acting

Emotion in Action Film Editing

As combat performers, we often get obsessed with the improvement of our physical performance. We often assume that the emotional aspect will happen by itself. But, it’s important for both choreographers and performers to incorporate the anger and fear and pain and exhaustion of battle into your rehearsal and practice. I’ve expounded on this before. […]

Pause for Effect

Recently, the most effective tip I’ve been giving actors again and again is “take a moment”. It’s very easy to go to the next move in the fight choreography. However, there are important times to pause for effect. Laugh Lines You shouldn’t build a pause into your performance expecting that the audience will laugh. However, […]

Keep Your Method Out of My Combat

Stage combat and Method acting don’t mix. What do we mean by “Method acting”? Here’s part of what Wikipedia has to say: Strasberg used the term “Method” to describe his philosophy of acting and his techniques of training actors, which built upon some of Stanislavski’s early ideas. Strasberg’s method is based upon the idea that […]

Ego in Performance

Do you get stage fright? Have you ever delivered a performance, and thought that the audience hates you? Today, I want to remind you that it’s not about you. It’s about the performance. The audience isn’t judging you. Think about a clown. Laughing at a clown is not insulting to the clown. You’re not laughing […]

Performance Traits and Virtues

Mastering a physical skill is a long process. Although most beginners need to learn the fundamental movements and the terminology to identify them, there is a constant development at all levels of general traits and valuable “soft” skills. Despite the lack of attention given to these virtues, they are universally acknowledged among the best performers. […]

Is Your Climax a Fizzle?

Good climaxes like this one from Rob Roy are not only exciting fights that are well performed, but also reflect the themes and actions in the rest of the story: What is the climax of a play or movie? It’s the point where the tension gets so high that something snaps. Psychological tension is released […]

How to Die on Stage

No Method Acting Many characters suffer and die in plays and films. Some actors consider it to be the most fun scene, others think it’s the most challenging. How do you play a realistic death? Well, you don’t do it like that scene from Enter the Ninja. So how do you research? I would not […]