Breaking (or “going up”) – The act of “breaking character” when
onstage, usually involving uncontrolled laughter.  I’m not a fan
of breaking on stage. I hate it, actually. I hate doing it (yes,
I’ve been guilty) and I really despise seeing actors do it. But
it happens.  Audiences tend to like it, I think. I don’t.
Theatre is so artificial, we work so hard to draw the audience
in to the world of the play. Why in the world would we want to
take them out of it?  But breaking is a reality. It happens. And
it’s important to understand why. It happens for the same reason
that a joke makes people laugh. Basically, the joke’s setup asks
our brain to think in a certain way and the punchline surprises
and delights us because it goes in a different direction from
what we were thinking.  Q: Which day of the week do chickens
hate most? A: Fry-day!  Not the world’s greatest joke, but it’ll
do for my point. During the setup we consider the days of the
week and wonder why the heck a chicken would know or even care
what day i