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Technique 4 is called Alba Emoting! It's a breathing technique that can be applied to simulate any emotional state, really, anger, crying, fear, etc. Your physical state can have a huge impact on your emotions, so replicating a certain pace of breathing actually tricks your brain into summoning whatever emotion you're trying to inhabit. Super cool stuff :)
I started theater 7 years ago when I was 8 years old and in the 4th grade I learned to cry alone. Since then, my biggest dream has been to become an actor and now I'm going for it.
I wish you all the best! Set your goals and create your plans. Learn everything you can and get completely informed about the in and outs of this business. Check out some of our vids addressing the realities of this business :)
Benedict Cumberbatch actually had a breakdown on the set of The Imitation Game because he felt so strongly for his character's turmoil, and it made turned him into a blubbering mess. He called it "not good acting" but I think the best way is that the actor emotionally connects to the character's inner life and feelings in the moment.
Love your work brother! This topic never gets old. Some people think acting is crying or rage yelling. And while acting is more than that, for many casting directors and directors, the ability to cry or yell believably while acting is HUGE and will do great favors for your career.
EXACTLY! You understand it completely. Having these skills at your disposal and being able to cry and cue when you want and/or when specifically asked of you, is an extremely beneficial “skill” to be able to access 👍🏼
I was taught the soft palate trick by a classmate when I was in middle school. She said she used that trick to turn on the waterworks to get her own way with her parents and teachers, and she was so proud of it. I wonder if she became an actor. xD
lol it’s a very effective tricks and works wonders. The great thing is that it is a skill that anybody can learn :) hopefully just to manipulate an audience member sitting in the theater, not the people in your real life haha
Thanks Lydia, I appreciate your kind words! I created this channel to help actors in every way possible, so it brings me joy to hear your kind words. Wishing you the very best and can’t wait for you to see what the rest of 2025 brings us here!
I remember Amy Adams crying on cue (well, not all the way, but she was choked up and could have pushed herself further if she wanted to) while on an episode of the Graham Norton Show (I remember Chris O'Dowd was on the celebrity couch with her), and she used a fictional story with an emotional drive to help spur her feelings. She was somehow able to connect herself to those emotions instantly, which was impressive.
Of course! We’re here to help you all succeed :) tears/crying is always something that scares actors, so being able to demystify the process and allow it to become more achievable is the goal 👍🏼
Such a great video! I definitely find that if I think of something that makes me sad, whether that event is from a few days ago or a year ago or many years ago, I can get myself to cry. I also have eyedrops for an eye disease I have. It's jut a sodium chloride solution, but it makes me cry every time I put them in during the evenings, which kind of sucks when it's half an hour before I get up on stage to do a stand-up comedy routine at open mic night. I look at the photos of my open mic nights afterwards and it looks like I'm really sad when it's just the eyedrops.
Fun fact: the way I make myself cry is by remembering Bryce’s father, Ron, from The Andy Griffith show when he killed the mother bird with bis slingshot and then realizes what “dead” is. He begs her to fly. Picturing that scene works like a charm.
I’m Eric Walsh and I’ve got my own technique when i’m acting i just force my eyes blur the view in front of me and i would just think about not that emotional moment and the tears just come and i can also think about something funny afterwards and keep the act😂
Very responsible points. Even impressive acting teachers may not understand or prioritize your real mental health. I trained in a prestigious studio where the consensus between teachers was to teach us, as incoming teenaged students, that we must never compartmentalize any emotions in our lives off stage, because a true authentic actor must always be feeling every painful emotion to its fullest. They said we couldn't expect to just turn on that level of openness to extreme feelings if we compartmentalized them in our daily life. I found that purist mindset could become toxic in various ways. Of course that meant most of the young students were utterly distraught half the time, and wouldn't even try to let go of emotional residue from distressing scenes after class. Like my first semester scene partner couldn't get over the imagined violation she'd chosen to traumatize herself with for a Meisner improv, and could no longer sit near me at lunch without crying... which really sucked. But from the drama teachers' perspectives it was most commendable commitment.
I was judged for not producing tears enough when they thought I should, even though I'd already figured out for myself that yawning technique, since I had auditioned for the school with a more artificial approach, but was trying to commit to the studio's method of behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances, as they'd instructed. The truth was that I don't normally react to with crying when I'm the one who's hurt. (rare trigger that does it naturally is the relief of unexpected understanding from someone. Or after my cat died.) Being scolded for being to masculine with repressed tears probably wasn't going to be what got it out of me. Fortunately as an adult I've found more reasonable coaches who don't fetishize suffering for a career.
