“Yeah, that last take was fine … but can you loosen it up, a bit?” It’s a bummer of a note to get, isn’t it? Worse still is when the note comes from within: the moment you feel you need to stop being stiff as an actor, you enter a vicious cycle where the desire to loosen up only makes you feel more blocked and tense. It’s like when you try to relax, or slow down your dialogue, or raise the volume of your voice. The pressure of the problem alone is enough to make it worse.
To stop being stiff as an actor, utilise physical and vocal warm-ups to relax your body and voice. You will also find a greater degree of confidence when you have a strong understanding of the script, including your character and any choices they might make within a scene. Finally, lean upon the support network of your peers and talk to your director for active things your character can do to be looser and relaxed—such as a physical blocking choice that offers a greater degree of freedom.
There are plenty of ways to top being stiff as an actor; you’re likely to need to do some exploring before you work out which methods best apply to you. Try doing some research, and consider talking to your industry colleagues about what works best for them. In this article, we’re going to give you seven of our favourite tactics for loosening up and getting you out of your mind and body.
Let’s get into it!
#1 Warm Up
Physical and vocal warm-ups are essential tools to stop being stiff as an actor. You wouldn’t attempt a marathon without a stretch or two, nor would you play a gig without tuning your guitar. The actor’s instrument—your body and your voice—is no different. You will feel the difference if you spend some time warming up.
For your body, introduce a simple routine of stretches before a rehearsal or day on set. Slow, circular shoulder rolls are a great place to start, as they open up your chest and promote some nice, deep breaths (more on this later). Another helpful go-to is a simple shake-out of your arms, legs, head and face. You’ll get the blood pumping and loosen yourself up for the work to come.
When working with your voice, the goal is to open you up and make projection as easy as possible. Start by humming, and feeling around your face and chest for vibrations; remember to relax your jaw and lips. Next, try some sirens: start at the very bottom of your register and then hum all the way to the top of your register, going past your ‘break’ and into your head voice (falsetto), before going back down again.
A warm-up is the kind of thing that you can do before a job, or take five minutes to complete if you feel yourself being stiff as an actor in the moment. A quick stretch or shake-out acts like a reset, and gets you feeling primed and ready to perform.
#2 Explore Physicality
In the post-self-tape age in which we live, it’s all too easy to forget that acting occurs below the neck as well as above it. Even if it’s not seen in the medium close up the casting director has called for, your entire body should be a part of how you create a character; reminding yourself of this and exploring physicality in your acting is a great way to loosen up.
How does your character stand? How do they breathe? What informs the way they walk into a room, or drink a glass of water, or try to intimidate somebody with their size (or lack thereof). If you’re the kind of actor who finds physicality awkward—such as how to stand on stage, or what to do with your hands in a scene—take the pressure off yourself by making this a character exploration.
You might think this is more relevant to stage acting, but it’s surprising how physicality can lift a screen performance, even in a tight-shot self-tape. That is because a fully embodied performance feels more grounded, more realistic. Armed with that, you’re bound to feel at least some of the anxiety around your performance lifting.
#3 Breathe
As simple as that: breathe. If you’re feeling stiff, tense or anxious, chances are you’re not breathing. Breathe steadily and deep, and breathe before your line—not when it’s your turn to speak in a scene. Punctuation is a great indicator of when you should be sucking in air: breathe on a full stop every time, and use commas for breath as required. It’ll slow you down and give your voice added power, allowing you to more effectively pursue your character’s objective.
Breathing is becoming one of those ‘lost arts’ for actors—like vocal projection or articulation. It needs to be considered and trained so that your breath is there in a scene when you need it the most. It’s all good an well to think that breathing should be treated normally and naturally, and not over-analysed in a performance. But actors who think this way fail to consider that the breathing of their character is not natural and normal in a given moment. The character is (hopefully) experiencing drama and tension; they’re likely speaking more than the average person and with higher stakes at play.
A character needs their breath. And, therefore, so do you.
#4 Know Your Lines
A lot of stiffness from performers comes from the anxiety of wanting to get the job done well. If you have large chunks of dialogue, complex blocking and a thrilling character backstory to keep in your head, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that is required of you in a quick burst of activity!
If you want to stop being stiff as an actor, do yourself a favour and prepare as much as possible. Learn your lines, know your character’s arc and engage in as much script analysis as possible. Throw yourself into rehearsals, and if there are no official rehearsals set (student short films are notorious for this) see if you can organise something informal with your castmates or the director.
You ever hear about actors learning the lines so they can ‘forget them’? This is what they’re referring to. The quicker you know every line, action, motivation and goal of your character, the quicker you can let all of this sit in the back of your mind and simmer away while you start to experiment and play.
#5 Talk to Your Director
One of the best ways to stop being stiff as an actor is to seek help from your director. If you’re having trouble loosening up, there’s no shame in asking for some external support, especially from the person on stage or set whose job it is to ensure you are supported and delivering your performative best.
This tactic should come with an important piece of advice—particularly when you’re dealing with a less experienced director. Don’t tell them you’re feeling stiff and expect them to solve it in one, magical gesture. Ask them for ways you might be able to loosen your character up in a scene, such as: “Could we try a take where I’m walking around rather than sitting?”
Even if that’s not the take that ends up being used (can you imagine the work the crew would have to do to re-set lights every time an actor wanted a little walk?!) it can get you approaching the scene in a new way. It also gets your problem on the radar of the director as something to be aware of and address, along with a sign that you’re willing to work at it and not just complain.
#6 Take a Break
Early in my career as a writer, I was taught the “Cup o’ Tea Rule”. If ever you find yourself stuck on what happens next in a story, walk away from the computer and make a cup of tea. Don’t think about the problem, don’t worry about the problem. Make a cup of tea. When you sit back down, your brain has usually had the distance from the problem to either solve it or approach a solution in a new, interesting way.
So it is for writing, so it is for acting. (It’s all storytelling, after all.) If you’re feeling stiff, take five minutes and make a cup of tea. Have a big sip of water. Do a shake out or breathe. Anything to take yourself away from the work you’re doing in the moment that’s causing this feeling of blockage.
A short break can give you the space you need to try the scene again, and with a new outlook or approach.
#7 Relax Yourself
Finally: relax yourself. Note that this isn’t to “relax”, which is The Worst Advice Ever Given In Any Situation That Requires Relaxation. No: to relax yourself, you need to have tools in place that allow you to do so. That takes time, trial and error, and practice.
What relaxes you? What relaxes you? For some, a cup of tea might be just what’s needed. Others might find the caffeine starts to make them feel jumpy. It’s also important to recognise that things you might do for enjoyment—your hobbies, for instance—may not actually relax you. Black metal, violent video games and pancake flipping might be a lot of fun … they’re not really the things to whip out on a hard day in the theatre.
Discover and practice what relaxes you. Make yourself a kit you can have on hand to achieve a sense of peace in less-than-ideal situations. When you do return to acting, you should be able to bring some of that good feeling with you.
Conclusion
So there you have it: our quick guide to stop being stiff as an actor. As we lead with at the top of this article, keep looking for new tactics to deal with stiffness and find out what works best for you. It’ll take time and effort, but that’s a sign that you’re developing the necessary tools and skills for a long, sustainable acting career.
One final piece of advice: when you’re navigating the countless ways of relaxing, de-stressing and un-stiffening yourself in a scene, look for “do’s” rather than “don’ts”. The more you tell yourself not to do something, the more you’ll think about it and gum yourself up further.
So aim for positive things you can strive for and maintain. Set yourself the appropriate goal, and you’ll find yourself loose and relaxed and ready to work without even thinking about it.
Good luck!
