Inhibitions – this very word instills anger and weariness in the hearts of all acting coaches, directors and other professionals who help the actor through his work. While having inhibitions in life will serve you well, this personality trait will do nothing but your ability to convey your free, clear and real character.
Take a moment to think about the great actors of our time. Review the performances and ask yourself, did that actor show an ounce of self-control throughout his performance? The answer will be no! As an actor, your performance inhibitions will cripple you by holding you back emotionally and striking a huge fear into your very being.
When I talk about inhibitions, I’m not referring to what you say is comfortable or what actions you don’t want to perform, but mainly to let go of your inhibitions, to make mistakes and “when I roll with the punches”. The greatest actors in the world are not afraid to stand in front of thousands of people on a bright stage and recite a long monologue, even though they may have forgotten the lines.
While removing inhibitions is a very personal process and requires months, if not years, to face your “fears” and get yourself back into true confidence, I have cultivated a few tips to help you through this journey.
Acknowledge your fears
As an actor, you must be extremely self-aware; much more than the average person. The reason for this is because you need to be a different person, and this role requires a complete knowledge of yourself.
To help get rid of your inhibitions, you must first understand where they come from. This is done by physically recognizing them. In a note, write down all your fears about performing in front of a stage or camera. Describe these fears, why they are there, and how intense they are;
After the list is drawn up, there is a study. Acknowledge your truth – in the present. Know that you will have to face these written fear to really overcome your inhibitions of behavior and just move. once you feel ready to tackle this rat of enormous size.
Think about your checks
One of my personal inhibitions when first starting out as an actor was the fear that they would forget my lines on stage. This fear was so real that it dramatically changed my performance and significantly lowered my confidence levels.
I set out to change this understanding, so I set out to help correct this fear by writing in an emergency class. I did this for two reasons – the first was that I was more comfortable acting outside the script, the second (and the most important) was that I forgot to prepare myself in the event of the lines. Improvisational classes taught me how to effectively ad-lib within a scene until I was able to get back to scripted dialogue. With this new confidence, this initial inhibition has been undermined, and I am much more confident and free to work.
Lean on your inhibitions or fears to truly get over them. Are you afraid of speaking in front of a large crowd? Sign up for the debate team in your school. Are you afraid of working on stage? Audition at the production theater community – also the audition will help to run the checks. Are you afraid to dance? dance classes or visit a nightclub.
Prepare yourself for failure
This is a place that was preached to me by my first coach. We as actors want to be happy. We enjoy imagining ourselves delivering a winning performance; however, while you are very talented, you must prepare yourself for failure. Fear of failure is the greatest inhibition in actors, and the only way to achieve this inhibition is to try magnanimously, but welcome failure.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t try hard, but sometimes even hard work can’t save you. In these circumstances, you must embrace and recognize that you are only human, and that all humans fail in one place or another. Never let this fear stop you or hold you back from making choices or auditioning for a specific role.
