crying on stage (1 Viewer)

[kiannafirerose]

hey does anyone know how to make themselves cry for part of their performance?

 

[bassistx]

Remember something painful if you can't get into character...

 

[Absolutezero]

Some people find crying onstage incredibly easy. Others (myself included), find it takes a bit of work. Here's a few tips.

As just stated above, trying to remember sadness from your own life can trigger the crying. However, often it takes a while to occur, i.e. the crying does not come immediately . Take a moment before you go onstage to really think about a situation that has/would make you cry.

There are other methods of, to put it bluntly, 'cheat' cry. While on stage, if you stare directly into the stage lights, it will often cause the release of tears in your eyes. This can be useful if the above method does not work.

Finally, if you cup your hands to your eyes before you cry, then this action could work for you. Before you go on, dip you hands into some water, wetting the ends of your finger tips (make sure it is not dripping). Then, before you need to have tears, you can rub this water into your eyes, giving the appearance of crying.

Hope one of these methods work.

 

[kiannafirerose]

thanks alot for the tips, the performanace is for my IP so i'm not asure if i'll have stage lights but the water might work for me

 

[quixote studios]

rub beer (or pepper if you're balsy) into your eye/eyelids for that red lining effect

exhale and hold it while you try to cry, helps me

 

[Absolutezero]

And if your short on time, Saliva works just as well. Sure, it's not as dignified, but it gets the job done. It's even possible to apply onstage if you do it quickly or hide your face from a brief moment. Which is a benefit...

 

[i-love-maynard]

Stanislavski's emotional recall. Worked for me, tears just came so naturally.

 

[prettyswish]

just stare for ages it'l eventually make your eyes water

 

[justmeme]

just stare for ages it'l eventually make your eyes water

helps if your really tired.

i vote for the poke yourself in the eye method.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

yawn without opening your mouth. makes your eyes water up with the added advantage that you look like you are struggling not to cry (because you're swallowing etc) which can be very powerful.

personally i find it easier to combine this technique with some emotional memory exercises beforehand. once you've got the inital tears out the rest should just sort of happen.

christ, what am i doing in this forum. i'm at uni. meh good luck kids.

 

[pinkyforce7]

i find that if i start surface acting the scrunched sad face and quivering-ish voice, watery eyes generally come with it.

 

[Absolutezero]

I found this on a theatre website. I know it's been a while since you posted, but if your still interested, here it is.


Besides the fact that only the first few rows of an audience would be actually able to see the tears, what makes them so important? My theory is that if you are trying to fake cry, it will look fake. While things such as onions and eye drops might create tears, it won't actually be crying. Body language, spoken lines, and other factors are also part of the equation. I think it is important to remember what crying really is - an emotional response. When faced with a scene in which crying is required, you need to understand first why the character is crying - what emotions are they feeling that cause the crying? (Crying is a byproduct of the emotion - few of us cry on purpose!) Do a little people watching and you will see that there are many different ways to cry depending on the emotional trigger. An angry cry will be far different from a cry of heartbreak or a cry of grief.

Once you have completely explored the emotions required, rehearse the scene and live through each emotion as fully and honestly as you can. If you are truly in the moment and feeling the emotions of your character, the tears will often come on their own. You may also find that the tears themselves will become unimportant, as your performance is genuine and believable without it.

 

[TanAM]

Here's a word of advice to everyone: never begin a performance crying. That's just not interesting for the audience. Even crying isn't interesting. What the audience really wants to see is the STRUGGLE. If you are crying you have let go already. Boring...

 

[alex.leon]

Definitley what someone outlined before about Stanislavski.

I recently did a performance from an Australian play, the name i forget, but basically the protagonist mum just died.

All i had to think about was if i was in the same situation, how I would be feeling. And it made me cry! Completely unplanned, and everything.

So i guess emotional recall is the way to go.



But yeah, for some people its incredibly easy and for others it takes alot of work. I think it probably depends on if you're emotional or not.

 

[katielyn92]

Gotta agree with alex
Get into character.
Get upset.
and don't be afraid to

 

[dood09]

i think of that snuff video i watched

 

[retro.mcnugget]

if it's not so painful for you to do, (i do hospitality so it helps me a little bit) but cut up some onion and rub all the citrus onto your hands, when the time comes, cup your hands over your eyes, it'll burn but you will cry (you might twitch a lot though).