Acting to Lying

Many things can be said about the similarities of acting and lying. Both spin a falsehood, leading the audience deeper and deeper into the trap until the very end when they are released. Both force the performer into a position where they are not entirely themselves and not entirely in control of what they say or do. Liars and actors wear many masks. These masks can be literal changes in the physical nature of the person, or they can be a change in character. Character changes can often consume a liar or an actor, creating an indistinguishable difference between the person and the mask. An actor is a fantastic liar, and the liar a fantastic actor, but the actor lies in for other, while the liar lies for himself. Acting is an art. It is a lie designed to entertain. Both the audience and the actors know that. Still, an actor uses all of his might, creativity, and will to convince the audience that he is the character being portrayed and the lines spoken come strait from his heart. He convinces the hearers to cry when he cries, laugh when he laughs, and mourn when he dies. If an actor can do this, he is a terrific liar, and when that curtain rises again he can see the faces of those he has tricked and say with pride he deceived them, and the audience will stand and applaud him for a lie well spoken. Then they will move into the aisle, still mesmerized, telling their companions what a wonderful job he did. When his lie is through, everyone is pleased and he gets to go home. His lie ends at the stage. No one is hurt, and everyone gets to go home satisfied. No harm has been done, no crime committed. The cloth woven from an actor's lie and the web spun from a liar's lie can look very similar when viewed from a distance, but an actor has no ill intent when he begins the first thread. A liar's lie is begun with a thread spun from spider's silk dipped in tar. As he weaves, his lie sticks to his fingers and his arms, quickly wrapping itself