How To Develop Your Acting Skills at Home
Updated: Jul 1, 2021

Becoming an actor seems easy, but is tough.
You have to improve on your acting skills if you want to be a successful actor or actress.
If you are looking for how to develop your acting skills at home, then this is for you.
In this article, I'll show you how you can improve on your acting from the comfort of your home.
Without further ado,
Let's dive in,
1. Read plays out loud
When I was a kid, I remember reading plays like Peter Pan, The Tempest, Hamlet, Romeo, and Juliet (mostly Shakespearean plays). I enjoyed reading Peter Pan a LOT so I read it countless times.
I didn't just read it, I read it out Loud. I never knew anything about the effects of reading out loud, I just read it for the joy of it.
Guess what? It helped me become good at storytelling. I didn't realize it until now.
Reading plays (and out LOUD too!) will help tremendously in your journey to becoming an actor.
It helps you understand the structure of the story. It'll also help you become better at telling stories.
Know this, as an actor, you're already a storyteller.
Plays help you become better at cold reading especially when a casting director gives you any piece to read, you'll flow naturally without any hassle.
You will understand language and dialogue. The more you read, the better an actor you become.
According to Stagemilk, Andrew Henry, an artistic director of Red Line Production, reads 8 plays a week!
8 PLAYS! That's crazy but cool.
It's all about improving your acting skills right? You too can, it's achievable.You can write a goal of the number of plays you'll read every week and work it out.
Don't forget to keep your dictionary handy in case you see a word you aren't familiar with. This in turn will help increase your vocabulary.
Here are some examples of good plays every aspiring actor should read:
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Homecoming by Harold Pinter
Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
King Lear by William Shakespeare
When you read, imagine how each scene looks like and ask yourself these simple questions,
What are the motivations of the characters in the play?
What can I learn from this play?
Can I act like any of the characters in the play?
This will help you become better at analyzing the characters involved.
Note that, some plays might be interesting while some might be boring. You aren't reading for the fun of it... You are reading to understand how the story works.
Don't limit yourself to the plays above, you can read ANYTHING you lay your hands on. Even if it is a newspaper article… Just Anything!