“Do something with your arms! Don’t just let them hang there!”
I’m sure you’ve heard an exasperated director (or two) yell this at least once? The truth is, it’s actually a lot more nuanced than that, and you’re right for feeling flustered in these trying moments.
The reason why gesture is essential for actors is simple.
Study and analysis of gesture brings a beautiful specificity to the actors’ physical choices and range.
By understanding the various categories of gesture from social, personal, shadow, symbolic, functional etc. the actor gains a consciousness of their gestures which promotes clear physical communication.
By learning these categories of gesture you’ll understand the reason why gesture is essential for actors as a means to grasp a deeper conceptual understanding of movement and how to easily achieve artistic depth.
Whether it is the slightest raising of a finger, an explosive beating of the chest, a tapping of the foot, or a rubbing of the forehead, everything should be a truthful and grounded choice which fits the ‘intent’ of the moment.
These choices should originate from the impulse of the body, which is possible with a grounded training in gesture. This allows the actor/performer to be creative and instinctive whilst performing and helps them deliver an astute physical language that underpins the text.
Gesture is essential for actors because it becomes an artistic joy to play with them. From the minutiae of micro gesture to the statements of explicit gesture to compose/create sophisticated moments of physical language that captivate your audience.
Learn about the categories of gesture here.