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. Take a deep breath. It helps a lot of people if they tense up their entire body and keep it that way for a few seconds. Then, just relax all your muscles. "Box breathing" is also a good method. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and then breathe out for 4 seconds. The overall effect will calm you down. There are entire techniques and classes dedicated to movement for performers and for good reason. They'll help you utilize your "space" to the best of your ability and take command of the stage. Acting is not just in your voice or in your face, but on all planes. Feel free to give your character quirks. Does he walk with a slight limp from a war? Does she constantly play with her hair? Is he a leg twitcher? Does she pick at her fingernails? It doesn't have to be in the script! Think about how your character would act in daily living. How do you see them sitting in a waiting room? What would they be found doing? . Talk louder than you usually would so everyone can hear you and the camera can catch the sound. There's nothing more irritating than being in the audience and catching every third word. Don't talk absurdly just make sure that your voice carries and that you are not mumbling or talking in an indoor voice to your fellow actors. If you're in a play, you need to make sure that the people in the back of the audience can hear you, so stand up straight, project your voice and make sure you're turning slightly towards the audience. You don't want to be speaking to the back wall. Do not speak too fast. This often garbles your words and makes it difficult to hear what you're saying. . When you are on stage or in front of the camera, you have to say your words clearly and make sure all the sounds are well defined. This is especially important at the ends of words, which are easy to swallow and lose acoustically. Make sure all your consonants are present. This should just slow you down enough to be easily understood by all. Don't overdo your enunciation since this could come across sounding unnatural. You want to make sure your voice sounds clear, but not like you're overacting. If you are uncertain about whether or not you're over or under-enunciating your words, ask the director and your fellow actors. Even if your character doesn't have an accent, there are still other aspects of their idiolect to consider that may not be in the script. Consider their age, race, social status, beliefs, and income. In a review of the semi-recently revived "The Pajama Game," one writer said that the main character was great...apart from not being believable. She played a simple Midwestern girl who pronounced "either" EYE-thurr. Wrong. Dead giveaway. So close, too. Avoid being that girl and analyze your character's dialogue.
Relax Be aware of your body. Project Enunciate Talk like your character.