Let's Get Physical

When I acted for the first time at Ravenwood Manor, I had a very idealistic mindset. I was one of those "method actor wanna be's" that had their heart in the right place, but probably should've been a little bit smarter. One of my first roles that I was allowed to fill in for was a hillbilly grave robber. All I had to do was stand in the graveyard out back, say my lines, and be a hillbilly. (Now, mind you, the graveyard was filled with sharp, loose, pointy gravel. That'll be important later on.) I had gotten my lines and practiced once or twice before heading into costume and makeup. Normally, the girl who played the part wore her sneakers while acting(which completely kills a character who's set to have lived in the 1800's) and having grown up in the bayous of Louisiana, I knew that your typical hillbilly would be barefoot most of the time. Thinking nothing of my choice since, "Eddie runs around for hours barefoot. If he can do it, I can do it!" I waltzed my ass out the door and went to my spot in all my bare foot glory. The trek there wasn't so bad, nor was the first hour performing barefoot. I even decided to make my character super high energy and active, so there was a lot of jumping and running around. By the hour and a half mark I could feel my body start to fail me. My feet were so sore, I could barely feel them. My lungs felt like they were going to burst since me and cardio just don't mix. I was freezing from my bare feet sloshing in the wet mud on the way to my scene. I was miserable.

No matter how much you can learn your lines, get into the head of your character, or act your little heart out...all of that mental preparation means nothing if you forget to prepare yourself physically. 

When thinking about your audition, it would be wise to take into account the possible characters you may have to play in the future. Auditioning isn't a 'one shot and you're done' thing. Of course when you perform for your audition, you want to do it full out and with all the energy you have, but can you repeat that same energy or do that one crazy stunt multiples times for hours at a time? Is your body physically ready to stand for seven hours straight? Can your legs support you after hanging upside down from a pipe for five hours? If you fall from the ceiling and land in one of those crazy, superhero poses, will you be able to do that all night without breaking an ankle? These are major things to consider when preparing for your audition. (Especially if your "wow factor" is something physical.) 

Not only do you have to consider being physically able to perform any stunts for hours on end, but if you're a hardcore, detail oriented, pain in the ass type of perfectionist like me, you will want to physically look like and embody your character. For example, I'm normally an average sized girl, but when I was casted as Miss Kofsky, the ugly nanny of Ravenwood Manor, I knew I had to change myself physically for the role. I purposely gained weight because Cain once described her as a big, bulldog of a lady (which in my head meant she was like that Trunchbull lady from Matilda). I let my hair get ratty and my eyebrows get bushy. I'm pretty sure I looked like hell walking into the makeup room every day, but at the end of the day I knew that looking my worse made Miss Kofsky look her best. Changing physically is something actors are known for. If you want to play the sexy nurse, lose some weight, do some butt workouts for that Kim K booty, keep your eyebrows on fleek, and get a boob job. (Just kidding kids, boob jobs are expensive. Toilet paper is much cheeper.) Wanting to play something more animalistic? Work on your cardio, get those lungs ready for a lot of movement, and stretch until you're more flexible than a gymnast. You're more interested in being large and intimidating? Gain weight or build up some muscle mass, grow out your beard, shave your head, get some tattoos, invest in a lot of leather jackets with patches, look all big and tough. The point that I'm getting at is that preparing mentally is the easy part. Anyone can recite lines. Preparing yourself physically is where the real work is. 

As a disclaimer, I'm not suggesting that anyone's body type or appearance is wrong nor that everyone has to be this way. I did say this last point was more for the perfectionists that are willing to torture themselves to look the part. Nothing I've said here is 100% set in stone or a strict deciding factor of if you get a part or not. But these are just suggestions to think about when going into an audition. "What will my future role demand of me physically?" If you forget about that little question, you may end up like "method actor wanna be" me who had to crawl on her knees back to the makeup room because her feet were dead or who couldn't walk the next few days because it felt like needles were shooting up my legs. Sure, I looked the part when I was out there. My little hillbilly grave robber was so on point, I could've sworn I was really her. But because I overlooked my physical limitations, I suffered. 

I always preach, do what's best for the haunt...but your health and your safety comes before anything. (And not just because getting hurt at the haunt is a HUGE liability.) A haunt can't do anything with you if you tap out within the first hour because "my room's too hot" or "my feet hurt" or "I'm tired." Either learn your limitations quickly or prepare yourself physically BEFORE you put yourself and The Powers That Be in an awkward and stressful situation of having to recast you. 

Healthy diets, working out once a day (even if it's just yoga), staying active, preparing for what's to come are all things any haunt actor should do during the off season. If my zero self control ass can force myself to do these few things, so can you. I believe in you. 

So, just as a recap, when preparing for your auditions, don't forget to get physically prepared as well. If you're crazy and psychotic enough to try and change your body to fit a specific part, do it (but safely, meaning no Adderall diet, starving yourself, steroids, or any of that crazy stuff). Keep your body just as sharp as your mind and build up your stamina, because you're going to need it!

As a special announcement, ITunes has just approved the Southern Spooks Podcast, so that should be up and running by next week. So, keep an eye out for any updates on the Facebook page. Until next time, stay spooky and happy hauntings!

From Your Wicked Witch of the South

-Jaz

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