24 Jan How to Receive as an Actor
Many actors can act—there’s no question about it. However, what many actors don’t realize, however, is that, as an actor, not only do you need to act, but you need to react as well, something that is received. Films are ensemble pieces, as are television shows, music videos, and commercials, and even theatre.
These projects cannot be done alone—they take a team. Of course, the same goes for a performance: you have to rely on others to help you give the best performance you can give in, and that support must be reciprocated.
What that means, essentially, is that not only are your lines important, but your reactions to others’ lines, your patience while others are performing, and your professionalism to receive feedback and take notes without arguing or complaining.
When an actor does not receive, s/he is only giving 50 percent of their energy and putting only 50 percent into his performance. However, when an actor gives and receives, he is giving 100 percent of his energy and putting 100 percent into his performance.
With the ability to speak lines and react non-verbally to others, that’s where a professional actor begins his career or journey. Therefore, by understanding the needs of everyone else in the cast and crew and understanding why filmmaking is essentially a team sport, an actor thus begins to understand why receiving and how to receive as an actor is important.
An actor working in a scene always stays in the moment whether he or she is speaking or not. When she is saying her lines, she says them to the best of her ability and as professional as possible. When she is not speaking, she reacts to her scene partner or partners’ lines, albeit non-verbally, for the most part. With this traditional give and take in a scene, actors can work with each other instead of against each other to create a solid piece of work, whether a film, play, or commercial, among others.