So many articles have been written here about the importance of the audition room, the many different scenarios that you may have to deal with, and how to hold on and control the space. I have written a few myself and that’s good—what happens in the room is often the deal breaker. But no amount of information or instruction means anything unless your mind and body are fully grounded. If those two sense doors aren’t secure and focused, all of your best intentions toward being a strong, compelling presence will stay just intentions. You need the foundation of a steady mind and a strong, flexible body to support you and your work every moment that you’re in the room.
Today I am going to write about the importance of grounding yourself in the body. Next week, I’ll tackle the mind!
As an actor, the body is where you want to be living. Unlike the flighty, judgmental, dualistic mind, the body has no investment in being right or wrong. The body takes in and gives back information with no opinion or add-ons; its mode of intake and expression is pure.
In order for your work to flow out of your body, the channels of the body need to be relaxed and open.
This open receptivity is also necessary if the people in the room are going to see you as a strong compelling presence—someone they can rely on and with whom they want to work.
The opposite of that is the tight and defended way that many actors present themselves in the room. Every fear and insecurity is played out in subtle and not-so-subtle ways across their bodies. From the folded arms and tapping foot, to the unfocused, darting eyes, we see a body that is at the mercy of the crazy energy of the room. We see an actor with no center.
The rooms are small and the people in those room are being paid to stare at you. They won’t miss this. They are also very aware of how the energy shifts as each person walks in: Does the room get calmer and more focused, or more manic and scattered? Who is taking care of who?
You also want to be sure that you are not the possessor of a rigid or stiff body—a body that is being literally “held” in a position of so called confidence. Nothing looks more frightened than this body type. In addition, the rigidity also sends a message of fear and defensiveness to the brain, which also constricts, so that you won’t be able to flow with the energy of the room and take in adjustments with the alert openness you need to get the job.
Strength comes from relaxation, not from tension. If you’ve ever played tennis, golf, or thrown a ball you know this: lock the arm, lose the power. The body of the relaxed, aware actor is strong because it is liquid, not solid. It feels like your blood is warm water running through your body and that the bones holding you up are strong, and the muscles around them are supportive yet flexible.
That’s the thing: A great audition, actually, is the perfect balance between preparedness and flexibility—and your body needs to contain the feeling of both.
A wonderful way to connect to the body and give each part of it just what it needs is to do a simple body scan. This is a great thing to do in a waiting room. Start at the top of your head and work your way down from your forehead, brow, facial muscles, ears, neck, shoulders, etc., until you are at the bottoms of your feet. As you move along with awareness, you’ll notice what parts of your body are holding tension. Spend time there, sending breath and warmth to that body part until you feel it start to release. Then move on, spending as much time as it takes to relax the entire body. Don’t skip around and don’t miss anything—you’d be surprised where tension can hide. At the same time as you’re relaxing the body, you’ll be energizing it as well by filling it with life affirming oxygen. There is a lot of shallow, labored breathing in waiting rooms and you can gain a distinct advantage by being the person who is expanding instead of contracting!
A body scan helps your concentration as well. It takes discipline to focus on just one part of the body at a time, so as well as relaxing your body, you are sharpening your potentially wild mind into a calm, centered force. And the awareness that you gain of what your body is doing and how it is feeling comes into the room with you, so that if you feel yourself tighten up in the room, you will be able to identify where it is taking place and breathe into it.
Roles go to actors whose presence gives the people in the room the confidence to hire them and whose work embodies the role in the most compelling way. But, you can’t be the embodiment of this strong, flexible, fascinating actor unless you are fully alive and grounded in your own body. Be aware of it, take care of it, and your body will provide the strength and security you need to take the risks that can propel you to greatness.
Like this advice? Check out more from our Backstage Experts!
