Corpsing: What You Probably Will not Learn in Your Acting Courses

Without the phenomenon of corpsing, TV out-take shows would be a lot shorter. There's something infectiously funny about actors, TV presenters and other public speakers getting the giggles. And the more they try to control themselves, the more helpless they become.

Corpsing is an occupational hazard for actors, but it has its unfunny side. It wastes time, money and VT. It contaminates the other actors and inconveniences everybody involved in the production.

On stage it is particularly disastrous. The mood and atmosphere that has been carefully built up simply vanishes. The illusion shatters. The audience is jolted out of the world of drama, reminded only too forcefully that these are actors behaving badly - even if they truly can't help themselves.

What makes an actor corpse? Psychologically, it seems to be related to anxiety. Freud argued that laughter provides a release of psychic tension. Support for this comes from the fact that the altar is a popular place for brides and grooms to start giggling uncontrollably. Or consider the much-viewed YouTube clip of MP Keith Hill in the House of Commons: every time he encounters the challenging tongue twister 'short sea shipping' in his speech he cracks up.

The fact is: you can't make a living from out-take royalties and anything more than the occasional collapse into hysterical laughter starts to look unprofessional. Though the actual outbreak of mirth may be short-lived, its effects are longer lasting. Getting serious and back 'in the zone' is a huge challenge for corpsers, especially since the slightest trigger is likely to set them off all over again.

You can do dozens of acting courses but, however many you take, you won't be able to insulate yourself from the possibility of corpsing. The best you can do is to hone your recovery skills so that you can get back on track as fast as possible. The skills of method acting can come in useful here.

There are two strategies you can use to deal with the giggles. One is relaxation, to release that psychic tension. The only way to stop cracking up again - and again - is to regain your focus and concentration. This is a staple of method acting. Your teachers will tell you that concentration, vital to good acting, is something you can learn if you know the techniques.

Controlling corpsing may not be the main reason that actors choose method acting classes over other kinds of acting courses but it can come in really useful in your acting career.