Project Specs - Perfection Learning

Annotated
Teacher’s
Edition
Perfection
Learning®
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Contents
Introduction:
Welcome to Drama Class! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
v
Unit
Begin with the Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Chapter 1
4
One
Warm Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Project: Create and Perform a Warm-up Routine
Spotlight on: Stage Fright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 2
Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Project: Give a Detailed Description of an Object
Spotlight on: Peer Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Theatre Then and Now: Stanislavski’s System/The Actors Studio . . . 18
Chapter 3
Pantomime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Project: Plan and Present a Pantomime of an Activity
Master of the Craft: Marcel Marceau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Theatre Then and Now:
Kabuki of the 1600s/Kabuki Interpretations Today . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chapter 4
Improvisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Project: Improvise a Scene with a Partner
Career Focus: The Improv Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Spotlight on: Audience Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Theatre Then and Now: Commedia Dell’arte/The Second City . . . 38
Unit One Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Unit
Two
Elements of Acting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 5
Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Project: Plan and Present Stage Movement for a Scene
Spotlight on: The Rules of Stage Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Theatre Then and Now: Ritual Dance Movement/Modern Movement 52
Chapter 6
Stage Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Project: Plot and Execute Three Stage Crosses
Spotlight on: Taking Your Bows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Theatre Then and Now: The Actor Onstage—Ancient Arenas/
Today’s Intimate Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Chapter 7
Voice Production and Articulation . . . 64
Project: Perform a Vocal Exercise
Career Focus: Voice-over Actor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Master of the Craft: John Leguizamo: Man of Many Voices
Theatre Then and Now:
Storytellers Across Time—The Griot/The Moth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Chapter 8
Ensemble Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Project: Perform an Improvised Scene as an Ensemble Member
Career Focus: Stage Actor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Spotlight on: Stage Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Theatre Then and Now: Ensembles of Old/Ensembles of Today . . . 84
Unit Two Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Unit
Three
Creating a Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 9
Character Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Project: Create Characters and Improvise a Scene with a Partner
Theatre Then and Now: Ibsen and Miller—Appointment
with Humanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Chapter 10
Character Development . . . . . . . . . . 100
Project: Use Characterizations in a Group Scene
Spotlight on: Cues and Cue Pickup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Theatre Then and Now: Elizabethan Drama to Epic Theatre . . . . . 110
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Contents
Chapter 11
Dramatic Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Project: Write and Perform a Dramatic Scene with a Partner
Spotlight on: The Worst Romeo Ever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Master of the Craft: Kenneth Branagh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Theatre Then and Now: A Role for All Eras—Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Chapter 12
Comic Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Project: Write and Perform a Comic Monologue
Master of the Craft: Lily Tomlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Theatre Then and Now: Great Comic Playwrights—
Molière/Neil Simon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Unit Three Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Unit
Four
The Play: From Vision to Reality . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 13
The Playwright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Project: Write and Present a Scenario for a Play
Spotlight on: Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Master of the Craft: August Wilson—Master Playwright . . . . . . . . 149
Theatre Then and Now: Playwriting Contests—Greek Goat Songs/
Up-and-Coming Playwrights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Chapter 14
The Director and Producer . . . . . . . . . 152
Project: Analyze a Play and Give a Presentation
Spotlight on: The Dramaturg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Career Focus: Stage Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Master of the Craft: Peter Brook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theatre Then and Now: The Evolution of the “Director”—
Zeami/Hal Prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 15
157
160
163
164
The Cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Project: Create and Discuss a Rehearsal Schedule
Spotlight on: The Audition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Career Focus: Casting Director
Theatre Then and Now: A Leading Lady of His Time—Edward
Kynaston/A Leading Lady of Our Time: Cherry Jones . . . . . . . . . 180
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Chapter 16
Blocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Project: Block a Scene Involving More than One Actor
Spotlight on: Stage Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Master of the Craft: Anne Bogart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Theatre Then and Now: The Ancient Greek Chorus/A Chorus Line . . 196
Chapter 17
Attend a Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Project: Give a Talk Show Presentation About a Theatre Production
Spotlight on: Audience Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Theatre Then and Now: The Roman Audience in 200 A.D./
An Off-Broadway Audience Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Unit Four Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Unit
Five
Technical Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Chapter 18
Set Design and Construction . . . . . 212
Project: Create and Present a Set Design
Master of the Craft: G.W. “Skip” Mercier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Theatre Then and Now: Staging Through the Ages—Early Mechanics/
Current Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Chapter 19
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Project: Create and Present a Lighting Plan
Career Focus: Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Theatre Then and Now: Let There Be Light—
From Candlelight to the 20th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Chapter 20
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Project: Create a Sound Effects Cue Sheet and Recording With a Partner
Career Focus: Sound Technician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Theatre Then and Now: Sound Effects Through Time—
Early Thunder to the Sounds of Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
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Contents
Chapter 21
Costumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Project: Prepare and Present Costume Designs for a Character
Career Focus: Costume Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Master of the Craft: Julie Taymor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Theatre Then and Now: The Art of Costuming—
The Middle Ages/Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Chapter 22
Makeup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Project: Apply Character Makeup and Discuss the Process
Spotlight on: The Makeup Morgue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Career Focus: Makeup Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Theatre Then and Now: The Actor’s Face—Ancient Asia/
Contemporary Dramatic Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Chapter 23
Props . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Project: Create and Describe a Prop Plot for a Play
Career Focus: Properties Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Theatre Then and Now: Symbolic Props Across Time/
Japanese Noh/20th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Unit Five Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Unit
Six
Theatre and Its Counterparts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Chapter 24
Musical Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Project: Create and Present a Proposal for a New Musical
Career Focus: Choreographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Master of the Craft: Andrew Lloyd Webber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Theatre Then and Now: The Common Language of Music—
Peking Opera/High-Tech and Small-Scale Today . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Chapter 25
Other Theatre Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Project: Take Part in a Poetry Slam
Career Focus: Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Master of the Craft: Marc Smith—The “Slampapi” . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Theatre Then and Now: Puppetry for All Time—
Bunraku/Bread & Puppet Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
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Chapter 26
Stage to Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Project: Adapt a Scene from a Play into a Screenplay
Spotlight on: What the Stage Does That Film and Video Can’t . . . 350
Theatre Then and Now: Homer to Home Viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Chapter 27
Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Project: Develop and Present an Idea for an Original Screenplay
Spotlight on: What Film Does That Theatre Can’t . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Master of the Craft: Spike Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Theatre Then and Now: Chicago to California . . . And on to Toronto 366
Chapter 28
Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Project: Write and Discuss an Outline for a Television Episode
Career Focus: Cameraperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spotlight On: Reality TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Master of the Craft: Larry Gelbart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theatre Then and Now: Theatre and Television—The Odd Couple . .
