Most actors start their careers as a stage actor and with the passage of time move on to become movie stars, aiming to one day become an Academy Award winner. But some actors continue to remain as Theatre artists (choice of actors). In reality, acting is a passion and it requires real talent whether you are on a live platform or in front of the camera. However, there are many differences between the onstage and onscreen acting that need to be considered to understand the predicament of the actors and their performance. 

The biggest difference between acting on stage versus acting on screen is the location of the audience, space and time. In a live theatre performance, the distance between the actors and the audience tends to vary. Here, the actors need to exaggerate their facial expressions and gestures more, so that even the audience sitting in the last row can see and understand what’s going on. The actors cannot express sadness with just a single tear onstage since only the audience who are closest to the stage will be able to see it. For each live theatre performance, actors have got only one chance to perform it perfectly. It is very important for actors on stage to have a clear loud voice and make sure that their lines are perfectly memorized. Actors can also use microphones depending on the production budget and the space that they are performing in. There is no chance of a mistake in a live performance and every mistake becomes permanent. A lot of preparation is needed for theatre artists before they can go on stage – they have to spend multiple hours on rehearsals trying to develop their characterization and memorizing their lines so that they can perform well. Giving live performance on stage is quite challenging because if the actors missed a cue or forget their props or lines or a wardrobe malfunction, no matter what there can be no interruptions and the show must go on as the interest of the audience needs to be maintained. Stage actors need to be quick in tackling situations; for eg: if something goes wrong during the performance they must be able to manage without creating any interruptions or disrupting the course of the drama. The actors must deliver the same performance with a new level of energy each time they perform. Stage acting requires a different kind of stamina, discipline and other kinds of techniques. Here the performing place needs to be very silent as it distracts the actors on stage. It is definitely more difficult and more impressive to see actors acting on stage than on screen. 

 Whereas, in a movie theatre, the screen tends to be far away from the audience. Actors on screen must be more subtle, with a controlled body language with natural expressions and gestures because of the possibility of close-up shots.  Large and exaggerated acting (stage acting) can look awkward and silly for the screen. The actors require a certain kind of stamina to do multiple retakes to make sure that the scene comes out perfectly. They can redo the scene if they stumble on their lines, slur in their diction or make any sort of errors. Actors on screen have microphones on the set to pick up the lines. Actors re-record their lines to fix the errors that they make during the filming of the movie or TV series. Here the actors can refer to their scripts when they forget their lines on set and they can also redo the mistakes in the next take. Film acting often depends on budget constraints, time availability of actors and technicians, place, weather, moods of Actors and Directors and so much more. The screen actors must also be prepared to deal with impromptu script changes. If you mess up, then you can just retake the scene and edit out the bad one. On screen acting involves a lot of technical expertise. The actors have less freedom because of the placement and movement of the camera. There is often a big gap between the performance you think you're giving and what the audience sees. 

 In conclusion, acting on-stage or acting on screen both are an amazing experience and both require talent. It’s an easier transition for an actor from the stage to the screen than from the screen to the stage, which is why classical acting training is based on stagecraft. Nevertheless, acting onstage and acting onscreen are both challenging and entertaining.