Did you see last week’s post for Part 1?
Leading Lady/Man or Best Friend
We’d all like to think we are a leading type, but the hard truth is: we aren’t. Look at the roles you are cast in now. Do you tend to get the fun sidekick? The villain? Do you usually play a role that has gravitas? Or authority? To help think through this, consider a typical episode of Law and Order. Are you more likely to be cast as a cop? A victim? An attorney? The murderer?
Keep in mind that the roles you get in your high school drama program are a little skewed, because all the actors are high schoolers. But there are some trends that you can suss out by making a list of all the roles you’ve played.
Write down an adjective or two that describes each character and see and plug all the words you write into a word cloud generator. Include all the repetitions you have in your adjective list. This can be a good visual guide to help you realize what your predominant character type is.
Funny – or Not
Consider whether you have more facility with comedy or drama. We often have a strength between one or the other, though plenty of actors are highly skilled at both.
Consider, for example, Robin Williams. When Dead Poets Society came out, most of the public was confused about why he seemed to be playing a serious role, since most of us knew him as a seriously skilled comedian. He handled that role brilliantly, though, to our surprise and delight.
There are many more examples of actors who are known primarily for one, but are delightfully just as capable handling the other. However, when drilling down to choosing a monologue, or deciding which role to submit for, consider where your strengths are. And consider taking classes that can help you build your acting muscles in the other.
Singing Ability
Can you sing your face off? Great! You have a whole world of musical theatre at your fingertips.
If you can’t carry a tune, probably the role of Phantom is not ever going to be a realistic goal for you.
Likewise, if you can sing – sing well, in fact – but aren’t a dynamic singer, you are more likely to get great musical theatre roles that need more acting chops, or be in the chorus. Neither of these situations is dire, it just is.
If you aren’t sure where you fit on the spectrum of singing, ask a voice teacher or choir director for their feedback. Even if you aren’t a strong singer, voice lessons can dramatically improve your ability to use your speaking voice – and you may find a deep joy in just singing.
Likewise, understand your vocal type. Are you a belter? A high belter? Does your voice have warm tones? Or do you have an acrobatic soprano? All of these variations will go into determining your type.
Dancing Ability
There are three types of people in this world:
- Dancers
- Movers
- Pedestrians
Which one are you?
Just as with any of the other skills-based categories, regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, you can always take classes and learn more.
Additional Skills
What are your hobbies? Your completely non-theatre-related activities and interests? If you have none, choose something and try it out. That could be knitting, learning a language, martial arts – anything. Don’t worry about how it’s going to make you a better actor. Better actors have a life outside of being actors.
The upside is, you never know when this skill or hobby will make you the perfect candidate for a role. But that’s not your concern. Just be an interesting human. Interesting humans are interesting actors.
Got college auditions coming up?
Contact me to schedule your individual acting lessons (Skype lessons available for non-local students). If you live near the Louisville, Kentucky area, look into my upcoming Masterclass 4-week Series or monologue & audition workshops.