Get yourself started yawning and then try your best to hide it and only yawn on the inside of your mouth without showing it on your face. If you rewatch that first clip of her, you will see a few points where her cheek twitches a tiny bit. She covers it by quivering her lips right then, so it looks like it's part of that, but that's the only external sign of the internal "yawn". People who have spent years in their parents' church trying not to fall asleep from boredom will have an advantage with this technique. 😆
Exactly 👆🏼 you saw it and got it right away. It’s an internal yawn, but the same mechanism are active from a real yawn. It’s a very effective method that has worked with a lot of actors. First try practicing it with an open yawn, then gradually build to achieve it without having to open your mouth wide 👍🏼
OR.......you can do what they did in the 1930's/1940's.....take a small piece of onion and place it under your sleeve (or where you can smell it). It's far better than spraying something in your eye, ouch! I also agree in regards to digging up past experiences. Like your channel, well done. I sing...well, not so much now as i'm 65, but the music moved me enough to make me tear up.
Also, if you're connected to the material and inhabiting the story, it comes much easier because you're not thinking about you, you're present in the scene. Thinking about your own stuff takes you out of the scene and out of empathy with the character you're portraying. That preparation should be done before you're on set or stage.
If you are into the character, can’t you cry because of the character situation ? (Mentally hard, but less worse than your own trauma... and more real for the scene.)
Oddly enough due to a genetic mutation in my condition it takes me 3mins to cry on cue , Bryce Dallas Howard’s technique is highly effective that I can say I’ve tried it even though I can automatically do it 🥴
I think I'm probably doing the yawn method but I'm not entirely sure... What I do know is that when i try, I can bring myself to tears pretty quickly without really thinking about anything.. I'm guessing it's that method since I figured out how to yawn with a closed mouth in school because I didn't want the teachers or other people see how tired I was god dang always 😂
*10 Hour Acting Masterclass 2.0*
the-actors-academy.teachable.com
1. Takes 2 minutes to sign-up
2. Gain instant access
3. Work at your own personalized and designed pace
Join over 1,000 of the consumers who have already bought the course!
Technique 4 is called Alba Emoting! It's a breathing technique that can be applied to simulate any emotional state, really, anger, crying, fear, etc. Your physical state can have a huge impact on your emotions, so replicating a certain pace of breathing actually tricks your brain into summoning whatever emotion you're trying to inhabit. Super cool stuff :)
That reminds me of how simply smiling is able to increase your mood! Pretty cool!
I started theater 7 years ago when I was 8 years old and in the 4th grade I learned to cry alone. Since then, my biggest dream has been to become an actor and now I'm going for it.
Noone cares sorry
I wish you all the best! Set your goals and create your plans. Learn everything you can and get completely informed about the in and outs of this business. Check out some of our vids addressing the realities of this business :)
Benedict Cumberbatch actually had a breakdown on the set of The Imitation Game because he felt so strongly for his character's turmoil, and it made turned him into a blubbering mess. He called it "not good acting" but I think the best way is that the actor emotionally connects to the character's inner life and feelings in the moment.
Love your work brother! This topic never gets old. Some people think acting is crying or rage yelling. And while acting is more than that, for many casting directors and directors, the ability to cry or yell believably while acting is HUGE and will do great favors for your career.
EXACTLY! You understand it completely. Having these skills at your disposal and being able to cry and cue when you want and/or when specifically asked of you, is an extremely beneficial “skill” to be able to access 👍🏼
I was taught the soft palate trick by a classmate when I was in middle school. She said she used that trick to turn on the waterworks to get her own way with her parents and teachers, and she was so proud of it. I wonder if she became an actor. xD
lol it’s a very effective tricks and works wonders. The great thing is that it is a skill that anybody can learn :) hopefully just to manipulate an audience member sitting in the theater, not the people in your real life haha
Thank you for making these videos. Acting is my passion and your videos help a lot. Keep doing what you’re doing, sir!
Thanks Lydia, I appreciate your kind words! I created this channel to help actors in every way possible, so it brings me joy to hear your kind words. Wishing you the very best and can’t wait for you to see what the rest of 2025 brings us here!
I saw a clip with Zac Efron saying he manipulates his facial expressions and that’s enough for him to start crying on camera. Impressive!
I remember Amy Adams crying on cue (well, not all the way, but she was choked up and could have pushed herself further if she wanted to) while on an episode of the Graham Norton Show (I remember Chris O'Dowd was on the celebrity couch with her), and she used a fictional story with an emotional drive to help spur her feelings. She was somehow able to connect herself to those emotions instantly, which was impressive.
What an interesting video bro, thank you so much!
This is amazing😊
I cried so much during this video. I have always kind of yawed when i was trying to cry, but i never knew there was actually a reason.
Bryce's and Benedict's tips worked. I cried on queue twice while the video was playing ehehe
Good info
Glad it was helpful! Has always been a tricky skill for many actors, but at the end of the day, it’s a skill that can be learned 👍🏼👍🏼
Such a great video! Thank you for this
Of course! We’re here to help you all succeed :) tears/crying is always something that scares actors, so being able to demystify the process and allow it to become more achievable is the goal 👍🏼
I cried on cue finally! Don’t know how I did it. I just concentrated really hard on making my eyes water and it worked
One tear, left Eye 😂
😂
Good video!