Chapter 29
376
379
381
382
Critique a Performance . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Project: Write a Review and Give a Presentation
Career Focus: Theatre Critic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Theatre Then and Now: Strong Views and Famous Feuds—Alexander
Pope/Robert Brustein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Unit Six Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
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Contents
Unit
Seven
Exploring Theatre History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
PART ONE The Dawn of Theatre
Primitive Peoples, Egyptian and Hebrew Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Greek Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Roman Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chinese Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Japanese Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hindu Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Suggested Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
400
402
408
410
411
414
415
PART TWO The Middle Ages to 1800
Medieval Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Renaissance Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elizabethan Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restoration and 18th-Century Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Suggested Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
416
418
421
427
429
PART THREE 1800 to the Present
Continental Theatre in the 19th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
American Theatre in the 19th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theatre in the 20th Century and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Suggested Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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432
433
439
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Unit
Eight
Monologues and Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Monologues for a Woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Prisoner of Second Avenue by Neil Simon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Trudy” from The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe
by Jane Wagner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Clear Glass Marbles by Jane Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Real Women Have Curves by Josefina Lopez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
443
444
444
445
446
450
Monologues for a Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Hamlet by William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Drummer by Athol Fugard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Janitor by August Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copenhagen by Michael Frayn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
451
451
453
453
454
456
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Contents
Scenes for One Man and One Woman . . . . . . . . . . 459
The Imaginary Invalid by Molière . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan . . . . . . . . . .
A Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekhov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, translated by Michael Meyer . . . .
Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weebjob by Diane Glancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FOB by David Henry Hwang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spinning into Butter by Rebecca Gilman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
459
461
464
467
470
473
476
478
481
Scenes for Two or More Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
You Can’t Take It With You by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman . . 489
“Dead Parrot” from Monty Python’s Flying Circus by Graham
Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle,
Terry Jones, and Michael Palin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death by Fred D’Aguiar . . . . . . 493
Scenes for Two or More Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Othello by William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds
by Paul Zindel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jar the Floor by Cheryl L. West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xiv
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498
501
504
507
510
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Scenes for Mixed Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Macbeth by William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Dining Room by A. R. Gurney, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Actor’s Nightmare by Christopher Durang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Waitress in Yellowstone by David Mamet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Star Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hole in Heaven by Judi Ann Mason . . .
“Baucis and Philemon” from Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman .
Promenade by Maria Irene Fornes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Icarus by Edwin Sanchez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
511
513
517
520
525
529
534
537
540
543
544
Theatre Handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
PART ONE Acting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART TWO Directing and Producing
PART THREE Costumes . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART FOUR Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART FIVE Makeup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART SIX Props . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART SEVEN Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART EIGHT Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART NINE The Business of Theatre . .
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Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
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Chapter 9
Character Analysis
Chapter
9 Character Analysis
In this chapter students will learn to
use the text to uncover a character’s
circumstances, characteristics, and
objectives. They will create distinct
characters with articulated goals.
To be a good actor, you must become a student of humanity.
Your knowledge of people is one of the most valuable assets
you have when it comes to creating a believable character.
As you analyze and develop a role, you will draw upon the
text of the play, your own experiences, and remembered
observations of people you meet, read about, or see on film.
Objectives
1 to detect clues to character from
the dramatic text, including
physical and emotional traits
Theatre Terms
Project Specs
2 to delineate and specify emotional,
mental, and spiritual aspects of
character
Project Description You and a partner will each create
distinct characters with specific goals in a three- to fiveminute improvised scene.
3 to articulate with precision character
motivation, objective, and obstacle
Purpose to analyze a character in terms of internal and
external traits, motivation, objectives, and stakes
4 to prepare and perform a scene
involving distinct characters
Materials a list of shared information between your
National Standards
own and your partner’s character, a list of your character’s internal and external traits, or the Character
Analysis Activity Sheet provided by your teacher
Chapter 9 meets these National
Theatre Standards:
Proficient 2a, 2c, 5a, 7c, 7d, 8a
Advanced 2d, 5b, 7g, 7h
artistic selectivity
conflict
dual role
external traits
internal traits
motivation
objectives
obstacle
outcome
stakes
On Your Feet
Spend two minutes interviewing a partner.
Ask questions about his or her background,
family, friends, personal preferences, hobbies,
accomplishments, and so on. Take notes and
try to create a composite of the person. At the
end of two minutes, look over your notes and
tell your partner about himself or herself.
