Editing Acting (section)

==Physiological effects==
Acting in front of an audience many times can cause "stage fright", a form of stress in which someone becomes anxious in front of an audience. This is common among actors, especially new actors, and can cause symptoms such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and sweating.<ref name = audienceheartrate>{{cite journal|last1=Baldwin, Clevenger|first1=T|title=Effect of Speakers' Sex and size of audience on heart-rate changes during short impromptu speeches|journal= Psychological Reports|volume=46|pages=123–130|date=1980|issue=1|doi=10.2466/pr0.1980.46.1.123|pmid=7367532|s2cid=20025236}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lacey|title=Coronary vasoconstriction induced by mental stress (simulated public speaking) |journal=The American Journal of Cardiology|date=1995|volume= 75|issue=7|pages=503–505|doi=10.1016/s0002-9149(99)80590-6|pmid=7863998 }}</ref>

In a 2017 study on American university students, actors of various experience levels all showed similarly elevated heart rates throughout their performances; this agrees with previous studies on professional and amateur actors' heart rates.<ref name = emotionprocesses>{{cite book |first1= Elly A.|last1=Konijin|chapter=What's on between the actor and his audience? Empirical Analysis of emotion processes in the theatre|title=Psychology and Performing Arts|editor-first= Glenn D.|editor-last = Wilson |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3shEzj0wccgC&pg=PA59 |isbn = 978-0312653163|publisher = Swets & Zeitlinger|date = 1991}}</ref> While all actors experienced stress, causing elevated heart rate, the more experienced actors displayed less heart rate variability than the less experienced actors in the same play. The more experienced actors experienced less stress while performing, and therefore had a smaller degree of variability than the less experienced, more stressed actors. The more experienced an actor is, the more stable their heart rate will be while performing, but will still experience elevated heart rates.