In theatre, breaking character occurs when an actor slips out of character, often behaving as their actual self. This is a more acceptable occurrence while in the process of rehearsal but is considered unprofessional while actively performing in front of an audience or camera (except when the act is a deliberate breaking of the fourth wall). If the breaking of character is particularly serious, it is considered corpsing, which in film or television would normally result in an abandonment of that take.
For example, an actor and actress may be testing out a scene in front of their director. The actress may break character halfway through to suggest that she try delivering a certain line from a different position on the stage.
Read more about Breaking Character: Famous Breaks in Film, On Television, In Live Theater, Virtual and Gaming Environments, Professional Wrestling, Fictional Depictions of Breaking Character
Famous quotes containing the words breaking and/or character:
“As easy mayst thou fall
A drop of water in the breaking gulf,
And take unmingled thence that drop again,
Without addition or diminishing,
As take from me thyself and not me too.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The actor should not play a part. Like the Aeolian harps that used to be hung in the trees to be played only by the breeze, the actor should be an instrument played upon by the character he depicts.”
—Alla Nazimova (1879–1945)