Then switch roles.
Project Specs
Explain to students that analyzing a
character can be as involved, challenging, rigorous, and enjoyable as
they make it. Many actors do outside
research to gather information on a
character’s background, historical
period, psychological underpinnings,
and so on. Other actors just take the
script and go from there.
90
Unit Three Creating a Character
On Your Feet
After the interview,
have each student write a character
description of himself or herself for
a dramatic or comic play based on
the partner’s interview notes. Tell
students to use vivid language that
will stimulate the imagination of the
actor playing the role. Have the class
mix up the descriptions and read
them aloud, guessing whom each
description is based upon.
Theatre Terms
internal traits characteristics that make
artistic selectivity selecting the optimum
amount of information necessary to
portray a character
up personality
conflict dramatic opposition of the
obstacle anything that gets in the way of
protagonist with society, peers, or
himself/herself
dual role the two aspects of acting: the
actor-as-character and the actor-as-actor
external traits characteristics that make
up physical appearance
90
Unit Three Creating a Character
motivation reason for a behavior or action
objectives goals or needs
reaching an objective
outcome result
stakes level or degree of importance in
getting objectives met
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PREVIEW
The Actor and the Character
PREVIEW
The Actor and the Character
As an actor in a play you have a
dual role. You are both the actor-ascharacter and the actor-as-actor. If you
are to be convincing onstage, you must
use your imagination—and the work
you’ve done analyzing and developing
your character—to maintain your belief
in what you as the character are doing,
feeling, and saying. You should think as
the character thinks and concentrate on
fulfilling his or her goals, or objectives.
On the other hand, as an actor you
must maintain technical control and a
professional attitude at all times. None
of your performing will matter if the
audience has trouble seeing or hearing
you. You the actor and you the character
must work as a unit to create the delicate
balance of believable characterization.
Actors have a unique artistic advantage over many other artists: They
require no canvas, paint, paper, or
other tools of the trade. All an actor
really needs is his or her own body—
and the ability to move, speak, and
think. Let students know from the
start that acting is certainly gratifying
and exciting work, but it is also very
demanding— and often difficult.
Acting requires hours of hard physical
and emotional dedication and a great
deal of discipline—the result of
which, ironically, should be conveyed
in a relaxed and seemingly effortless
way. What separates the good actor
from the great actor is how well he
or she can use the imagination to
make a character live and breathe.
This may sound like a demanding job—
and it is. But characterization shouldn’t
be a strain. Relax and enjoy the process as
you create a believable individual onstage.
Developing the Character
To be an effective onstage presence you
will need to know hundreds of things
about your character—much more
than you will actually be able to portray
onstage. Your job then becomes one of
artistic selectivity. What are the really
important aspects of this character?
How can you effectively communicate
the essentials of the character? At the
same time, remember that none of the
work you do while developing your
character is wasted. The more you
know about the character, the more
textured your performance will be.
Developing the Character
And you must harness your character’s
emotions and avoid overacting, which
offends both the audience and your
fellow actors.
Suggest to students that instead of
asking how much they can do with
their parts to decide how little they
can do and still communicate the
necessary ideas and emotions. Instill
in them the belief that as artists
creating a role, they must:
• Select
• Combine
• Discard
Vocabulary Enhancement
Julian Glover and Alan Doble create distinctive
characters in the Piccadilly Theatre production
of Waiting for Godot.
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
91
Resource Binder
To Have on Hand
• Character Analysis Activity Sheet, p. 35
Have examples of well-written scenarios
from various sources on hand, including
some written by high-school students.
• Finding Your Motivation
Worksheet, p. 36
Theatre-goers and critics alike
often speak of a fine actor’s stage
presence, which is the ability to
seem perfectly at ease onstage,
as if he or she belonged there.
• Critique Sheet: High-Stakes
Scene, p. 37
• Chapter Test, p. 38
• Actor’s Script Analysis, p. 128
Handbook Connections
pages 551-553
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
91
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Motivation and Conflict
Draw three columns on the chalkboard and write the words WHAT and
WHY at the top of the first two. Then
ask students to think about times in
the last week when they had a strong
need to do something. Ask them to
tell you what it was as you write it on
the board. Next ask them to explain
why they wanted what they did. Write
that on the board also. Explain that
WHAT is the goal, or OBJECTIVE,
and WHY indicates the MOTIVATION.
Discuss the motivations and objectives
that the students expressed.
The hundreds of things you understand
about your character will reveal themselves through the various layers and
colors you are able to bring to the role.
Motivation and Conflict
In real life people often do and say
things for no apparent reason. A character in a play, however, needs a specific
reason, or motivation, for doing or saying anything. Motivation determines
your character’s objectives. Whatever is
standing in the way of your character’s
objectives is an obstacle.
Now add the last title, HOW to the
third column, and ask students what
they did to achieve their goal. Tell
them that the means they used to
achieve their objective are called
tactics. Write down the tactics that
they used. Discuss other tactics that
might have been used to achieve the
same objectives.
This is the essence of conflict, which
in turn is the basis of drama. The
outcome of a conflict is the result
of the steps the characters take to overcome their obstacles. What the characters may gain or lose as a result of the
outcome are the stakes. The higher
the stakes are in a play, the greater
the character’s motivation; the more
powerful the conflict, the more important the outcome.
Make a list of objectives
with the class using verbs that stimulate an emotional response. Examples:
to incite a riot, to seize power, to
hypnotize into submission, to abscond
with funds, etc. Once the list is complete, one student at a time acts out a
movement or short scene using one
verb and its objective.
