Have you ever left an audition feeling like you didn’t do your best because the person leaving before you was wiping away tears and you weren’t? The point of this post is to remind actors that extra congestion & smudged mascara is not a requirement to nailing a scene.
Remember: tears and authentic crying is not the goal. It’s an emotional result.
“Ok, I know, I know. My goal is the objective. But still, I’m not going to book after that person just cried a river before me?”
Not true. Vulnerability is more important than the actual production of tears.
Ask yourself this: have you ever found yourself to become emotional during a film or TV scene where none of the actors in the scene are crying? It is absolutely possible to engender emotion in others without a single tear falling down your face.
Crying isn’t always the most powerful choice either. Do YOU like to cry in front of others? Sure, you might be a more emotionally vulnerable person, but for the most part, humans prefer to keep their emotions at bay. FIGHTING those emotions can be an incredibly strong choice. Maybe your character is deeply emotional but due to the circumstances, they don’t want to show it. Maybe your character does try to fight the emotion but the emotion takes over? Whichever the case, focus on making authentic choices.
And sometimes authentic choices don’t mean tears.
In any case, it all comes down to doing the work. Everyone’s process and methods are different (and that’s OK!) Don’t worry about what others are doing. Find what works best for YOU and trust it.
#themoreyouknow #TheCastingDirectorsCut #mondaymythdebunkers