Cry On Cue

Acting Articles

Crying on Cue: Part I
by ActorTips Coach Janus

"It is required of me to break down whilst reading a monologue, and I am struggling with this proposal. If you could send me some tips on crying, I would appreciate it. Kind regards, Miss Tara"

FIRST, CONSIDER NOT CRYING

"Breaking down" does not necessarily mean crying. Watch TV News. Watch people in horrifying situations. Not all of them cry. Fighting hard not to cry is a great deal more moving than crying. The best coach I had told me NOT to cry. Leave the crying up to the audience. Fight the tears. It's much more effective.

Let the lower lip quiver. Fight it. Quiver. Fight. Clamp your lips tightly together (as if mimicking someone without teeth.

(The opposite of pursing the lips.) Loosen lips. Look down. Raise cheekbones toward eyes. Blink back the tears. Stare. ALTERNATE all these suggested ways of being tearful without crying.

The problem with crying is that the character has to cry but not the actor. And that is TOUGH. In addition, there is nothing quite so damaging to the voice as a glob of stuff in the cords, making them unable to vibrate. Also difficult is "turning off" if you, the person, are "turned on." And the whole thing messes up your makeup.

BUT IF YOU INSIST

Use your most reliable coach (the mirror) and look at yourself crying. What does crying look like?

Try to stiffen the muscles in your eyes, open the eyes a bit wider and resist all temptation to blink. Start doing this several lines before the cry-on-cue line. That should do the trick. I assume some actors get so caught up in the script that they respond tearfully on cue.

On camera, the old-time tears were caused by an onion. (No lie.)

Read a marvelous short poem by Gerald Manley Hopkins "Spring and Fall: To a Young Child." The truth in that poem is so painful and brilliantly expressed that perhaps it will help you cry on cue. Nothing creates more tears than a truthful glimpse of the nature of nature. To be a better actor, read poetry, look at great paintings, listen to great music, and look at the stars late at night. These acts create a well of tears from which you can draw upon at will.

For thousands more Acting Tips, See www.actortips.com

May 16 2007

jen on May 21 2007

aww. i wish
i could cry on cue.
it would be so awesome
when my mom is punishing me.
haha!

jade on Jun 25 2007

Wow this helps a lot! Thank you so much!

Alexis on Jun 27 2007

Thanks for the tip... especially the staring without blinking one... that ought to be a great deal, nicer than the onions.

Anna on Jul 30 2007

I can't cry. It is so annoying, because I bottle things up and I still can't cry. Even when I really want to.

camila on Sep 09 2007

I think that the onion tip is the most easy. But how hide the onion in the scene?

Pez on Sep 29 2007

Got an audition tomorrow, and I really need to learn how to cry on cue. Your info has really helped, Thanks!

John C Lucas on Oct 01 2007

Ummm...was it Meisner who taught Sense Memory Recall? Ever hear of it? Try it and you should have some success. I'm a rather frightening looking guy and it works for me. There's a sight. I believe the word used by acting coaches is "range" :)

John C Lucas on Oct 01 2007

Hi...me again...The onion thing, I have been told is actually more of a myth and, sorry to sound like a know-it-all, if your voice gets globbed up with mucus then use it. REAL people have trouble speaking when they are in a state of heightened emotion, right? YES! "Sis, I'm sorry to have to call you with this news but we lost Mom this morning." Would you say that with a crystal clear voice? I doubt it. Go ahead and sob and let your voice break. It's real. If the director isn't pleased with what you're doing, you will be the first to know. I've been repeatedly hammered with the following lesson: "Faking it on camera does not work" The camera is barely a foot from you and the director will undoubtedly frame in for an extreme close up. Give the director and the camera the real thing and then let the director decide if it's working or not.

benpilkington on Oct 15 2007

I've got a Drama exam tomorrow and that's all really useful.

I think the onion thing and holding your eyes open are related. I work as a kitchen porter weekends, and I don't really get affected by onions anymore because I'm so used to them, I think that this is why I have to hold my eyes open for about five minutes before they start to water.

Something that has helped me to cry on cue is downloading the music video to Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U on my Ipod. It seems to work for me, anyway...

Mandy on Oct 21 2007

Thanks, I'm trying out for a film today and I have to cry.