The Character Inside and Out
To find your way into the mind and
body of a character, you must know the
role inside and out. That means you
must understand both the character’s
internal and external traits.
The Character Inside and Out
Suggest to students that
they create a character notebook for a
specific character from a play. This
can be done as a project over several
days. Have them create a biography of
the character that describes the character’s history, occupation, family status, and any other circumstances.
Some of this information will come
directly from the text, some will come
from research, and some will come
from the imagination.
92
Unit Three Creating a Character
To determine a character’s internal
traits, challenge yourself to discover
what he or she is like inside. Find out
the character’s background—that is his
92
or her family circumstances, environment, occupation, level of education,
hobbies, and so on—and his or her
emotional reactions to all of these
circumstances. You can break internal
traits into three basic categories.
1 Mental characteristics Is the
character intelligent, clever, dull,
slow, or average?
2 Spiritual qualities What are the
character’s ideals, ethical code, and
beliefs? What is his or her attitude
toward other people and toward life
in general?
3 Emotional characteristics Is the
character confident, outgoing, happy,
and poised or sullen, confused, nervous, cynical, and timid? What are his
or her likes and dislikes? How does he
or she respond to others? (One good
technique when analyzing emotional
characteristics is to ask yourself how
a character’s temperament is similar
to and different from your own.)
Answering all these questions should
give you a good idea of your character’s
personality. Now it’s time to get even
more specific. You will have to determine your character’s motivating desire
within the play or scene. In other
words, what does your character want?
You may have to do the additional work
of imagining the circumstances that led
to the events of the play or scene.
Unit Three Creating a Character
Quotable
Acting is the life of the human soul receiving its birth through art.
from Acting: The First Six Lessons by Richard Boleslavski
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Suggest also that they answer the
questions below about the character.
• What is your character’s deepest fear?
• What is your character’s deepest
desire?
• What is the biggest obstacle in the
way of your character getting his or
her desire?
• Does your character have any odd
habits?
• What songs or poems remind me
of this character?
• Is there an aspect of your character
that you know nothing about?
Research this information and
include it in your notebook.
Also have students include any
photographs, artwork, lyrics, or poetry
that suggest their character’s traits—
external and internal.
Place five chairs in a
row in the playing area and ask five
students to sit down. Ask them to
experiment with different postures
that reveal character. Have the class
suggest what each posture tells them
about the person.
To play the title role in Mary Stuart convincingly, actor Jenny Bacon must
convey the motivation and obstacles faced by the Scottish queen.
A character’s external traits have to do
with outward appearance and what that
appearance says about him or her. Here
are some external traits to think about.
1 Posture Does the way the character
sits and stands suggest confidence,
timidity, awkwardness, or grace?
2 Movement and gestures Does the
character’s movement and gait reveal
poise, nervousness, weakness, or
strength? What does the character’s
movement reveal about his or her
age, health, or general attitude?
3 Mannerism Does the character
have any tics or little habits that
provide keys to his or her personality?
Examples might be nail biting,
gum chewing, head scratching,
or table tapping.
Invite other students to
be seated, and add an environment
and circumstances to the mix, such as
waiting in a hospital waiting room or
a police station. Each person in a chair
creates the posture based on one sentence that represents his or her character, i.e. “I’m very worried about these
headaches” or “Keep clear, I’m tough.”
4 Voice Does the character have a
specific regional dialect or any vocal
mannerisms?
5 Mode of dress Is the character’s
appearance neat, casual, prim, or
sloppy? Are the clothes clean or
dirty? Are they in good taste?
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
Friedrich Schiller’s 19th-century play,
Mary Stuart, brings to the stage the last
three days of the life of Mary, Queen of
Scots. Imprisoned for eighteen years in
England, she was finally beheaded for her
supposed involvement in an attempt on
the life of Queen Elizabeth I. The play
revolves around Mary and Elizabeth and
their followers, who exhibit different
perspectives on almost every important
idea of their age.
93
• In what way does the character’s attire
suggest who she is?
• Does the character exhibit the bearing
of a queen? Explain.
• What does the actress’s posture
suggest about the queen’s
circumstances?
• Imagine that you are Queen Elizabeth I
standing before Mary Stuart. How would
you approach her? What might you say?
Advanced Students
Add more dimensions to the seated
characters. Two are from the South,
one is from England, one has a peculiar habit, and so on. Continue to
challenge advanced students to create
characters whose actions reveal both
internal and external characteristics.
Advanced Students
Ask students to choose two or three
gestures they have seen people make
and memorize them so that they have
a “choreography of gestures.” When
they are ready, ask these students to
show their choreography of gestures
to the class. Discuss the characters
created by these gestures.
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
93
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PREPARE
Create a High-Stakes Scenario
PREPARE
Show, Don’t Tell As you discuss some
aspect of the work involved for this
chapter, incorporate a mannerism of
some kind, such as biting a lip or
wrinkling your nose. Do not indicate
that you are upset in words but by gesture or manner alone. Continue until
students indicate in some way that
they are aware of this physical tic. Ask
them to discuss what they thought as
you repeated this movement. What did
it reveal about you and what you
might be feeling or thinking?
Discuss with the class the scenario for
two siblings presented on this page.
Does it have a familiar ring? Which sibling do they think should realistically
come out on top, and why? Suggest
ways in which disagreements over the
outcome of this scenario might be
resolved, including tossing a coin, asking an arbitrator, compromising on the
time each uses the line, or giving up
use of the phone line altogether. Have
students suggest other possibilities.
