Can actors really cry every night onstage? — Page 2

Oh please, redhot. You cry at Hallmark commercials.

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It really is not that hard to cry on comand and if you are really into your character and the show, it should be even easier! I can do...tears roll down my face and my nose gets stuffy...

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I think it's a different "process" for different actors, but if audience members (especially those who see plays multiple times) can start to bawl, I think the material itself can lead an actor to cry in character as well.

jajaja yea, i suck at crying, even in real life...although ive gotten a lot better at looking teary eyed and getting my voice and my face and everything except the stupid physical tears going...but what the hell, i've got time...

ooo one thing they told me that works is, once u know u might want to cry, is to order urself to stop crying, that ur not supposed to cry ladeda, and the tears will just pour out...

of course with me this didnt work, it just made my eyes dryer, if anything

but ah well....

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some can. but there is often something to be said for the visible struggle to hold back tears. actors often make the mistake of crying onstage in a scene where they would not cry as readily in life.

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in RENT, every time that i have sat really close, most of the characters actually cry during the "i'll cover you" reprise.

yes. training and concentration are a great thing.

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I saw Phylicia Rashad in "A Raisin In The Sun" last summer and good gracious! She was incredible throughout the play, but the scene where she finds out that Walter Lee has lost the money...I don't know how she was able to get to the level of anguish she brought to that scene. I was only in town for the weekend when I saw the play so I saw it twice on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. She "gave it up" at both performances. As a matter of fact her performance at 8:00 p.m. was even more powerful than at 2:00 p.m. I also saw her in "Gem of the Ocean" twice and again, it was the same thing. The level of talent this woman possesses is ridiculous! She doesn't overact. She gives her characters a "just-rightness" that makes them real. And when she cries, it is heart-breaking. There is no question that her acting ability is a gift from God because Phylicia Rashad is an anointed actress.

When I saw RENT this summer, Jeremy had tears running down his face during "Your Eyes," but that definitely doesn't make up for the fact that I can't stand his Roger.

Toni Braxton cried ALL THE TIME while playing Aida.

And in response to the initial post: The four times I saw "Reckless," Mary-Louise cried real tears during the last scene every time.

intention is important...but come one, the audience is not filled with people who've been in acting classes and know the methods, and the ins and outs...so if you can pull off tears and stay in character and in the moment...then you're selling it my friend!!!

i was in an emotional play about AIDS..and i cried every performance, in character...and i would break character for a moment while another actor would be speaking and glance into the audience..and they were crying with me...great feeling of accomplishment.

Updated On: 3/21/05 at 05:29 PM

AH!
Break character and look into the audience?
A cardinal sin, my friend.
Intention breeds emotion.
Not the other way around.

Re-reading what I said, I didn't mean to abandon emotion.
I meant don't go for the Tony, go for honesty.
Don't try to make the audience cry, or yourself for that matter.
Just let it come naturally, and if you cry, you cry, if you don't, at least the audience can understand what your are conveying, whether they are trained or not.

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I too just had to deal with this situation in my acting class. We had to do an improv scene where we just found out that our partner just got arrested from robbing a bank. He needs you to go to court with him to defend him. You try kicking him outa the apartment but he refuses to leave and keeps trying to get you to go to court with him.

One 'couple' that went really really got into it. The girl is actually wheelchair bound and the guy was making use of her being in a wheelchair as part of the scene. Although she knew it was all about the scene and he wasn't making fun of her for real (in fact they are really good friends) she still was very much into her character and towards the end she got all teary and when he screamed at her she started crying and 'wheeled' out.

It's very true...you can't make yourself cry but if you are truley in your character's shoes, you would be able to cry every night if thats what your character's actions called for.

As my teacher says "The Moment Before" is the most important time of each time you act. This is where you transform into your character, this means you are no longer yourself and you no longer do what you normally would do but what the character you are playing would do.

She oddly relates this to multiple personality disorder. When one has this disorder, they can be allergic to peanut butter one moment but a few minutes later they can be perfectly fine with peanut butter. This is like acting because, one moment you are yourself, and then after you take your 'moment before' you are a totally new person. Odd way to think about it but it really is true.

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Updated On: 3/21/05 at 07:30 PM