Summary: Actors have three things to work with, their minds, bodies and spirits. But it is our bodies that the audience sees. It is our bodies that communicate what is going on inside of us. Of course, our words are important and how we speak them is essential in defining who we are. But our bodies reveal a lot about us and consequently they reveal much about the characters we play. With that it mind it is essential for us as actors to have supple, communicative bodies because even if we are doing close-ups, what our bodies are doing has a profound impact on what our faces reveal. Audiences will know your character by the way you sit, stand, move, and handle objects. More important is that how you do these things will actually have an impact on you. Tightening up, slouching, standing up straight, and other adjustments you make to your posture and movement affect your inner life. So as an actor, you can define your character physically and by making adjustments you will actually be able to feel the inner life of that character. Remember, the way the character moves, sits, stands, and handles objects, says as much about you to the audience as your dialogue. Why? Because under the words, sentences, and sounds you make, your body says who that character is, was, and will be.
