20s, I’m taking lessons but I’m really not a stage actor hence I’m not qualified to give you advises directly: to put together this post I used my little experience but especially I’ve been asking info and tips to stage actors that are friends of mine, I noted everything who told me my own teacher and I searched info around.

How to Stage Act – Theater Acting
Let’s say you want to start in the world of stage/theater acting and slowly slowly you build up the skill to play some part (no matter what level): there are 4 sequential methods that will make you improve from where you are at. They must be considered and improved in a sequential order:
1) Learn from experience
2) Perfecting your delivery
3) Developing a believable character
4) Getting comfortable onstage

Let’s get some more insights: Learning from experience
Here we are talking about life experience, your experience so far and acting experience: every time you perform listen carefully the stage director, look at the reaction of the others or of the audience and if you see a more skilled actor in your play watch him and learn from him.
Observe people in your life in order to widen the array of different real life characters.
You have to watch as many performances as possible and possibly with a certain variety: at this stage you don’t have necessarily go to the theater, youtube or other services will come handy. And, of course, practice practice practice! Every single free moment you have!

Once you get the part one done is time to perfecting your delivery.
Here is were the job starts to get harder and you have not just to practice, but to study quite a lot. You have to memorize your lines until you have them printed in your mind. Recite your lines over and over again, never too much. Voice coaching: you must work in order that your accent is neutral (unless an accent is requested), perform tongue-twisting practices to speak better and be clear when you talk. If it is the case exaggerate your pronunciation and don’t mumble if not requested by the script.
Start to work in front of the mirror and exaggerate your expressions till the point that everybody will understand you just from your body language and then sync your expressions with your lines delivering the right way. The best way to improve this point is always taking acting classes and it is a MUST if you want to make a career out of acting.

Now that you know how to play and how to deliver is time to develop the character that you have to play in a way that makes it believable.
Whether your character is the main one or a side one make researches on your character, try to figure it out as if it was real.
Make a list of details that may or may not suit the character and try these details while practicing. A very important point is often forgotten: don’t just develop a character as it is on its own, but also as it is within the other characters!
Try to get in the role completely: we are not talking about method acting but rather cutting off your own reality for the time you are in your role.

Last but not least: get comfortable on stage!
Now you’ve got them all: you know how to act, you know how to deliver, you know how to get into a character/role … now turn everything into reality: you must put everything together and perform on stage, which is very different from the mirror, from your room or from a rehearsal room.
Make the stage your comfort zone, just relax and keep calm. The public might scare you but consider two things: stage lights are pointed on you so you most likely won’t see the public – use the public to get the adrenaline to perform the best play of your life! When you are on stage remember that you are there because of your passion and think about all the sacrifices you’ve done to be there: the stage and the public along the side are the best satisfaction ever and will pay off all the time you put into prepare it.

That’s it … let me know what you think about being a stage actor or if you wanna be a stage actor by commenting or DM on the Ivano Cheers Instagram Profile, by commenting or message me on my Official Facebook Page or by contact me here on the website.

On more time I ask you to donate something for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society©: more info in this post of mine about LLS©. Thank you.

Thanks as always for everything!

Love you all

Ivano C.