12/03/2021
How Facial Expressions + Emotions Can Help You Connect in Auditions
Facial Expressions
Have you ever looked at someone who is smiling so sincerely that you started smiling as well? Or seen someone crying and had your eyes fill with tears? These are examples of connections through facial expression. The urge to connect this way is so strong that we even create micro-expressions that mimic other people’s faces without them noticing. It’s a very primal way of connecting that started thousands of years ago to show unity and trustworthiness, and it’s still with us today.
Connecting through facial expressions is a way to show the people in the audition room, or watching the tape, that you have the ability to connect to an audience. Many actors though audition with a face that is frozen into a set position, seemingly immovable and definitely not expressive. This is caused, much of the time, by tension. The face contains 57 muscles and as we know, muscles can tense up under pressure. I see actors in waiting rooms stretching their backs, necks, legs, etc. so that their bodies will be energized and support their work in the audition. The face needs that same attention.
It’s not just your back and limbs that carry the tension of your day, so does your face—and in a much more visible way! You need to stretch the muscles of the face to ensure that it is able to move with the emotions of your audition, not stay stuck in some experience you had two hours earlier. Stretch and relax the face by yawning in an exaggerated fashion, by filling the cheeks with air, by rubbing the forehead and jawline, by dropping it into the neck, and releasing as many muscles as possible.
Only then will the emotional life of the piece show on your face and enable the people watching you to match your expressions muscularly and empathetically, creating the deep connection necessary to book the role.
Emotions
When we connect to people with our emotions.
By Management