One problem many amateur actors may have is that while they say all the lines with precision, their faces don’t reflect the emotions of the situation. Practice matching the words of your script to the emotions they represent. Allow yourself to get into the moment and let those feelings reflect on your face. This helps bring the audience further into the moment. Practice crying on cue and creating realistic laughing. Adversely, if your face shows emotion such as amusement in improper situations, it can ruin the mood.
When you perform for a live audience, you need a clear, resonate voice that carries well. This doesn’t mean you should yell to be heard, though, because yelling causes distortion in your voice. Instead, the power of your voice should come from your stomach and chest instead of your throat. Take deep breathes and throw your voice over the audience, speaking with a clear and high volume. Practice on the stage before the show with a friend standing in the back of the audience. See how well your voice carries and work on projecting it further.
Warming up your body and your voice is essential to performing well. Throw your voice into a range of pitches to warm your vocal cords and leave them ready to project to the furthest reaches of the audience. Exercise by doing 10 jumping jacks or taking a brisk walk around the stage to ensure everything is ready for show time. This allows you to move with fluid grace while performing and speak clearly without pain or a cracking voice.
When performing a play, it is important to say open to the audience for the best performance. When you turn away from the audience, you are not open. This makes it hard to hear you and cuts your face off from the audience, taking them out of the moment. All the emotions that flash across your face and the gestures you make during the time your back is turned are all lost on the audience. Work with your director to figure out the best way to keep yourself open while still performing your duties as an actor on stage.