Sources of the Actors' Emotions Expressed on Stage.

This paper explores the universe of the actor's dilemma from a psychological point of view; this famous dilemma illustrates the paradoxical connection between the actors' authentic emotions and the characters' emotions interpreted on stage. The actor has always been confronted with the phenomenon which has its starting point in Diderot's Paradox and which is summarized by the following question: Is the actor allowed to express his own emotions on stage? According to theatrologists, this question represents the essence of the actors' art. According to psychologists, the manner in which the actor lives his own emotions, as well as the character' s, is a fascinating subject which encompasses issues connected with empathy, the theory of mind, the processuality of emotions, emotional expressivity, emotional memory, imagination, creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]