I've learned that writing sentimental letters can make crying easier for any actors looking for tricks
Such a great video! I definitely find that if I think of something that makes me sad, whether that event is from a few days ago or a year ago or many years ago, I can get myself to cry. I also have eyedrops for an eye disease I have. It's jut a sodium chloride solution, but it makes me cry every time I put them in during the evenings, which kind of sucks when it's half an hour before I get up on stage to do a stand-up comedy routine at open mic night. I look at the photos of my open mic nights afterwards and it looks like I'm really sad when it's just the eyedrops.
Fun fact: the way I make myself cry is by remembering Bryce’s father, Ron, from
The Andy Griffith show when he killed the mother bird with bis slingshot and then realizes what “dead” is. He begs her to fly. Picturing that scene works like a charm.
4:26 She was SO good in the Black Mirror chapter, called "Nosedive".
Very cool!
I’m Eric Walsh and I’ve got my own technique when i’m acting i just force my eyes blur the view in front of me and i would just think about not that emotional moment and the tears just come and i can also think about something funny afterwards and keep the act😂
Very responsible points.
Even impressive acting teachers may not understand or prioritize your real mental health.
I trained in a prestigious studio where the consensus between teachers was to teach us, as incoming teenaged students, that we must never compartmentalize any emotions in our lives off stage, because a true authentic actor must always be feeling every painful emotion to its fullest. They said we couldn't expect to just turn on that level of openness to extreme feelings if we compartmentalized them in our daily life.
I found that purist mindset could become toxic in various ways.
Of course that meant most of the young students were utterly distraught half the time, and wouldn't even try to let go of emotional residue from distressing scenes after class.
Like my first semester scene partner couldn't get over the imagined violation she'd chosen to traumatize herself with for a Meisner improv, and could no longer sit near me at lunch without crying... which really sucked.
But from the drama teachers' perspectives it was most commendable commitment.
I was judged for not producing tears enough when they thought I should, even though I'd already figured out for myself that yawning technique, since I had auditioned for the school with a more artificial approach, but was trying to commit to the studio's method of behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances, as they'd instructed.
The truth was that I don't normally react to with crying when I'm the one who's hurt. (rare trigger that does it naturally is the relief of unexpected understanding from someone. Or after my cat died.)
Being scolded for being to masculine with repressed tears probably wasn't going to be what got it out of me.
Fortunately as an adult I've found more reasonable coaches who don't fetishize suffering for a career.
But Bryce Dallas howard didn't yawned in the first clip how she did that so
Get yourself started yawning and then try your best to hide it and only yawn on the inside of your mouth without showing it on your face. If you rewatch that first clip of her, you will see a few points where her cheek twitches a tiny bit. She covers it by quivering her lips right then, so it looks like it's part of that, but that's the only external sign of the internal "yawn". People who have spent years in their parents' church trying not to fall asleep from boredom will have an advantage with this technique. 😆
Exactly 👆🏼 you saw it and got it right away. It’s an internal yawn, but the same mechanism are active from a real yawn. It’s a very effective method that has worked with a lot of actors. First try practicing it with an open yawn, then gradually build to achieve it without having to open your mouth wide 👍🏼
OR.......you can do what they did in the 1930's/1940's.....take a small piece of onion and place it under your sleeve (or where you can smell it). It's far better than spraying something in your eye, ouch! I also agree in regards to digging up past experiences. Like your channel, well done. I sing...well, not so much now as i'm 65, but the music moved me enough to make me tear up.
Also, if you're connected to the material and inhabiting the story, it comes much easier because you're not thinking about you, you're present in the scene. Thinking about your own stuff takes you out of the scene and out of empathy with the character you're portraying. That preparation should be done before you're on set or stage.
you just have to keep oyourself from winking and sooner than later, tears will come out....OPEN EYES WITHOUT WINKING even just for 20sec!!!!
I have excessive blinking problem how I will solve it because it really gave bad impact on my acting
Me(sensitive empath): what lie it’s hard?
If you are into the character, can’t you cry because of the character situation ? (Mentally hard, but less worse than your own trauma... and more real for the scene.)
Oddly enough due to a genetic mutation in my condition it takes me 3mins to cry on cue , Bryce Dallas Howard’s technique is highly effective that I can say I’ve tried it even though I can automatically do it 🥴
I think I'm probably doing the yawn method but I'm not entirely sure... What I do know is that when i try, I can bring myself to tears pretty quickly without really thinking about anything.. I'm guessing it's that method since I figured out how to yawn with a closed mouth in school because I didn't want the teachers or other people see how tired I was god dang always 😂
👍🏻