Depression is no joke. However, if in a show or other performance you have to act depressed, do this properly and appropriately. Under no circumstances should you act depressed to seek attention. It's just that if you need to act, you can learn how to look depressed, as well as act, and talk like that.
Notes: if you have symptoms of clinical depression and want more information, read How to Cope With Depression.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Look Depressed
Step 1. Change to dark colored clothes
While dark colors don't automatically sound like "depressive," if you suddenly change your style of dress, it will represent a change, especially if you're used to wearing light colors. Try suddenly using black, brown, and gray for pants and shirts, and people will start to notice.
Also change the type of clothes you wear. If the rest of the cast is wearing new or trendy clothes, wear old or used clothes to differentiate yourself. Wearing an old sweater and nightgown is a good idea
Step 2. Wear the same clothes over and over again
If you usually change clothes every day, start wearing the same clothes more than two days in a row, as if it were a uniform. Ideally, the outfit should be something comfortable, like a sweater with a hood and a favorite dark-colored pair of jeans, not something that looks super cool or stylish.
People with clinical depression often lose interest in activities and things they used to enjoy. Daily basic self-care can sometimes be a burden
Step 3. Stop using bright or colorful makeup
If you never wear makeup, please go ahead and skip this step. But if you're always incorporating a little bit of makeup into your make-up routine, stop using it. When you're depressed, you start to withdraw from your usual routine and don't really care about anything you used to do. So leaving your messy makeup kit in a drawer can be a way to show that you may be depressed.
Step 4. Don't shower a few days before the show
Again, depression can make routine daily activities difficult. Maybe you're so distracted and distracted by what you're going through that you forget to do things like shower and look after yourself. Before acting, try not to shower a few times a week and ruffle your hair, as if you don't want to bother styling it.
Method 2 of 3: Being Depressed
Step 1. Stay away from the rest of the cast in the show
When depressed, a person withdraws from friends and family. So, if you want to appear depressed in front of the audience, step away from the rest of the cast a bit. If you don't seem as socially inclined as usual, your audience will usually pick up on the message you're trying to convey.
Instead of standing on the platform, sit on the corner of the floor, and hug your knees. Even better if your sweater has a hood, try using it to cover your head
Step 2. Always looks sullen at rest
Instead of appearing open and interested in what the other person has to say, try grimacing. Make a face like you're trying to solve a math problem all the time, when in fact you're just listening to someone else talk. You will appear depressed.
- If it helps, try to concentrate fully on something difficult or complicated. To distract yourself, try to keep the lyrics of your favorite song in mind. Show your face as if you are concentrating.
- Don't frown too much, just furrow your brows and make an expression as if you're concentrating really hard on something, especially when other people are laughing and joking. You don't have to look like a sad clown, which will seem fake and exaggerated. Don't look like you're acting.
Step 3. Bring support equipment
The right support equipment can go a long way in helping you to act depressed. Try carrying one of the following depression markers:
- Depression-themed books like Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bell Jar, or Crime and Punishment.
- Sticks, as if you need help to lift yourself up.
- An old patchwork umbrella, as if you were expecting rain any time.
- A shabby stuffed animal that looks sad, like you just need it.
Step 4. Listen to sad, slow music
To get in the right mood for depression, try listening to music that's sadder, slower, and sadder than you might normally hear. This option serves the dual function of putting you in a sad mood and also signaling the fact to anyone who hears that you are "depressed." Try the following music:
- Nick Drake
- Elliot Smith
- Confessional Dashboard
- Nico
- Joy Division
- The XX
- The Cure
- Digital Daggers
Step 5. Don't laugh
One of the quickest and most convincing ways to appear depressed is to stop laughing at things you normally find funny. Instead, sigh heavily and look down. If you can't laugh like you used to, you'll appear depressed.
- It's hard to hold back laughter sometimes. So, when you feel like laughing, try to prepare depressive thoughts in your mind. Start thinking about a dying polar bear or global warming.
- Sometimes, gently biting the inside of your cheek, or snapping a rubber band around your wrist can give you a quick jolt of pain that will keep you from laughing. However, don't overdo it.
Method 3 of 3: Sounds Depressed
Step 1. Whisper and mumble
Depression affects a person's desire to communicate effectively, as well as his ability to have a conversation.. So, while acting, say the sentences in the scenario slowly as if you had a hard time speaking. Make it appear that you have difficulty speaking in a voice loud enough to continue the conversation. Take a long pause before answering or responding to a question, then take a deep breath and say the words below:
- "Oh… I don't know."
- "I do not care."
- "Up to you."
- "It seems like…"
Step 2. Be sarcastic
Answer questions and conversations as if all you feel is hatred towards the conversation. Scorn simple questions, and make it seem like everything the other person is doing is upsetting you, even if it's just a question of whether you want lunch.
- Sometimes sarcasm is influenced more by tone of voice than by specific words, but you can always repeat what the other person has said to you in a mocking tone of voice. A good option might be, "I don't know, what would you like for lunch?"
- Often rolls eyes when other people talk. One of the easiest ways to convey sarcasm is to act like you're too tall to respond. Just shut up and roll your eyes.
- Don't be mean. You may overreact and look like you're angry, but this can be problematic. So, use a little sarcasm, as a last resort.
Step 3. Talk less
When you're feeling happy and content, it feels good to communicate and start a conversation. When you're depressed, sometimes talking is the last thing you want to do. If you want to appear depressed, say nothing at all.
If someone asks you a direct question, just shrug and look down instead of answering
Step 4. Find the darkness in everything
If there's a light conversation going on, turn it dark, as if you can't help but look for negativity in every positive. Be the one to mess things up in any conversation, even if you have to completely change the direction of the conversation.
- If your friends are talking about their fun experience over the weekend, try saying something like "Looks like they found a new Ebola case this weekend."
- If your mother asks what you'd like for dinner, say something like, "I just read about a guy in Alaska who lived on a bus and starved to death."
Tips
- Don't think positively. Have a negative point of view, though don't overdo it. Support some ideas, but doubt everything.
- If you frown, make sure it's not a heavy frown. Just a small, sad smile.
- You might be called Emo or Goth. Just ignore it and frown, or say, "Oh thanks" sarcastically.
- Bend over. Don't slouch all the time, because you'll get backaches later on. Try to avoid slouching. Only do so when necessary, but when sitting or leaning against a wall, try to lower yourself down a bit.
- Try wrapping yourself in a blanket, eating ice cream, groaning in response, and watching a movie on the couch.
- Whatever you do, pretend like you don't care about anything. Don't laugh and if you feel you deserve to smile, make a forced smile, and this will probably make people understand.
- Be careful when you pretend to have a serious mental illness. It can make a truly depressed person hate you.
- When people say something, just take a deep breath and smile!
- Try to appear a little scared when someone approaches so that you appear to be afraid of communicating or socializing.
Warning
- If you bend over too often, you will have back pain later in life.
- Make sure you don't get really depressed after you're done acting depressed.
