How to Draw the Boundary Between Actor & Character

Drawing the Boundary Between Actor and Character: Prioritizing the Actor’s Mental Health in the Portrayal of Human Suffering & Emotional Distress

Stanislavski talks about the many inspirations an actor draws from to create a character from himself. From the power of observation and different art forms to the actors’ own experiences of life to imagination itself. The only stipulation Stanislavski states is that the actor must not lose their own identity in the process of becoming the character.

Interestingly enough Stanislavski’s emotional memory , and later Strasberg’s Method were both designed to blur the boundary between actor and character. It can be argued that this blurring is a creative state. I agree wholeheartedly. I understand the need for blurring to actualize a character. What I call into question and is of concern to me is how does the actor unblur themselves from the characters they’re portraying? I’m speaking specifically about actors who are portraying human suffering and emotional distress.

How do they ‘come back’ to themselves from such powerful states of being? Sure, they could do grounding exercises and reach out to loved ones for conversations, yoga, biking, holiday, etc. But what about the…