r/acting • u/vieravisuals • 1d ago
I've read the FAQ & Rules How a performance turned into catharsis for both actor and director
When I was 19, I went through one of the hardest periods of my life. I was separated from my family, went through trauma, and later fell into addiction. For a while, I thought I would never get out of that cycle. Three months after quitting, I met the woman who would become my wife. With her support, I decided to study filmmaking, and that decision changed everything for me.
The first project I ever made turned into a kind of therapy. It was raw and experimental, but it came straight from the heart. I even did a small cameo as the “shadow,” a representation of my own struggles, which made the process even more personal.
What made it even more powerful was that my lead actor was also going through his own battles at the time. He was in the middle of a painful separation and divorce, and all of that emotion naturally found its way into the performance. He later told me that the role gave him a kind of catharsis and helped him process what he was living through.
That experience taught me how deep the bond between a director and an actor can go. When there is real trust and honesty, the collaboration creates something bigger than either of us. Acting and filmmaking merge into one, and the work itself becomes catharsis.
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u/gasstation-no-pumps 1d ago
In Aristotelean theory of theater, tragedy is supposed to induce catharsis in the audience, not the performers.
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