Encourage them to be willing collaborators as they exchange ideas with
their partners for their own scenarios.
Have pairs of students
face one another. Ask them to choose
two opposite words, such as summer/winter or big/small. Each of them
has one minute to describe to the
other all the positive aspects of one of
these words. Then each has two minutes to explain to the class why their
word is a better one. Students should
use as many tactics as possible to win.
Create a High-Stakes Scenario
Mannerisms
can tell a lot
about your
character.
When analyzing and developing a character’s external qualities, you’ll want
to avoid stereotypes. For example, you
don’t necessarily want to choose a cartoonlike drawling “hick” voice simply
because your character is supposed to
be uneducated. Try to make the more
interesting, less obvious choice.
Theatre Journal
Go to a public place such as a
museum, a park, or a mall. Sit
down on a bench and do a bit
of people watching. Take note
of the way people walk and
the expressions on their faces.
Imagine what the lives of these
people might be like. Choose one
passerby to use as the basis for
a character. Write a history
for this character. Use what
you see and your imagination to
create a rich character study.
94
You are now going to work with a partner to improvise a scenario in which the
stakes are high for each of your characters. You will need to think of a situation in which two characters come into
conflict over a physical object of some
kind (perhaps a bag of money, a legal
document, or a treasured family heirloom). Decide when and where your
scene takes place and what the relationship between your characters should be.
Then nail down a bit of their shared
history (if any). Write down everything
you decide upon. Here’s an example:
Scenario for Two Siblings
Characters: Rita and Joe
Relationship: Sister and Brother
Ages: Rita is 15; Joe is 14
Situation: Rita desperately needs to use
the telephone; Joe is searching an
online Web site and has been tying up
the phone line for an hour.
Time of year: Just after Thanksgiving
Time of day: 10 P.M.
Decide which character will ultimately
achieve his or her objectives. This will
serve as the outcome of the scene. DO
NOT determine what your characters
will say and do in the scene ahead of
time—you are to improvise your
actual exchange.
Unit Three Creating a Character
Theatre Journal
Use the following as an additional
or substitute prompt.
Ask students to use their character
studies to present a short scene in
which their character introduces
himself or herself.
94
Unit Three Creating a Character
Have students look at the picture at
the top of the page. Use the following
prompts.
• What does the mannerism of the
student on the left tell you about him?
• What does the posture of the student on
the right indicate about her?
• What other habit might someone have
involving glasses?
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After you have come up with your
shared situation and history, take some
time to work independently. Both of
you should come up with external and
internal traits for your character, as
well as motivations (Rita: Why does she
need to use the phone? Joe: Why does
he have to be online?), objectives (Rita:
How will she get Joe offline? Joe: How
will he distract Rita until he can finish
what he is doing?), and stakes (Rita:
What will happen if she doesn’t make
her phone call? Joe: What will happen
if he doesn’t finish what he is doing?).
At the right are a few other possible
scenarios. You can use one of them or
create your own. The important thing
is to be specific about
your shared history
and your character’s
internal and external
traits, motivation, and
objectives. Rehearse
your scene so that you
know only the basic
shape of the improvisation. Don’t write
down specific lines
you want to say; keep
this improvisation
spontaneous. Time
yourselves to make
sure you will come
within the three- to
five-minute time frame.
Suggestions for Scenarios
• Two students compete for
a school award.
• Two siblings both want
a particular item that
belonged to their dead
grandfather.
• Two bank robbers want
to be in charge of divvying
up the loot.
• Two people at a library
want to use the only
available computer.
• Two people bid on a priceless object at an auction.
As the students work independently
on their scenarios, continue to use
the example of the two siblings to
help them along. They should, at this
point, know enough about their partner’s character to be able to explore
how they will continue with their
encounter and what will happen next.
As the students begin to rehearse
their scenarios, remind them to
remain open to new ideas—their own
and their partner’s. They should not
be using any specific words, but they
should have a specific direction.
Suggestions for Scenarios
If students choose any of these
scenarios, instruct them to put
themselves into the place of the
character and try to imagine how
they would feel and to what lengths
they would go to reach their
objective in the scene.
Two characters clash over a high-stakes real estate
deal in David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross.
Glengarry Glen Ross remains one of
David Mamet’s most admired plays. It
was made into a film in 1992, starring
Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris,
Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, and Alec
Baldwin, among others.
• What do their postures say about
how these two men are relating to
one another?
• Which man appears to have the
upper hand?
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
95
• Judging by the set, what might
have happened in this real estate
office?
Backstage Gossip: The Greatest Motivator
Early in 1962 Noel [Coward] was the
guest of honor one Sunday at a dinner
given by the Gallery First-Nighter’s Club.
Beginning his speech, “Desperately
accustomed as I am to public speaking,”
he continued, “you ask my advice about
acting? Speak clearly, don’t bump into
people and if you must have motivation
think of your pay packet on Friday.”
from Theatrical Anecdotes by Peter Hay
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
95
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PRESENT
Perform Your High-Stakes Scene
It always helps to add a time limit to
a scene in order to heighten the
stakes and the feeling of urgency.
You might want to watch the presentations with watch in hand, letting
the actors know when they have four,
three, two, and then one minute left
to achieve their goals. Tell students to
create for themselves a motivation for
the time limit, for example, in the scenario on page 94 it might be that the
siblings have only a few minutes until
their parents get home and end their
confrontation.
PRESENT
CRITIQUE
Perform Your High-Stakes Scene
Evaluate Your Classmates’ Scene
When your or your partner’s name
is called, give your lists or Activity
Sheets to your teacher. Then take a
few moments to set up your scene
(arrange chairs if you need them,
for example). Do not rush.
