Feedback on Tics of the Trade

This week’s Your Turn is all about last week’s “Tics of the Trade.” 🙂 The most common question, as covered by James:

Dear Bonnie,

Those darn tics, huh? I know a lot of this is nervous energy, but some (like the female actress you mention) may be an everyday tic in a given situation and have nothing to do with nervousness in front of a camera.

Once one has recognized the fact that they are tic-ing, 😉 what sort of recommendations do you have for getting rid of them?

Best regards,
James

Luckily, I received a phenomenal email from the wonderful Amro Salama, whose work with actors (and work AS an actor) is impressive. Here’s what he had to say!

Hellooo Bonnie!

Yes, we do all have tics in regular life and sometimes they inhabit the characters we play. But, I totally agree that they should be intelligently thought out before hand and not as a result of tension or an uncontrolled habitual response on behalf of the actor.

As I continue to study the craft of acting and as I climb up the career ladder and get better and better opportunities, I have found that the number ONE thing that has helped me get rid of tics, commune with the role, and allow my natural instincts to take over is RELAXATION!!

I cannot “stress” this enough. Even if it takes two hours beforehand to really relax your entire body, do it!!

I just finished a play and I could not have had the REAL moments I had on stage without either getting to the theatre waaaay early or relaxing on my way to the theatre and in the car parking lot. At theatrical auditions, I go through a full-body (from head to toe) inventory and relax every muscle on the way down. Yes, I can look silly in the wait room, but I don’t bother anyone and am always considerate of those around me and head out to the hallway if needed.

Trust me, it works!! Then, when you perform/audition, you are able to accept everything that is happening to your body, INSTINCTIVELY. You want your physical expressions to be in harmony with the character. And, sometimes, we don’t intellectually know what those are. So, we trust our instincts! Our instincts are always perfect! This [understanding] is also key to relaxation.

And, finally, in terms of relaxation… you gotta do the work.

None of this is helpful if you are not fully prepared and have not done your homework. Be prepared so that you can spend that time before an audition relaxing. I’ll run my lines in my head and use the Rehearsal app with my lines playing in my ears. Which means I always have my headphones on at auditions these days. But, I don’t play any music or make phone calls. In addition to running lines, it’s a great way from keeping people from interrupting me or taking me off my game.

When the casting associate comes in, though, be respectful, take them off, listen to him/her, smile, and be grateful for being there and having yet another chance to shine.

Thanks for all that you do Bonnie!!!
Amro

Great tips, Amro. And thank you, James (and everyone else who wrote in) for the clarifying question(s). Love this forum! Let’s all relax and enjoy our every opportunity to shine. Yay!


Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!


Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001686.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.

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