When it comes to acting, there’s more to playing the part than memorizing lines and wearing a costume.

“Just putting on a fat suit isn’t going to help,” said Cynthia Latham, who has acted in several local productions.

Director Rex McGraw chimed in: “You’ve got to have the heaviness in your head.”

Acting through the high and low points in a play and convincing the audience that you are your character takes imagination and follow through, said McGraw.

The seasoned director recently wrapped up a three-part workshop on acting at the Marion Art Center.

One thing McGraw tried to hammer into his students was the detail with which they should think about their characters and the setting, both the visible and the invisible aspects of it.

For example, when stepping into a scene, McGraw said actors should know where they are coming “from”– thinking of the character as moving from another actual space rather than thinking of themselves as entering from stage left.

Details such as imagining what kind of books are on the shelf in a particular scene also help the actor create a world in which the play takes place.

“As an actor as well as a director, from the beginning concern yourself with those items,” McGraw said.

He also said one crucial mistake actors make is to memorize the text and cast it aside.

“The text is your touching point always and forever,” he said.

Both the novice and the more experienced actors in the group learned new things about honing their craft.

Suzie Kokkins of Marion has been in at least five plays at the Marion Art Center.

“Every time I do one, I learn more,” she said. “It’s very addictive.”

Kokkins said the audience is very accepting of the plays, but “I’m here because I want to be a better performer for them.”

Last summer’s art center play was a first for Susan Sullivan of Fairhaven, and now she’s hooked.

“It was great. I sort of always always wanted to be on stage,” she said.

Sullivan said the more she learned about her character with each onstage performance, the better she learned to play her.

Several other actors at the workshop commented that it took some time to get to know their characters. That wasn’t news to McGraw, who encouraged the group to focus on their craft from early readings of the script until the curtain falls.

“You have to keep working on emotional development all the way through. It makes you a better actor,” said McGraw.