The Reflective Actor: Metacognition, Role adaptation and Psychological growth

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the role of metacognition in theatrical role adaptation and its psychological implications for theatre practitioners. While acting is often perceived as primarily emotional or intuitive, this research positions reflective cognitive regulation as the central mechanism underlying performance quality, emotional containment, identity boundary management, and therapeutic growth. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten theatre practitioners and analyzed thematically, revealing that actors engage in continuous internal monitoring during script analysis, rehearsal, and live performance. Participants described deliberate emotional calibration, dual awareness (simultaneous immersion and observation), structured role-exit practices, and reflective integration processes that prevent emotional spillover and identity diffusion. Importantly, the findings indicate that psychological transformation does not occur through emotional expression alone but through metacognitive reflection that converts performance experience into insight, resilience, empathy, and self-regulation. The study reconceptualizes theatrical role adaptation as a model of applied metacognitive mastery, challenging traditional dichotomies between cognition and emotion, art and science, and performance and therapy, and highlights implications for acting pedagogy, drama therapy, clinical psychology, and performance training.