Transitioning From The Stage To The Big ScreenMany great stage actors will eventually graduate to the big screen. While theater is a wonderful way to

Many great stage actors will eventually graduate to the big screen. While theater is a wonderful way to learn the craft of acting, and prepare for a long, dynamic career, when an actor transitions from the stage to television or film, a few adjustments must be made.

Projecting

As a stage actor, you are trained to project because everyone, including the audience members in the balcony, must be able to hear your dialog. However when performing for the camera, projection is no longer necessary.

Blocking

There is blocking in both stage and on-camera productions. However in theater you’re given a little more flexibility. If you’re slightly off your mark, the audience will still be able to see you. But, when acting for the camera, if you’re off on your mark, you may venture out of frame which will require the director to shoot the scene again until you get it right. This can be particularly maddening on the set of soap operas where you must shoot a lot of scenes in a short amount of time, therefore requiring that the actors be as perfect as possible when it comes to blocking and knowing your lines.

Delivery

When acting on the stage, much of your delivery is for the sake of the live audience. Your facial expressions, movement, gesturing, etc. are all to engage the audience. When acting on camera, it’s important to concentrate more on relating to the character, than relating to the audience. Additionally, you’ll have to learn to embrace the subtleties of the character, which can be a challenge initially.

Reacting

Theater is rehearsed so much, and the same scenes performed over and over until sometimes the actors forget to react to the other players. Instead they are just performing what they’ve rehearsed. It’s very important that you don’t do this when you’re performing for the camera. In film and television, the director always captures what’s called a reaction shot. Not only are you filmed performing your dialog, but you’re also taped reacting to the dialog of the other actors in the scene. In order for your performance to look authentic, it’s very important that you listen and react to other actors in the scene, rather than just delivering your lines based on vocal cues.

If you’re interested in roles on-camera and on-stage roles, visit www.EliteCastingNetwork.com today and check out some of our auditions.