If you’re a cammer who loves to cosplay or create characters, you probably already know what you’re doing… you’re acting!
Chances are you probably have a background in theater or performing. If you don’t have any formal training, you may just be naturally talented, but the truth is, no matter how talented you are you can always be better, and the better actress/actor you are, the more believable you will be and the more responsive your fans will be to your creations.
The key to acting is to understand that every character you create is an extension of yourself.
No matter what character you decide to play, you can never be anyone but YOU.
Content creators make a mistake when they try to BE someone else and that’s when their performance is fake. You are always you… just a part of you that you don’t always show the world.
So, how do you dig deep and find that different YOU organically and honestly?
One way to do that is to create what I like to call a “visual tree.”
First draw a line up the middle of a white piece of paper. Let’s say you want to play a spoiled princess/prince. Write all her/his attributes on one side of the partition – jealous, snotty, sexy, dumb, conniving, funny… etc. Then on the other side, write your traits that match – these will be the parts of you that you bring to the character that you don’t have to act because you already possess them.
For the qualities/behaviors you don’t have, you can bring what’s called “The Magic If” to the process.
“The Magic If” was developed by the great Russian teacher, Konstantin Stanislavski which all realistic acting today is based upon. If your spoiled princess is dumb and you’re not, you simply ask yourself “What IF I was the dumbest person in the world, how would I act?”
That solitary word – “IF” – will have your mind racing to create believable behavior so you BECOME the character. With “The Magic If” you will actually BE dumb vs “acting” dumb.
Should you take acting lessons to get really good at “The Magic If?” And yes it takes practice.
If you enjoy creating characters, sure, because classes will take your camming to the next level. But don’t sweat it, you’re not expected to deliver an Oscar performance, so you don’t have to commit that hardcore if you’re not feeling it. What’s necessary is to learn a few tricks like “The Magic If” so you can BE your characters instead of ACT them. Your fans will notice the difference!
Photo credit: iStock.com/fergregory
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
