Acting

Question 1

Who is in control of the final creative step in the performance of a play?

Answer 1

The audience that receives the play, and how they interpret it

Question 2

The two frames that surround a performance

Answer 2

Outer frame
Inner frame

Question 3

Outer frame

Answer 3

Everything that surrounds a performance before it starts

Question 4

Inner frame

Answer 4

Everything part of the actual show once it begins

Question 5

What does it mean to be critically generous when evaluating a play?

Answer 5

Critical as in to make judgements or to analyze
Generous as in willing to give full attention, open to experience and going into the play knowing that the performance is a reciprocal performance

Question 6

What should you observe when critiquing a play?

Answer 6

Notice your personal reaction
Notice the choices that shaped this reaction
Ask yourself why the artist may have made this choice

Question 7

Formula for a well-made play

Answer 7

Plot - Has a late point of attack
Secret - Known by the audience
Letters/paper - Bring about plot twists
Reversal of fortune
Late climax
Quick return to order at the end

Question 8

Goals of realism

Answer 8

Audiences should feel as if they are eavesdropping on real people living their lives

Question 9

What was Stanislavski’s goal of training and how did it achieve this?

Answer 9

For the actor to truthfully portray human psychology by understanding the character’s inner thoughts and motivations

Question 10

How can a character be realistic?

Answer 10

At every moment in a play the character should be pursuing an objective

Question 11

What are the three types of objectives?

Answer 11

External/physical
Internal/psychological
Both psychological and physical

Question 12

What makes a good objective?

Answer 12

Specific
Personal
Has stakes
Active - phrased with a verb

Question 13

Distinguishing features of melodrama

Answer 13

Plot - Sensational with no concern for plausibility, good and evil are clearly defined and good always wins
Music - Orchestral music plays under the action, to appeal to audience’s emotions and signify characters
Stock characters - Stereotyped, and either good or evil
Stylized movement - Exaggerated poses and gestures, uses tableaus (frozen picture)

Question 14

What is different about melodrama in terms of how it is received?

Answer 14

They are intended to make the audience feel a specific way. There is a right and wrong way to react, controlling the play’s meaning

Question 15

What is physical theater?

Answer 15

Everything is larger than life
The world of the play is created by the ensemble
Spoken language is optional
The audience is asked to use their imagination

Question 16

What are some distinctive features about the acting in physical theater?

Answer 16

The physicality of the actor plays a central role in defining character
The actor’s movement is the primary means of storytelling