As an acting teacher for young actors, parents frequently ask if I can help their child cry on cue. Having once been a young actress myself, I thought this skill was the key to being a good actor. I believed it was a complicated technique that only the most skilled and talented had mastered.
Then during a college lecture with actress Jean Marsh as the guest, she was asked about crying on cue. In her very British accent, she responded, “I just turn around and poke myself in the eye.” It was then that I realized it was pretty simple. Simple, yes, but not easy.
Emotions like sadness and anger may come naturally for some, but for many young actors, producing real emotion is an acquired skill. It’s not the real tears that are of concern—that’s what glycerin drops are for. Rather, it’s finding and applying the honest emotional life of the character.
There’s a term in the industry called “indicating,” which is when an actor plays a scene showing but not connecting to the emotional life of the character. Good actors communicate real emotions, not pretend ones. But remember that preparing for an emotionally challenging scene can be deeply personal, so you’ll
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