The answer to living the role without losing control is to embrace both of Stanislavsky’s dictums about “living the part every moment” and “never lose yourself on the stage” at one and the same time!
Many skilled actors are mindful of being “present” in two psychological identities at once. They do not “disappear” or become subsumed by the role but rather “operate” as both character and actor simultaneously.
Experienced actors, in other words, function as if they are literally of two minds: self (artist) and other (role).
The magic of effective acting is therefore “Janusian” in nature. Like the Roman god Janus, actors look in two different “psychological” directions at the same time.
An experienced actor retains her own identity (always maintaining an awareness of self) but also functions, at least partially, as a different identity: that of the “living” character that she embodies.
In a sense, acting is magical—it allows two different “entities” or psychological “beings” to co-exist simultaneously without confusion, loss of sanity, or loss of control.
Both self and other are allowed to inhabit one body, fused together, although the actor’s “self” is often experienced as being “in the background,” “translucent,” or delegated to the role of “silent observer.”
As it turns out, experienced actors do indeed “live the role” to varying degrees, while also managing to “never lose” themselves in the character. Experienced actors are most often present “in the moment,” alongside their charactrer creation. It is a delicate balance of being both self and other at the same time. A mindful actor strives to fuse together aspects of herself with aspects of the character, determeined by the “magic if” of the given circumstances.
David Plouffe 