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What’s the Difference Between Stage Acting and Film Acting?

While stage and film acting have quite a lot in common, there are some fundamental differences between the two. Here’s what you need to know:

Performance

While both forms of acting involve performing in front of an audience, stage acting requires more dramatic movements since you are in front of a live audience, which means your voice and body movements should be both audible and visible to those seated at the back row. This is why theater actors are advised to project their voices and emphasize even regular movements, such as walking and standing. In short, stage performance is more exaggerated compared to film acting.

Venue

Perhaps the most obvious difference between stage acting and film acting is the venue. In a theater, the actors are a few feet away from the audience and everyone in the room needs to see the action and hear the dialogues on stage despite the difference. Films, on the other hand, use advanced technologies, such as high-tech cameras, lightning systems, microphones, special effects and whatnot to enhance the actors’ performance hence actors need not exaggerate their movement and dialogues. The camera is able to pick up every expression, every pause hence the audience views the actor as if they were merely standing in front of them.

Script

When people clear their schedules to see a play, they already have a story at the back of their minds. Because plays are repeatedly performed and their scripts are readily available to the public, actors are burdened with the responsibility to create variety as much as they can. This creates an expectation in the audience, hence stage actors should be more careful about remembering their lines and paying attention to cues. When a line is not clearly said or a scene is not delivered as expected by the audience, the actor will be criticized severely and may become a victim of a series of bad reviews.

Film actors, on the other hand, have no past performances to measure up to. The beauty of TV and films is the scripts are written and produced for the first time, hence the audience does not have a preconceived notion of what the character should look like. This gives film actors’ greater freedom and flexibility as compared to stage actors since hardly anybody would notice if you forgot a line or improvised a scene instead of sticking to the scene mentioned in the script.

The Stress of Performing Live

There is little one can do when a costume gets torn or a wig falls out mid performance on stage. A stage performance can be overwhelming at times and actors are expected to do whatever it takes to keep the show running. Film actors do not perform in front of a live audience; hence the scene can be redone multiple times until it is perfect. However, film actors are required to tap into their emotion when necessary for a scene because a film is often not shot at the same sequence as it is shown in the movies.

The experience and techniques acquired via one medium can easily be transitioned to the other if you have enough knowledge. Many famous actors began their careers in theater and made the switch to film later on. You too can do the same by understanding the unique characteristics of both the mediums.

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