Acting Classes are a Self Discovery Machine!
Why you should try acting as part of self discovery and self expression:
If you are like me- on a quest to evolve and to get to know yourself better- then you should try acting.
You tried form of acting during pretending games as a child and maybe in some drama classes in school or university. Maybe you already know its cathartic nature. If not, keep reading.
Actually acting is NOT pretending, otherwise the actor will be seen as fake and the performance will be considered as mediocre. And of course you know that there are entire schools of acting. I am sure you heard of method acting, where actors do everything to form understanding of the character’s emotional and cognitive process. Some of the great ones like Daniel Day-Lewis who lived in the wild for 6 months teaching himself to survive in the wild for his role The Last of the Mohicans Or Robert De Niro who drove a taxi for months to get into the life of a taxi driver for his unforgettable film Taxi Driver 1976.
But let us be simple. We do not have to go all the way there. We want to use the acting as a tool for self discovery.
During a scene study class, you will be given a two minutes script scene to perform with a partner. W/W or W/M or M/M i.e. a scene with woman/woman or woman/man or man and man. Now, naturally you will react according to your personality. You will do your best to put yourself in the shoes of the character but if you are not trained, you’d be resorting to yourself. Act angry the way you do, or compassionate the way you are. And you will use your own body language as well.
However, what if you got a scene that goes against your default nature and conditioning? Let’s suppose you are someone who is conditioned to avoid confrontation while the scene you have in hand is about confrontation and showing power. To achieve authenticity to the scene and character, you will have to be THE character acting within the context of the story. With the help and push from the director it will force you to reach inside for emotional capacity to handle acting confrontational. You will be hesitant but knowing that this is not a real situation and that it is just a pretending game, you feel safe. And with a little or a lot of push from the director, you will push harder to reach to areas within you that you may never dared to touch before. You will use your body in a new way that puts you in touch of a stronger version of you who is able to take a bigger space physically. (I am sure you know the relationship between body language and mental state).
This little achievement will grow in you. Since you dared to reach within and tap into hidden corners of power and capacities. Your mind will gradually ease up and you will start be able to reach within to use the same capacity in real life situations. The more range of emotions you get exposed to from within, the easier it will get for you to use them in real life. Think about role playing in sales training. It is the same thing. Everything we are good at, we are good at because of practice, including our own personalities.
On top of all these benefits, actually it will help you get rid of your body language ticks that you picked up along the years. You may move your shoulder in a repetitive way or reach to your neck when you are stressed. Acting will help you to get rid of all that and you will become a better presenter too.
So, if you are interested in exploring what hidden gems you have within. Reach out to the closest acting classes in your area. There must be classes for amateurs that are affordable. And do not worry about being timid, these classes uses a range of warm up activities that you will get comfortable within 10 minutes.