Choose one of the scenes presented and
evaluate it on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5
being “outstanding” and 1 being “needs
much improvement.” Your critique
should answer these questions:
Remember to keep the stakes high
with the choices your character makes
during the scene. If one method doesn’t
work, try another. Each character must
work hard to achieve the goal. When
you perform your scene, you will no
doubt find out things about the other
character that you didn’t know. You
must respond to these things in the
moment. Try to make everything clear
within the scene. You will not be using
an introduction for this activity.
It might also be helpful to coach
students into trying different tactics
or working harder to reach their
objective as they work through their
scenes. Remind them also to be sure
they respond to the other character’s
demands, and so on.
Remember to keep yourself open to the
audience, both physically and emotionally as you perform your scene. When
you have finished your scene, turn to
the audience and bow politely before
returning to your seat.
CRITIQUE
Evaluate Your Classmates’ Scene
• How old were these two characters?
• What was their relationship to one
another?
• What was each character’s objective?
• How high were the stakes for each
character?
• What did each character do to get
what he or she wanted?
• Which character got what he or she
wanted—and how was this achieved?
• Did one character appear stronger
than the other? If so, in what way?
Write a paragraph detailing the reasons
for the score you gave.
Hand out the Critique Sheet for this
activity or have students use their
own paper. If you have counted down
the time for the students, ask how
they think this affected their work on
the scene.
If you have focused on tactics, you
might want to add an additional question about what tactics were used by
each of the partners and which ones
were successful and why.
96
Unit Three Creating a Character
Quotable
The actor is an artist, not a critic. His job is not to explain
a text, but to bring a character to life. To understand as an
intelligent man and to understand as an artist are two
completely different things . . . .
Paul Claudel, French Poet and Playwright
96
Unit Three Creating a Character
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Chapter 9 Test
The test for this chapter is available in
blackline master form in the Resource
Binder, page 38.
Additional Projects
1 Select newspaper human-
interest stories to analyze.
In groups, supply the
necessary characters for the
action of the story. Establish
the characters’ physical,
emotional, and social
dimensions. Then improvise
a scene built around them.
2 In groups, build a scene
around a historical event,
such as Lewis and Clark’s
first meeting with Sacajawea,
General Lee’s surrender
to Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse,
the Lincoln/ Douglas
debates, and so on. Be sure
your story has characters
in conflict, high stakes,
a clear outcome, and is
historically correct.
which you portray a character who is wearing this costume or holding this prop.
4 Work with a partner to
create a scene. Character A
goes on stage and waits
for Character B to enter.
A decides upon a definite
character relationship
with B, but does not tell B
what it is. B must discover
who he or she is strictly
through the way A talks and
behaves toward him or her.
B responds as sensibly as
possible until his or her
identity becomes clear.
5 Read the scene from A
Marriage Proposal by Anton
Chekhov found in Unit Eight
of this book. With a partner,
choose a part and read the
scene through together. As
you read, be aware of each
character’s motivation,
obstacles, and stakes in
this particular scene.
For More Information
Books
Adler, Stella, The Techniques of
Acting, Bantam Books, 1992.
Boleslavski, Richard, Acting: The
First Six Lessons, Routledge, 2003.
Cohen, Robert, Acting One,
McGraw-Hill, 2001.
Meisner, Sanford, Acting, Vintage
Books, 1987.
Stanislavski, Constantine, Creating a
Role, Theatre Art Books, 2002.
Other Media
Character and Actors: Plot and
Conflict. VHS, Insight Media, 1992.
What’s the Score? Text Analysis for
the Actor, VHS, Insight Media, 1989.
3 Choose a hand prop or
costume accessory such as
a pair of long white gloves,
an oversized umbrella, a
colorful silk handkerchief,
a pocket watch, or a stuffed
bird. Create a brief scene in
This image might help you build a scene around one of the
debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas
that took place throughout Illinois in 1858. It is possible to find
transcripts of these debates at your library or on the Internet.
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
97
Substitute Teacher Activities
Here are some suggestions for the days
that you will be out of the classroom.
• Assign one or more of the Additional
Projects on this page.
• Assign the Finding Your Motivation
Worksheet on page 36 of the
Resource Binder.
• Play Who Am I? Students give
pertinent internal and external
characteristics of a famous person
in fiction, film, or television without
revealing the character’s name in any
way. Classmates must guess the
person’s name.
• Discuss the information concerning
Characterization found on pages
551–553 in the Student Handbook.
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
97
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Theatre Then
and
Now
Theatre Then
and
Henrik Ibsen
When Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was first
performed in Norway, it was said that
when Nora leaves her husband and
children at the end of the play and
slams the door it was “a slam heard
around the world.” No one in a play
had ever left their family before and
it shocked the world.
Now
Ibsen and Miller—
Appointment with
Humanity
Henrik Ibsen and Arthur Miller both
wrote plays with universal themes about
the human condition. They created
flesh-and-blood, flawed characters
on desperate quests for meaning
and fulfillment. A testimony to this
universality is the fact that much of
Ibsen’s work is still produced more
than 110 years after it was written,
and Death of a Salesman, a play that
celebrated its fifty-fourth birthday in
2003, remains one of the world’s most
produced plays.
Many theatre experts believe that the
last scene in the play is one of the most
perfectly crafted scenes in theatre.
They believe that when Nora asks her
husband Torvald to “sit down and talk”
that naturalism and realism were born
in the theatre. For the first time, people
sat down and discussed their problems.
