The Importance of Gestures in a Play
Hamlet said it best, in his advice to the players, "Do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus; but use all gently." Shakespeare knew the importance of gestures, and, through Hamlet, urges the actors to "suit the action to the word, the word to the action." Imagine a play with all actors' arms stiffly by their sides or one with nothing but whirlwind arm action, and you will understand the importance of correct, genuine gestures.
Mime
Students of mime learn to tell whole stories through their gestures. They celebrate a time before language, when all communication was in gesture and movement. To begin, students practice the art of walking in place. They get control of their spines, vertebra by vertebra, then their limbs, trunks and heads. Denver-based mime Samuel Avital, in Mime Work Book, says "all gestures, all body positions are regulated through positioning of the spine."
Function
Stage gestures are not as in real life, nor are they forced or false. In actor Basil Hoffman's book, "Acting: be good at it", he says in real life a person does not need to gesture meaningfully or otherwise communicate. But in a play or film, a person must communicate everything with total clarity. A misplaced gesture equals a misplaced thought and thus confusion for the audience.
Pictures
A gesture conveys a thousand words. Without them the audience could just read the play at home. Gestures must be genuine and not simply added to punctuate the words at regular intervals (Shakespeare's sawing the air). Performances will look flat and wooden without properly motivated and fluid gestures.
Realism
Basil Hoffman says amplified realism is the goal and result of truthful acting. By implication he includes truthful gestures. "Amplified realism is what the audience sees when the actor has done his work properly," Hoffman says. He warns that the audience must never see the process the actor took to create the truthful character. Wrongly placed gestures could spoil all the good work done to create the "willing suspension of disbelief."
Discipline
Acting is disciplined, truthful behavior in contrived situations, Hoffman says. Discipline takes many forms and one of them is discipline in gestures. This comes from training and concentration. A disciplined, truthful gesture shows the actor is "in the moment." A big stage does not mean it needs big, unmotivated gestures, he says. Citing his own experiences, he says the gesture must spring from truth regardless of the venue.
