Exercise warm-ups

As an actor it's important that we are physically able to take on any characters and that includes their  posture, body language, pace etc.. But to do that your body should already be as natural as it can be , so that we don't have a habit of performing a movement that our character wouldn't do. And the simplest way to be natural and to not give out any interpretation of character is to relax any body tension. When standing, your feet should be shoulder-width apart, in line and ready to handle anything. When walking, look straight out onto an imaginary horizon without showing any facial expression. Keep your concentration when relaxing and move so that you realise you're in control of your body.

Sometimes an actor/actress is physically required to be fit for a role. It's good if our bodies are ready to do that by exercising or stretching. So even in the future it can help you to take on any physical challenge. Be prepared.

An example of an actress who had to physically prepare herself for a role.

Natalie Portman had to train extremely hard to get where she needed to be for the role of Nina Sayers in 'The Black Swan".The exercises we do in school might not prepare us to play a role like Natalie Portman did but it helps us to find new ways of using our bodies for character building. In addition its good to be fit for any role- maybe not to the extremes of loosing weight for a character that is possessively obsessed with dedicating her life to hard core ballet.

Breathing and sound exercises:

'The feather'

• The feather: Imagine that a small feather is on your lips and you want to blow just a small bit for it to move. After doing it a couple times, pretend you want to move it even further for it to reach different levels of the room. But when your blowing, use the power of your breath for the feather to not touch your lips. You'll realise it starts of faster and quieter and gets louder and slower as the feather travels higher. There should be a feeling in your stomach of a steady pulse.
• The moped: Again, imagine you're getting on a motorbike and the engine are your lips vibrating. The quicker your pace of walking the higher your pitch will be. Next include kisses to people and after 'ciao bella/bello'. All of the shapes made by your lips will warm it up .

Tongue Twisters:
These help you to string together difficult sounds- over all it helps you with your diction and pronunciation when you're talking quickly.
A list of them:

1)Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
   A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
   If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
   Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

2)She sells seashells on the seashore

3)The tip of the teeth, the tongue and the lips


Physicality

• Stretching: To loosen up it's useful to stretch any tensed muscles or body parts. To stretch your head you can spell your name with big letters by rolling your head. 
• Legs and feet : Stand on one leg to roll your foot clock-wise ; then lift your leg higher and move from the knee below in a circle ; finally use your whole leg and thigh to make a big circle by stretching as much as you can. Do the same anti-clockwise and after swap legs.
• Reflection: Focus on an imaginary bowl in front of you that is filled up with cold water. Begin to look at it to see your reflection and scoop your hands into the water for you to quickly clean your face. See it ripple and change your image. 

Concentration 

• Walk freely in a circle without moving in the same direction. A person should call out stop, go, jump and walk to which you listen and respond to fast. Make it trickier by calling out an action and make someone do the opposite, for example, if the teacher calls out jump you clap and they call out stop you go. This exercise is done best with a large group of people so that you find it harder to concentrate which will eventually make you more used to it. Hopefully this will help your ears to respond to any action on stage or any line that is being directed to you.
• Directing lines: In a group of people, stand in a circle and start off with someone holding a ball. It's their moment to look at someone else in that circle, hold eye contact, and throw it for them to catch. In the end use a line from a monologue or script you're practising from and direct it to someone when throwing the ball. It's better to worry more about your reaction to someones line to you than you trying to remember what your line is. Listening and reacting to other actors (on stage and off) is very important if you want to look truthful.

More exercises:

1. Funky chicken - shake it out for 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 and shake out the whole body for funky chicken.
2. Scrunch up your face as small as you can into a raisin face , it might look like your sucking on a lemon (lips and cheeks sucked in and eyes squinted). Then release it into a wide pumpkin face (eyes and mouth open big). 
3. Press your tongue in every corner of your mouth, against your teeth and all around clock-wise. Then swap into anti clock-wise. Your tongue should hurt and get tired.