For More Information
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)
Books
Throughout history, playwrights have
struggled to define and illustrate what
it means to be human. The Greeks gave
the world classical tragedy, a form that
depicted a noble-born person who,
through a flaw in his own character,
brings about his own ruin. William
Shakespeare’s dramas also focused on
highborn individuals whose character
flaws brought them down.
Adler, Stella, Barry Paris, ed. Stella
Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and
Chekhov, Knopf, 1999.
Gosse, Edmund, Henrik Ibsen,
University Press of the Pacific, 2003.
Shaw, George Bernard, The
Quintessence of Ibsenism, Dover
Publications, 1994.
Templeton, Joan, Ibsen’s Women,
Cambridge University Press, 2001.
In the mid- to late-1800s the Norwegian
writer Henrik Ibsen created a series of
social dramas about middle-class people.
These were plays of such psychological
Other Media
The Wild Duck, VHS, Insight Media,
1978.
98
Amira Casar and Marie Adam in a recent
production of Hedda Gabler.
depth that Ibsen later became known as
the “Freud of the theatre,” a reference
to the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund
Freud. Ibsen wrote about characters
who struggled with the often negative
forces in their own minds. And he
slammed these tortured souls up against
conventional society in ways that
revealed much about both the characters
and the social order of the day.
In his 1890 play Hedda Gabler, the
formidable but desperately unhappy title
character sets about changing and
destroying the lives of those around her
as a way of fulfilling her own dreams of
freedom and independence. Hedda is a
strong, intelligent woman who is trapped
by the role society has created for her.
Ibsen created characters whose
desperate need to live differently drove
them to self-destruction while also
ruining the lives of others.
Unit Three Creating a Character
Backstage Gossip: Ibsen’s Open Drain
When Henrik Ibsen’s play Ghosts was first
produced in 1881, the fact that it dealt
with hereditary venereal disease and took
the view that the social conventions of the
day laid personal happiness to waste
98
Unit Three Creating a Character
caused the Daily Telegraph in London to
label it “an open drain; a loathsome sore
unbandaged” and a “a dirty act done
publicly . . . .”
TEU3_FNL RLS Pages 9/18/03 8:25 AM Page 99
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller (1915–)
Nearly sixty years after Hedda Gabler
was written, playwright Arthur Miller’s
1949 masterpiece, Death of a Salesman,
took the American theatre by storm.
The play focuses on Willy Loman, a
salesman long past his prime, who is
still waiting in vain for his small corner
of the American Dream. Like Ibsen,
Miller was interested in how society
affects the individual. Willy Loman
is a complex blend of desperation and
bravado. At his core, he knows he is a
failure, but he spends much of the play
trying to convince himself and those
around him that he is just about to
make a comeback as the great salesman
he once was.
Arthur Miller won the Pulitzer Prize in
1949 for Death of a Salesman, which
has come to be regarded as one of the
great dramas of American theatre. His
plays, particularly the early ones, are
produced throughout the world.
“I think now that the great thing is not so
much the formulation of an answer for myself,
the theatre, or the play—but rather the most
accurate possible statement of the problem.”
—Arthur Miller
When it was first performed, however,
the play caused heated arguments as
to its status as a tragedy. Some critics
believed that Willy Loman was too
ordinary and petty to cause the pity
and fear instilled in audiences of great
tragic drama. Willy’s small life and
sorry aspirations could not stand up
against such tragic heroes as Antigone
or Oedipus, they argued. Miller
defended his work by saying that any
character willing to sacrifice his life to
secure his own dignity was a worthy
successor to the tragic tradition.
As the play progresses, it becomes clear
that Willy is reinventing his past and
that in fact he was never a great salesman. He has always been an average
man with unreachable dreams. Toward
the end of the play, Willy realizes that
his failure as a salesman is mirrored in
his failure as a husband and father. The
American dream has escaped his grasp,
and like Hedda Gabler, Willy Loman
makes a desperate final statement.
In the Death of a Salesman photograph, all three characters seem to
have strong objectives.
• Describe the relationships of these
three men based on their body
postures and shapes?
• How high do the stakes seem and
how can you tell?
The role of Willy Loman has tempted many fine actors
over the years, including Dustin Hoffman, above.
For More Information
Books
“My main goal has been to depict people, human moods and human fates,
on the basis of certain predominant social conditions and perceptions.”
Gottfried, Martin, Arthur Miller,
DaCapo Press, 2003.
—Henrik Ibsen
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
99
Miller, Arthur, et.al., Echoes Down
the Corridor: Collected Essays,
1994-2000, Viking Press, 2000.
Miller, Arthur, On Politics and the Art
of Acting, Viking Press, 2001.
Backstage Gossip: But What About Marilyn?
When David Merrick was first introduced
to Arthur Miller, who had been an idol to
him, the playwright was accompanied by
Marilyn Monroe, then at the height of her
glamorous fame. It says something about
the stature of both men that the producer
forever remembered the impact of this
meeting: “I just couldn’t stop staring at
Arthur Miller.”
from Broadway Anecdotes by Peter Hay
Other Media
Arthur Miller, VHS, Insight Media,
1991.
Private Conversations on the Set of
Death of a Salesman, VHS, Insight
Media, 1986.
Chapter 9 Character Analysis
99
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Unit Three Review
PREVIEW
1
An actor’s “dual role” means that
the actor is the character while
also being the actor.
2
External traits are: a) posture,
c) mode of dress, and e) voice.
3
4
6
The protagonist is the person the
audience cares about, often a
hero, but not always. The antagonist is any force, often a person,
that opposes the protagonist.
