Body language is an important aspect of performance. An actor's body language plays a crucial part in telling the audience about the character they are playing.

Body language is the way in which our bodies communicate our own or a character's attitudes. An audience or viewer can watch it to pick up on someone's age, emotions, status, or health.

For example, a student being told off by a teacher in a drama can easily tell the audience that she's not feeling sorry for what she's done by:

curling her lip
showing a bored look in her eyes
having her head slightly lowered
putting a hand on her hip
having her hip stuck out, with her weight on one leg.
An example of body language

In this still from the comedy series 'Little Britain', the schoolgirl character's body language suggests defiance - she has her hand on her hip, and is not making eye contact with the teacher. Notice the teacher character's body language too - his face is stern, and he is looking down directly onto the schoolgirl character.

When you're acting, make sure your body language is appropriate for the character you play. It's important that your gestures communicate to another person in your group what you intend.

How to evaluate?
When you're considering the body language from a scene or a still image, ask yourself the following:

What is the scene or image trying to communicate to the audience - ie what's it about?
How well did the actors use appropriate body language?
What could the actors improve upon (if anything)?

We were trying to show one character being teased and taunted by others. We wanted to show that what was happening was upsetting to the victim. During the sequence we chanted insults in a strong rhythm, which gradually became louder showing that the bullies were very threatening and becoming more so. Our proxemics, standing so close to him, further communicated how intimidating the characters and their behaviour really were.

The character at the front, on a lower level to show his lower status, is the victim, and he shows this by his facial expression (he is looking downwards with a hurt expression) and his body language, which shows tension and also a sense of resignation and defeat highlighting the contrast between the bullies and their victim.

The bullies stand behind him so that they can be seen by the audience. They are leaning in towards him as they chant insults. Their facial expressions show cruel laughter and sneering so that the audience can be in no doubt about their intentions. Many in the audience may remember similar incidences of this happening during their own school days which may make them feel uncomfortable.

When we performed this one of the actors, shouted close to the victim's ear which made it all look and feel even more intimidating to the audience.

Teacher comment:
A clear sense of the candidate knowing what the scene is supposed to show, and how that has been achieved. She is aware of elements and medium and how they work in the scene and writes assuredly. Overall, clear explanations and a solid sense that the candidate knows how and why the sequence was effective.

She makes reference to Social, Cultural and Historical aspects of the sequence and how these might work for the audience. Finally, she shows that she is aware of the actions of another member of the group and the effect of that for an audience. Good idea to highlight the relevant terms!