Is acting your passion? During free time, do you see yourself acting out movie scenes or enacting famous movie dialogues? What if we told you that you can take your acting passion to go beyond just your free time? We’re here to help. Actress Meryl Streep once mentioned that “Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there”. To paraphrase, on the farther side of acting, it is not just about becoming a scripted character, it is trying to find ways to understand the character’s traits and also seeing yourself in there. In this article, we will confer about mastering body language in acting: 5 essential tips for convincing performances.

To be able to ‘land a role’, it is important to practice and hone your skills. A passionate actor must constantly be on the look out for how they can better their talent. One major adroitness is knowing what Body Language is. It is a type of non-verbal communication that includes the use of facial expressions, hand gestures, posture and body movements. Mastering body language is a unique experience; For instance; all people have their own ‘Launch Stance’ or an opening stance. This is a position at which a person stands before proceeding with a game or an act. This shows how the process is idiosyncratic.

Here are 5 essential tips to master body language in acting:

1) Practice Body Language Exercises

Constructing a character is a phrase often used to describe a character. This involves creating a backstory for the character and defining their traits based on what would seem like their arc and progression through the back story. To become your character it is important to learn more about them. While learning, some basic exercises you can practice are:

• The Gait Exercise: The way we walk says a lot about us. In acting, practicing the gait exercise depends on the triads and moods of the character you are portraying. A gait can vary depending on how you are feeling, what the circumstance is, the people you are around and the environment you are in. Once you have studied about your character, doing the gait exercise, imitating the how the character would, helps you get better at embodying the scripts needs

• Subtext: This practice is about using your posture to express the opposite of what the character is actually feeling. For instance, your character is happy that they got a new job, but your body language would be a lowered gaze, stooped shoulders and anything that appears the opposite of the happiness and excitement they feel.

• Seven microexpressions: All humans involuntarily express a lot with their faces. This exercise is about conveying emotions like anger, fear, happiness, disgust, sadness, excitement etc. through expressions without uttering a single word.

2) Learning Through Examples

The best way to learn something you do not know much about is by first being a spectator. You may not be able to master what you are seeing in the first go but with practice, learning body language enactment can become easier. Leading and reputed institutes, notably institutes in Noida, Delhi NCR offer you curricula with coursework that includes learning the art of Body Language. You can also refer to tutorial videos and attend workshops curated, organized and hosted by industry specialists.

3) Body Language Techniques

Actors follow many body language techniques to help themselves learn the flow better. All the body language practices are unique to each actor, there are 7 movement techniques an aspiring actor can practice, as stated by backstage.com

• Alexander technique – Specialized body-awareness strategies to reduce tension.
• Jacques Lecoq movement technique – Mix of mime, mask work and other movement techniques to develop creativity and freedom of expression.
• Corporeal mime – Using movements to illustrate abstract concepts.
• Viewpoints – Exploring human emotions in relation to space, time and shape.
• The Suzuki method of acting – Training actors to work from their core and construct discipline.
• The Williamson technique – Physical processes of communication in acting.
• Laban movement analysis – Divides movement in 4 categories: body, effort, shape and space.

4) Making a Practice of Practice

That wasn’t a vocabulary glitch, you read it right. Make practicing your skill a habit. Schedule your breaks, take good rest and get back to practicing the art of body language. Though all of it may seem like a lot and taxing at first, but with right guidance and coaching you get to become an ace expert in no time. This process becomes easier if you enroll into acting classes and institutes that offer bachelors and masters programs in acting.

5) Be Your Character

Now that you have a precise idea as to what and who your character is, acting like your character can help you champion the craft. This can be method acting and father from that. Try thinking of an instance or a situation your character would be in and use body language movement to express what the character might be feeling. If the character is in a situation where they feel anxious and scared, you can try imagining yourself in the circumstances and emote how you would react while being the character. Studying and understanding human minds can help you know reactions better. Certain people freeze when they’re scared and anxious, some people panic, some people shiver; grasping these reactions can help you try the best body language that defines your character in a given situation.

Conclusion

You are only a few milestones away from achieving your dream acting career. Through the entire process, try being open to learning new things, seeking advice, receiving constructive criticism, learning from mistakes and honing your craft. With the world evolving and more educational institutes offer acting classes and courses, people who are passionate about acting have immense opportunities to pursue their dreams. AAFT’s School of Cinema gives you the option choose from the following programs:

• B.A. in Cinema
• M.A. in Cinema
• Diploma in Acting for Film & TV
• Diploma in Direction
• Diploma in Post Production
• Diploma in Cinematography.