How to Get Student Actors to Stop Rushing

A director pal lately despatched me a message asking for recommendation about the way to assist her college students with their upcoming present. 

Hi Kerry, 

Any recommendations on serving to my college students to decelerate and cease speeding? There are just a few spots within the present the place moments are “urgent,” however I really feel that the viewers goes to overlook issues as the scholars rush. We do walk-throughs, I clarify and ask them to decelerate, however they appear to get caught up within the pleasure. Or maybe they’re satisfied it doesn’t look genuine? Maybe it will naturally evolve this week as they change into extra comfy off-book, however any ideas within the meantime can be useful.

I assure this isn’t the primary director coping with college students who rush their strains and actions. Your first job is to try to uncover why your college students are speeding their strains and/or actions. Then, you’ll be able to strive among the following 12 suggestions and strategies I’ve utilized in numerous conditions with my college students to assist them decelerate:

1. “Slow down” won’t be particular sufficient in your college students. Try including gestures or facial expressions at particular factors within the scene to assist your college students deal with their full performances. Some college students are visible learners, so bodily demonstrating the actions you need could also be useful. Our Physicalizing Emotions article may assist with this.

2. You might also wish to strive constructing in particular pauses and bodily stops throughout college students’ strains to pressure them to decelerate. Try giving the precise counts you’d just like the pause to be (for instance, three seconds versus one second). Alternatively, have college students strive pausing for one beat for a comma or semicolon and two beats for a interval, query mark, or exclamation mark.

3. Some college students don’t consider us once we inform them what they’re doing till they see it themselves. Try filming college students’ run-throughs and present them precisely what they’re doing and the way a lot they’re speeding. (I had a director do that to me as soon as — it labored and I lastly made the correction!)

4, You might additionally make rehearsal reference movies of the time(s) when college students carry out the scene the best way you need them to, and make these the official templates of what they should do every time.

5. If college students aren’t absolutely off-book or are feeling shaky with their strains, they could be speeding to get the scene over with. Here are some suggestions to assist college students memorize their strains. The sooner they’ve their strains discovered, the simpler will probably be for them to sink comfortably into the scene and keep away from speeding. 

6. Many college students cope with nerves or nervousness, which can trigger them to hurry their strains or actions. Try some mindfulness strategies to assist them fight jitters and see if that helps them decelerate and cease speeding. 

7. Try having college students run their strains intentionally slowly — at half-speed and even slower. What they really feel is half-speed might be an acceptable velocity for the stage! 

8. If college students are speeding their actions throughout the scene, have them strive the scene whereas shifting at half-speed and even standing nonetheless or sitting. How does that have an effect on their efficiency? 

9. If you discover college students are speeding their stage fight choreography, battle administrators say that stage fight efficiency velocity is most 75% of a “real” battle. Both as a result of the 2 combatants want to have the ability to see what’s taking place and the viewers must know what’s taking place. If they transfer too quick, the viewers will miss the necessary moments. It’s not like on movie, the place the motion could be sped up. Onstage, we have now to droop our disbelief to ensure that the motion to be seen and understood. 

10. Think scientifically. Have college students think about what their our bodies do biologically when they’re excited or nervous. What occurs when college students really feel an adrenaline spike? Explain that if they’re speeding now in rehearsal, they’ll rush much more when present week adrenaline hits. Your 90-minute present might find yourself being solely an hour! 

11. Put your self within the viewers’s footwear. Sit your college students down and have a frank dialog, contemplating the scenario from the viewers’s perspective. The college students know the present — the viewers doesn’t. The viewers paid to be there and listen to the story that the actors are presenting. If viewers members can’t perceive what’s happening, that’s not their fault — it’s as much as the actors to assist them perceive. 

12. Have college students carry out their scenes in entrance of their friends and have their friends give suggestions on the velocity. Sometimes having the suggestions come from their buddies and classmates could be extra palatable to college students. Alternatively, have somebody who isn’t a part of the present (corresponding to one other trainer) sit in on a rehearsal and watch/hear for speeding, as a impartial occasion who isn’t acquainted with the scenes.

Click right here for a free printable tip sheet.