Q&A for How to Play Dead

The most important thing to do is hold your breath and control your breathing. You don't want to be moving at all to convincingly look dead, so you have to keep your breathing slow and shallow.

Let your body remain lifeless. Don't tense or move any part of your body. Let the other actors influence your body.

Just remain completely still, but if they are about to call an ambulance, you have to get up.

Go in expecting it to happen and focus on not moving when pinched. For example, when you get a shot, you can't flinch or you'll get hurt. Tell yourself if you move, it will be worse.

Practice staring for long periods of time or close your eyes.

If you take shallow yet quiet breaths, it should be easier to appear as if you are not breathing at all. Avoid taking really deep and long breaths, but if you must in order to keep from fainting, then that's what you'll have to do.

Think of something very serious, like your pet dying or something that is sad, to get your mind off of what is happening.

Push your stomach out and take small, quick, short breaths. Don't push your stomach too much and don't make it seem like you're panting. Think of breathing from your chest and up and down instead of in and out.

Just tell them immediately that you're okay and you don't need any help. If they try mouth-to-mouth, that would be very awkward and if they started chest compressions, you could be seriously hurt.

They actually can! Many people notice small details, like a person breathing or their eyes moving. Just take small inhales and try not to be too noticeable.

Try to wear a turtle-neck, long-sleeve shirt so people won't try to check your pulse.

Try imagining you are sleeping on top of a hungry lion, and if you move, it will wake up and eat you.

If you are onstage, then no. Your adeience is still watching. If you are just playing with really no meaning, then yes, take little breaths every second to still get air.

Tell them to be careful. Just because you are dead on stage doesn't mean you can't be injured. Practice it a couple times, and if you run into the same problem, tell your director.

You'd probably want to close your eyes, because you don't want to give it away by blinking. If you can hold your eyes open long enough, go with the eyes open, because people imagine dead people with their eyes closed, and if you give them something new, they are more likely to believe you.

The show must go on! Hold it until you're finished playing dead, then you can go straight after your role is done.

Yes, if you do nothing but play dead for about a week, you will die of dehydration.

Don't tense, just imagine something else and remain as lifeless as possible.

Get up and have someone call an ambulance. If you don’t, you may die for real.

Fill up your lungs all the way, first by emptying them (you'd be surprised how much air is in there when you start breathing in) and then by imagining the air is water and your lungs are a bowl you're filling up. Once they are all the way full, you should be able to last a while. If you feel the need to breathe, slowly let the air out of your lungs until they are at a natural place. Hold there for as long as you can. Slowly fill up again. You can also ask one of your scene partners, to hold you on their lap. When they move you, you can sneak a breath, and any breath after that will be chalked up to your scene partner moving you.

Try clutching your neck, making gagging sounds, trying to force air in/out of your lungs, and act like you're trying to cough it up before you pretend to faint and die. You could also act like you're throwing up.

Learn to breathe very softly for a long amount of time and do it when the audience is focused on something else. Keep your eyes closed, so you don't have to blink.