Learning to cry on cue for a performance can be a challenging yet essential acting skill. Here's how actors often elicit tears, combining physical techniques with emotional connection:
Physical Techniques for Crying
These techniques focus on manipulating your physical state to encourage tears. They're a starting point and often combined with emotional recall.
Staying Hydrated
- Importance: Tears are primarily water, so adequate hydration is crucial. If you're dehydrated, your body will struggle to produce tears.
- Solution: According to the reference, "Stay hydrated. Obviously tears are mainly water so you'll need enough moisture in your body to ease the crying process." Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, especially before a performance or rehearsal where you need to cry.
Eye Control
- Resist Blinking: The reference suggests that "Don't blink. Try keeping your eyes open and resisting the urge to blink." This can make your eyes water and eventually trigger tears.
- Open Eyes: While resisting blinking is important, keep your eyes open and wide rather than squinting. Squinting might tense the muscles around your eyes and hinder tear production.
Breathing
- Shallow Breathing: According to the reference, "Shallow breathing" can help to stimulate the natural reactions that lead to crying.
- Practical Tip: Breathe in short and shallow breaths to simulate the distress of crying. This can create a sense of urgency and help to trigger physical crying.
Subtle Yawning
- Mimicking the Sensation: Trying a subtle yawn, as mentioned in the reference, can naturally cause your eyes to water.
- Technique: Don't perform a full, wide yawn. Instead, gently initiate a yawn by slightly opening your mouth and inhaling as if you are starting a yawn. This might encourage your eyes to water without fully committing to the yawn.
Emotional Techniques for Crying
While the above methods are physically driven, emotional connection is vital for genuine and believable crying.
Emotional Recall
- Accessing Sad Memories: Reflect on deeply saddening experiences from your past. By reliving these moments in your mind, you can trigger genuine emotions, making your tears more authentic.
- Imaginary Scenarios: If you have trouble accessing your personal sad memories, vividly imagine a devastating scenario involving your character or people you love. This can be helpful when recalling actual memories isn’t possible.
Character Connection
- Empathize with the Character: Understand your character's motivations, pain, and sadness. By connecting with their emotional state, your performance will feel more truthful.
- Use "What if?" Questions: Use "what if" questions to help you get into the character's mindset. Explore the situations that bring them sorrow.
Tips for Believable Crying
- Don't Force It: Trying too hard will often backfire. Use the methods above to encourage tears, but don’t force the process. Let it flow naturally.
- Practice: Crying on cue is a skill that takes practice. Use the above tips while rehearsing to find what works best for you.
- Mix Techniques: Most actors find that a mix of physical and emotional techniques produces the best results. Experiment and find the methods that are most effective for you.
| Technique | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hydration | Drink plenty of water. | Have a bottle of water with you during rehearsals. |
| No Blinking | Keep your eyes open without blinking as much as possible. | Try not to blink while looking at a point in space, before an emotional scene. |
| Shallow Breathing | Inhale and exhale using shallow and quick breaths. | Practice short, shallow breaths in rehearsal to simulate a crying character. |
| Subtle Yawning | Gently mimic a yawn. | Open your mouth and take a short breath as if you're yawning to encourage tearing. |
| Emotional Recall | Think of personally or character specific sad experiences. | Recall a difficult past event or imagine the character's worst fears to feel their emotion. |