Kasey on Oct 29 2007

Thanks a bunch! I was doing a dramatic monologue a while back and I was so close to crying but just couldn't get it. I cried the first time I saw it after I was done writing it, though. Editor's Note: Our pleasure, glad you enjoy the articles... remember, too, that sometimes not crying can be even stronger than releasing the tears. It builds up the tension in the minds of the audience.

daphne on Nov 10 2007

Thank you so much, but I am able to cry on cue because I think of depressing things.

Beth L. on Nov 16 2007

John C. Lucas....you think the onion thing is a myth? Have you ever cut up an onion? Apparently not if you think it isn't true!
I am in the same boat as a lot of you--I have a show coming up and I need to do some majoring crying! When I forget about the audience and really put myself in the shoes of the character, the emotions will just happen. And that's what acting is all about.

Jenna on Nov 29 2007

How does that tell me anything. I need to cry for a script and it is hard if I don't cry I get a grade cut HELP!!

Steph on Jan 01 2008

All the advice was really good. I find that cuttin up an onion tends to give me really sore eyes.

Megan on Feb 24 2008

Thanks a lot! Since the Summer of 2007 I started to have trouble crying on cue and this is really helpful. I find the whole thing about blinking then not blinking the most helpful. Thanks to the wonderful people of ActorPoint.com, I now feel massively more confident then I was!

Freddy on Feb 25 2008

This really helped me because I have an audition for my school in performing arts and I have a dramatic monologue and I really needed to cry so i will use the poem one to help me out!! THNX!!

Rose on Mar 02 2008

That poem is utterly heart breaking.

Another tip, for a slightly different situation - rub Vicks VaporRub or Carmex onto the skin around your eyes. Force yourself to keep your eyes open for a few seconds, and tears will start falling. Also, if you find the tears waning, just rub your eyes again and the VaporRub will kick in again. The only problem with this is that you can't use it to cry in the middle of a monologue or even a scene - you need time to put the Vicks on (and I guess that getting out your pot and smearing it onto your eyes in the middle of a scene will kind of break the drama and momentum!)

Oscar on Mar 03 2008

As a an amateur actor I usually use the "welling up" approach unless I'm asked for tears. I works wonders both on and off stage ;) It also gets me "in the mood for crying" for real so to speak.

Welling up approach is quite simple. Squeeze your eyes shut really hard, quiver you bottom lip and bam you have tars rimming your eyes. Usually I end up with a few tears while portraying a man that wants to be strong. If you are short on tears wipe the corner of your eyes, thats a great way of hiding your lack of real crying/welling up. This works best if you are a at least a few feet away from your "audience" Im not sure how effective this would be in a extreme close up.

Also choking up using a strangulated voice is effective to convey sadness/crying and should not be ignored.

Sadly this works best for men since we are not supposed to cry.

katrina on Mar 20 2008

I can cry on cue, but it's a little different than what you suggested. I just yawn. But when I yawn I strive to hold the yawn in instead of opening my mouth. Your eyes start to water and there you go!

Dawn on Mar 21 2008

I just found peppermint oil works well. It makes my eyes water worse than onions. If you are in a short scene and can keep it on your finger until you need to cry and the brush your hair back and dab the oil at the corner of your eyes (it doesn't have to be too close).

Elliott on Mar 21 2008

As a young actor (15) i find it hard to cry although in the past on stage I find listening to sad songs e.g. Goodbye my lover - James blunt helpful. This song also makes me sad because he wrote it at a time when both a friend and a girlfriend of his died.

Rosalia on Apr 02 2008

My acting school teaches you to cry on cue and it has nothing to do with squeezing your eyes shut (no offense), face pulling or being screamed at, and it works reeeeaaaallyyyy well. If anybody would like to check it out email admin@aidaacting.com or visit the website www.aidaacting.com.

It's an Australian Techniques based Acting school located in Hollywood, CA. (Australian Institute of Dramatic Arts) Believe me they're good.

Scout Allegra on Apr 05 2008

Thank you that was really helpful. I have never been able to cry on cue. The only things that make me cry are actual real-life tragedies and two particular songs (Happy Ever After In Your Eyes, by Ben Harper, and Falling Slowly, by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Oh, and some books and movies make me cry. But if I am acting I find it really difficult to bring on the waterworks.