My name is NBG, I am 15 y/o, and I was treated at AATC for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social anxiety. Most of my worries were about most about school work, social situations, and home situations. After treatment, my anxiety has lessened a lot because of many different coping skills I learned. After months of learning how to manage my worry, I joined a theater class,at high school, where I got even more practice stepping out of my comfort zone. At the time I enrolled, I didn’t know how beneficial it would be for my anxiety. I just figured it might help me gain some confidence, but it did much more than that. It helped me further overcome my fear of what others think about me and my stage fright, and gave me the experience and ability to focus and succeed. As part of this class, we got an assignment to simply write a journal about how certain class activities and theater warm-ups help develop techniques needed on stage. I incorporated in how there is no time for worry. As I was emailing my acting teacher the assignment, it occurred to me that the very thing I used to worry about was now something I enjoyed, and how my worry-management and exposure therapy experience were key to being present-focused and a success on stage!
Acting Skills
Focus. We stand across from our partner. We follow our partner’s movements. We mirror them. The mirror activity was a helpful activity for acting because it requires concentration, imagination, and being able to step out of ones comfort zone. The follower has to focus very closely on the intricate details of their partner’s movements in order to copy them. The leader has to concentrate on making sure the movements will be easy to follow, but still use their imagination to come up with new movements. Both have to be able to step out of their comfort zone to move quickly without worrying about if the movements look weird or how people are judging them.
Teamwork. Think about the sentence. “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy brown dog”. All the letters of the alphabet. What’re your letters? What are the movements? When do you say them? Focus on them. Your letters are your responsibility. We start, they mess up; they’re out. We make up for their part. Go on rhythm. Type out the letters. Don’t worry about the silly movements, everyone is doing it. Don’t be anxious, no time for worry. The typewriter is a great exercise for acting. First you have to concentrate on your letters and go over where they are compared to everyone else’s and you must memorize them. This is the same thing you do in your part of a play. You have to know your lines and where they are in relation to everyone else’s lines. You also have to take other peoples letters when they mess up just like you do in a real play, someone has to take there parts if they aren’t their, or find a way to improvise if they mess up.
Multi-Tasking. They stand on stage. They run through their lines. They shout out there list. They put together the tiny pieces. Start by the edges. Put together similar color. Focus on what you’re saying. What do I say next? Don’t pause. Don’t hesitate. Finish the puzzle. Say your list right. If you mess up keep going. Focus! The puzzle activity is a good warm-up for acting as well because you have to really concentrate on what your saying while using you hands to do a puzzle. Similarly, in a play you have to demonstrate your ability to multi-task because you have to say your lines while moving to the correct place on the stage. You might have practiced your lines a million times, and memorize them, and know them completely, but can you move around and do you know your place on stage while you say them too?
