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WHAT IS ACTING ?
ACTING is the work of an actor or Actress , a person in theatre, film, or any
other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and,
usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. From the Latin word agĕre
meaning "to do", this is precisely what acting is. In acting, an actor
suppresses or augments aspects of their personality in order to reveal the
actions and motivations of the character for particular moments in time. The
actor is said to be "assuming the role" of another, usually for the benefit of
an audience, but also because it can bring one a sense of artistic satisfaction.
Actors are generally expected to possess a number of skills, including good
vocal projection, clarity of speech, physical expressiveness, a good sense of
perspective, emotional availability, a well developed imagination, the ability
to analyze and understand dramatic text, and the ability to emulate or generate
emotional and physical conditions. Well-rounded actors are often also skilled in
singing, dancing, emotional expressiveness, imitating dialects and accents,
improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, stage combat, and performing
classical texts such as Shakespeare. Many actors train at length in special
programs or colleges to develop these skills, which have a wide range of
different artistic philosophies and processes. Modern pioneers in the area of
acting have included Mani Madhava Chakyar, Konstantin Stanislavski, Jerzy
Grotowski, Lee Strasberg, Uta Hagen, Stella Adler, Michael Chekhov, Viola Spolin,
Sanford Meisner, Bertolt Brecht, and Maria Ouspenskaya.
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