What is acting really based upon?

Question

I have no experience with acting; but I have a friend who has recently finished up a run with an extremely tragic play based on the fall of Troy. It affected her emotionally, especially as the play progressed in its four-week run. Fortunately, now that the run is finished, she's taking steps to cast off that emotional burden.
I think my question is this--does acting come from one's true self, or just a very carefully built kind of secondary self? Is there a way to insulate or separate oneself from a character, in the way that an office-worker leaves work at work at the end of the day?
What about the emotions themselves--real, or artfully feigned? I guess I'm curious about the basic nature of the art of drama.

Off-Gridder · Accepted Answer

Both answers are correct - one's true self or a secondary self. There are many different methods of acting, and many famous teachers that developed those methods. Some methods stress "realness," and some stress being able to convincingly "artfully feign" realness. 

You might want to look into the Stanaslavski, Adler, and Strasberg methods as examples of using emotional recall in acting. These methods tend to be more naturalistic and less "theatrical." Other methods stress more being able to recreate an experience without having to re-experience the emotion, being able to "repeat."

Vera · Answer

The one that"feels"is the role,not the actor.The actor should have the background to create an internal process,so as the feeling comes out naturally..Of course a strong role can affect the actor,it's normal..after all,theatre is life and vice versa

Coop 366 · Answer

The best actors are chameleons, they become the character. Henry Fonda was one of the best, check out "My Darling Clementine." and "Once Upon a Time in the West", a good man vs a bad man but you like him.

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What is acting really based upon?

3 Answers