Good tidings, players!
Coming back online after a few days of needed R&R, with a simple, and important question:
What’s your pre-set, pre-opening night, pre/acting work ritual you must do before the camera rolls or the curtain rises?
A quick mantra? Breathwork? Do you trigger your intentions with a substitution, or an as if?
Let’s get our creative juices flowing!
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For me i would say listening to old golden music , and voice warming and breathwork .
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Faraj Jaballa Love that, voice warming is definitely something to remember, the vibration of our voices is so powerful, and when we get out of our own way...it has a way of knowing where to go. Thank you so much for sharing, and I wish you an amazing 2026!
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I imagine the moment before. Where am I coming from? How am I feeling? Why am I coming here?
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Suzanne Bronson Nice, and very grounding and tactile to get in the moment…it’s all about being, and allowing that to flow.
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The feeling I get when I watch a movie with a background music so good.. I wanna have that feeling, so I listen to those kind of music whiles warming up.
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Richard Antie I love that! Music is so, so powerful, it transports you to the place your heart wants to be, when you are playing a certain character, well being them...love this so much.
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Excellent question! My approach shifts based on the role's needs, but I have a few go-to techniques.
For dramas, I work with music and imagery. I ask the AD for a two-minute warning before we shoot, pop in my AirPods, and let a curated playlist and visuals pull me into the emotional world of the scene.
For comedies, I lean more on internal monologue. When I played the butler in a Hallmark Christmas movie the other year and had to address a room full of guests, I didn't try to pump myself up with confidence 'cause it was an intimidating scene to do. That can actually be a trap. If your character isn't confident, why should you be? Instead, I kept a quiet internal dialogue running that matched my character's mood as a disgruntled employee, building whatever energy the scene required.
A friend once told me she was nervous about a big audition for a breakup scene. I said, "It's not an audition. You're going to break up with your boyfriend of five years. That's all you're doing. You're not getting a job, you're not trying to impress anyone. You're going to break up with your boyfriend. Start that conversation in your head on the way there." She stayed professional, smiled, said hi when she arrived, but she walked in already in it. That helped her win the audition.
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Joshua Young Fantastic!!! I love the different approaches, because you are absolutely right, it all depends on the role, the situation, and the moment. It's so funny how comedy vs drama works for us as instruments of the emotions and story. And I love that about your friend, exactly...you're going to break up with your boyfriend. Sometimes the nerves and the "Oh, I must impress these people in the room" completely derails us...we should just focus on the scene, our purpose in it, and go. Forget about everyone else, in that moment, our moment, all they want is for us to shine. Happy 2026!!!
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My approach differs depending on what I'm doing. If I'm going to be recording music with a friend I'll spend a few hours a day singing to music to get my voice warmed up. I also like to go through my comedy material the day of an open mic performance to decide on which jokes I want to do. That way, I'd know which five jokes I'd want to perform by the evening.
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Haley Mary That’s so logical and just on point: vocal warming , it’s so simple but we often forget! And yes, comedy is so technical and almost mechanical. Going through material like greasing the engine. When I work on comedy characters and roles I definitely go through the scenes and realize which pauses and faces and moments land and which ones to toss.