Can actors really cry every night onstage? — Page 3

This thread is like really old, but I stumbled upon it and had to respond.

Acting has always come naturally to me and I am really good at it, but only because I really love it and feel things very deeply; always have. For me, when a scene or monologue calls for me to cry, I don't literally "cry," as in totally breaking down and losing control of the character. Rather, I loosen the tension, so to speak. I totally relax, cause my voice to shake a little, and thus by doing so, get into it so much that my eyes start to water.

For me, it comes naturally. For others, it is a lot tougher and a lot more training is needed. But, when you do finally get to that place of realization and complete release, it is so awesome!

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I was thinking about "stage crying" recently actually. The truth is, unless you're in a tiny theater, the audience can't see if you actually have tears on your face anyway. And it's possible to get yourself into the same emotional state as crying without having actual tears.

That said, let it be known that being able to actually cry is not necessarily the same as giving a good performance

I second the Celia comment... I have yet to see a performance of the Bee where she doesn't cry... she's incredible

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I've seen JACQUES BREL so many times that I've lost count (I think I'm up to 9 times), and every time I've seen it Natascia Diaz has cried during "Love, You're Not Alone".

I could swear a saw tears in Hugh's eyes on stage when he figured out he was in "Lestat".


I know I sure cried as paying audience member when I figured out how awful the show was.

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Updated On: 8/19/06 at 09:58 PM

Victoria Clark and Kelli O'Hara must have been completely dehydrated by the end of Piazza when I saw it -- as Horton said before, Victoria Clark especially was crying her eyes out during a lot of the second act.

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The only two people I have seen cry at every performance have been Celia and Patti Cohenour while she was playing Margaret. Patti was still crying at curtain call both times I saw her.

I cried when my school put on: Your A Good Man, Charlie Brown for a week. (I was actually in this show)
Beacause: A- I cry when I sing, I'm not sure why... I just start tearing. Yes, I know I'm strange.
And: B- During Happiness.. It's an emotional song for me.

Then I think I got all cried out.

I don't think I've ever had to cry on stage. I had to do a play on the HAulocaust and I teared up alittle, but I didn't cry, THe charater was also really strong so I don't think it would have mattered if she cried (My mom was bawling when she saw it. She said it was so moving, and I was like, "Really?")
I was also in a one act where I just found out that my father was murdered and had to freak out. I pushed myself to cry and coul,dn't do it. That obviously didn't work, so I tried thinking of sad moment, that still couldn't do it. I also had a horrid director that didn't know how to direct. It was the most frustrating time of my life.
What are some of your guys methods on crying in a hard scene?

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I've seen Bernadette cry towards the end of Gypsy when Herbie leaves and Christina at the end of Charity with real tears!!!!

It can really happen given the situation, I had to sing a song in a concert recentley, and I sung 'home' from Beauty and the beast, you just get moments when you think of the story, of whats happened, how happy and odd this kid was, then all of a sudden, its this....I could feel myself really welling up but it didnt effect my voice, my teacher tells me that when a singer sings/cries, uncontrollably it sounds idiotic and slightly unproffessional, but when it sounds like....you can still hear the song, but you can notice the tears in their voice, thats so moving, Drew sarich does this in the Out there reprise for Hunchback and its beautiful. Also, oddly, in the Producers, I was Franz Liebkind, I had to collapse to the floor and start sobbing, it was a funny moment and everyone was in stitches, but I had tears streaming down my face, Franz didnt find this amusing at all and I was totally lost, the kid playing Max, when their line came up looked at my face and looked gobsmacked, haha we won the competition we entered for The Producers haha!

I have heard directors and acting coaches alike say that they can TEACH someone to cry on cue. The fact is that over decades working in the theater and attending the theater, I have seen really GREAT actors who can't cry on cue but can make YOU cry in the audience by an expression, tone of voice or physical gesture. I have also seen really bad actors who CAN cry on cue.

For many people it either IS or IS NOT possible, in spite of training and best efforts. Some people connect to other upsetting experiences in their lives and use that to induce tears. Others can just get into what is happening on stage and cry because they are in the moment.

While I don't think crying or not crying on stage makes the moment for the audience, I have noted that some actors with whom I've worked will allow the moment to happen on a given night and the tears really do flow. On other nights they do not cry and must make the experience happen for themselves and the audience in another way. The fact is that emotion can be illustrated without tears and in some roles, and in some moments on stage, it is actually distracting to cry because you find it hard to sing a particular note or to complete a line. While it is fine to FEEL the role, you still have to get the words out and create an enjoyable performance for the audience.

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