This question is for Actors, or anyone with experience in Stage Plays, Theatre?

Question:I love to watch movies, or go and see plays and I've always wondered how actors/actresses can separate themselves from their characters emotions to real life emotions? For example, if a Character is emotional, crying, afraid, etc...how do you leave these emotions on stage and not bring them to your real life?
Also, I've always wondered what the trick was in remembering scenes and your lines? I read on some bios that some people can remember 'all' their dialog to the whole movie or play that they're in. I can't imagine having to remember the dialog, plus the emotion, and scene and try to remember everything that goes with the scene itself. I think it takes great talent to achieve this, and I'm amazed as well at the talent that is out there now. This question is just out of curiosity. :-)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I love to watch movies, or go and see plays and I've always wondered how actors/actresses can separate themselves from their characters emotions to real life emotions? For example, if a Character is emotional, crying, afraid, etc...how do you leave these emotions on stage and not bring them to your real life?
Also, I've always wondered what the trick was in remembering scenes and your lines? I read on some bios that some people can remember 'all' their dialog to the whole movie or play that they're in. I can't imagine having to remember the dialog, plus the emotion, and scene and try to remember everything that goes with the scene itself. I think it takes great talent to achieve this, and I'm amazed as well at the talent that is out there now. This question is just out of curiosity. :-)

Acting is about creating emotion. Creating sometimes means having to relive. But ultimately the emotion is real even if it is not connected. Good actors can turn their emotions on and off, but not without effect. In my experience, actors experience more emotions more frequently than an average person. We just see things a tiny bit differently. We use our experiences on the stage, and leave most of it on the stage. We may cry a little bit during a curtain call, but inside we're smiling because we were able to generate that pure emotion. However, it does affect us. The deep the actor the more "disturbed" they are. Every actor could use a little bit of therapy to deal with the extra, unnecessary emotional baggage we create for ourselves.

Trick to remembering lines? Practice and memorizations. Screen actors dont really need to memorize lines for very long, at most they need to know maybe one or two scenes at a time. Often the script will be nearby and they can glance at it, but once that scene is done filming they can forget it right away and move on to the next scene.
In stage acting oftentimes the actor will have rehearsed so much they memorize the entire script. They do it every day so it just becomes second nature.
Its basically your job to know that stuff, and we are just doing our jobs.

The emotion just comes from text analysis and the director's vision.

you just gotta let one rip... that'll take your mind off of stuff, and anyone elses too....

Man, I really hope I helped!

Its pretty easy :]
You just either stare at a wall long enough to make your eyes water, or they use special eyedrops to give the illusion of crying. I think that a very small percentage of actors use their own emotions to make themselves cry. :]

remembering lines is pretty easy as long as you don't memorize them individually, you get to know the story and you just know what comes next.

its hard to explain you just become another person when acting you have to make sure you become the person.

It's really kinda hard to explain. I could give you a sophisticated response, but I'd be here all night. I'd suggest just Googling "acting techniques" and see what you come up with. As for me personally, it all just comes naturally. I know that sounds cliche', but as soon as you start feeling confident and comfortable, the rest just flows.

Its hard to explain. You just become that charector when you are on stage/set. I am currrently expirenmenting with my own charector Bella Swan [I'm in a play]. I am going by her name in school and my house and basicaly just being Bella instead of myslef! Memorizing lines is easy, you just need to concentrait.

when u want to remember your lines you take out the unuseful stuff out of your mind and put them there and kip repeating it so u make sure that is there. actress don't cry they have this thinks that they put in their eys and it crys water out. laughing is easy. and the other emotions are in your talent. that's why some people don't know hot to act they do not got the talent of acting out emotions. and you must not be shy. not lying to you but i've been in 19 comedy plays and 5 drama. don't think that if people have a good character on a movie or a play means that their real life is like that. they just act. some do for fun and some do for money and alot of other things.but i am a comedy guy.and i''m doing another play as eugene gant in mlook homeward,angel and another musocal at the same time.

Remember, we don't just make a show in 21 minutes like the duration is. And we don't make movies in 1 1/2-3 hours. It takes much more time before that to prep. But, before I get into that, I am going to tell you about emotions. You can easily get fake tears to make it look like your crying. I can cry on que using emotional things in my life and I can do it in about 45 seconds. Additionally, I have certain "marks" of my standards for certain scenes. I rate the emotional, comedic, or any other expression from 1-5. Then, depending on my rating, I act what I usually do. I sort of know what each number means, and how I act during the scene. I remember lines by reading them. It comes quite easy to me. We usually sit with the other cast members and recite our lines many times over before actually rehersing on the set. I takes time, talent, expierience and a whole lot of empty brain space.

I can only tell you what works for me when I perform and what I have taught other actors. It's all about being able to call up any emotion, or a full range of emotions, based on emotional recall (going back in time to your own life or history for moments when you felt this particular emotion) and transferring it into the scene. Some actors just pretend, but that is, I think, pretty shallow work, and most audience members can tell. I shake off that emotion, or the role I am playing, after the show or class is over, by being completely in the present moment. If you ever have the chance to hang out with a group of actors you will hear many of them use that phrase a lot: being in the moment. It may be a cliche, but for many of us it is real. I use these skills whenever I perform, whether I am acting in a play, singing a song, or performing a poem. I have to make everything real to me or it just comes across as fake.

As for memorization, what works for me is to make sure I understand both emotionally and intellectually what each word means to me and why my character has to say each particular line or word. I figure out what she wants and what she is doing with each line, step by step, or beat by beat. I don't just memorize lines by rote. That has never worked for me. I take the play apart line by line and give it meaning, via my own life experience, research, or interviewing people who have been through similar situations. I also practice "dropping in," a meditative process where in I go into the zone, or drop into the zone, and take each line, word by word, or phrase by phrase and say them over and over again, until they become a part of me. It also helps to have a partner say or whisper each line in my ear and then repeat them, all the way through the entire play, while being in a relaxed meditative state, sitting or lying down.

This technique is based on the work of voice instructor Kristin Linklater. It really works.

Finally, going over lines with friends reading the other parts can also help, but not without the deeper work. The repetition is what helps.

well thats a hard question. i had to deal with that myself when i first started acting. so many people will tell u soo many different things...as u can see by all the answers. the method that i use is the stanislavski method. its old and there are people out there who laugh at it. in the "s" method, there are many steps that u go thru to help u understand ur character. one of these steps is recall. what u do is point out some emotions that ur character goes thru, and then u write down a memory of a time when u went thru the same emotion. what this step does is it allows u to "remember" and "experience" the emotion as ur writing down ur memory. it help u to more acuratly portray that emotion. like i said, its not for everybody but i think it really does help.

leaving a character on the stage is hard, especially if ur really involved in them. actor daniel day lewis has such a hard time with it that he has to take time off inbetween movies to "find" himself again. there have been a few characters that i loved so much, it was hard to let them go. i guess its just something that each person has to deal with in their own way. some people have no problem leaving their characters. i personally dont act as my characters all the time....but there are some that i cant stop thinking about.

as for memorizing lines....it takes me some work. and thats not a bad thing. what i would recommend is reading the script over and over and over and then one more time and then again and again. u want to know the story as much as possible. then all i do is have my girlfriend read the other characters lines as i pace back and forth and say my lines. she helps me if i mess up. and it really helps to have someone else there to interact with.

sorry my answer was long, i just wanted to make sure that i was through. i love acting so i talk about it alot. hope i helped!