7
Social drama is serious drama
that focuses on the hopes and
struggles of ordinary people,
while melodrama is much less
realistic in its attempt to create
excitement and suspense.
9
Lowbrow comedies use outlandish and sometimes vulgar
humor to elicit laughs while
middlebrow comedies are
more refined, sentimental, and
plot-based.
Characters in a comedy do not
have c) a tragic flaw.
PREPARE
10 Answers will vary, but students
should support their reasons for
choosing character traits or motivation as the most difficult part of
analyzing a character.
11 Most students will probably say it
was easier to work out the feelings than the actions and easier
to work out the actions than the
words in the scene.
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Unit Three Review
Warm Up
Learn how to relax, warm up, and get yourself in the
Review
PREVIEW
Examine the following key concepts previewed in Unit Three.
1 Describe an actor’s “dual role.”
2 Which of the following are a character’s external traits?
a. posture
b. spiritual qualities
c. mode of dress
d. mental characteristics
e. voice
3 What is the fourth wall?
4 Name the five elements of plot structure.
5 What do we call information that is implied but not stated by a character?
The five elements of plot structure are conflict, rising action,
turning point (or climax), falling
action (or denouement), and
resolution.
Implied information is b) subtext.
CHAPTER 1
Three
The fourth wall is the space
between the actors on stage and
the audience, which the audience
looks through as if it were a window to the scene.
5
8
Unit
a. subculture
b. subtext
c. secret script
d. innuendo
e. gossip
6 Explain how a protagonist differs from an antagonist.
7 Compare social drama to melodrama.
8 What is the difference between low and middlebrow comedies?
9 Which of the following is NOT important when engaging an audience
in a comedy?
a. the audience feels superior to your character
b. the character can be easily identified with
c. the character has a tragic flaw
d. something happens when least expected
PREPARE
Assess your response to the preparation process for projects in this unit.
10 In analyzing your character for the high-stakes scenario, was it easier to
determine the character’s traits or motivation? Explain why.
11 As you prepared a scene from a play, was it easier to work out the character’s
actions, words, or feelings? Why?
12 How did you go about finding your comic character while preparing for
your comic monologue?
13 Was it easier to prepare your dramatic scene or your comic monologue? Why?
14 Did you find it more satisfying to work out a character on paper or onstage?
134
Unit Three Review
TEU3_FNL RLS Pages 9/18/03 8:30 AM Page 135
12 Answers will vary but should
show an understanding of the
preparation process in putting
together a comic monologue.
13 Most students will probably agree
that it was easier to prepare a
dramatic scene than to prepare
a comic monologue
PRESENT
Analyze the experience of presenting your work to the class.
14 Answers will vary. Actors will
probably say the onstage work
was more satisfying; writers
will say the writing was more
satisfying.
15 When you performed your high-stakes scenario, could you feel the audience
responding to your situation? How were you able to keep the audience interested?
16 Was it difficult to remain in character while presenting a dramatic scene?
17 Which presentation in this unit did you find the most challenging? Why?
18 Which was more satisfying: acting in a scene you wrote yourself or acting in a
scene written by another? Explain why.
PRESENT
CRITIQUE
15 Answers will vary, but most students will probably say that they
could feel the audience responding, and that they worked harder
if they thought they were losing
the audience.
Evaluate how you go about critiquing your work and the work of others.
19 Did you find it easier to evaluate a comedy or a dramatic work? Why?
20 Describe an insightful critique you received from your teacher or classmate
and how it helped your performance.
21 What one thing did most performers have trouble with in creating a character,
16 Some students may admit to
difficulty in staying in character;
others will have no problem.
and what could they do to improve their performance?
EXTENSIONS
17 Answers will vary.
•
Based on what you learned in this unit,
write a short paper entitled: “How I Create
a Character.” It can be as serious or
humorous as you would like.
18 Most students will probably say
that acting in a scene they wrote
themselves was more satisfying.
•
Look at the photograph at the right. Write
a list of all the things you know about this
character just from her appearance.
CRITIQUE
19 Most students will say the comedy
was harder to evaluate.
20 Descriptions will vary.
Unit Three Review
Resource Binder
Unit Three Test, p. 51
135
21 For most students staying fresh
and giving the illusion of the first
time causes the most problems.
Continuing to practice helps.
EXTENSIONS
• Students’ papers should be
thoughtfully and carefully written.
• She is elderly and probably wealthy.
She has a strong sense of herself.
She likes to dress with style and
flair. She doesn’t mind overdoing
it a bit. She has good posture and
probably lots of confidence. She
likes to strike a pose, and so on.
Unit Three Review
135
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Part
Nine
The Business
of Theatre
Agents, Lawyers, and Managers
Auditions
Agents Finding an agent is the “catch
22” of the acting industry. Often you can’t
be seen until you have an agent, and you
can’t get an agent until you’ve worked and
been “seen.” In the early days of your
career, an agent can help you become
“marketable.” You still have to the do the
essential work of proving yourself in auditions, but the agent can get you through
the door for movies, television, and stage
acting. And an agent will certainly help you
in negotiations once success starts to
come your way. Agents also represent
writers and directors in both the film and
television industries. Agents receive a percentage (generally ten percent) of every
contract they negotiate for you.
In larger cities, audition calls are listed in
trade and industry magazines and newspapers. New York and Los Angeles have
trade magazines such as Backstage and
Onstage, as well as Web sites that list
auditions. In other areas you may need to
do some investigating to discover how
and where auditions are held. Read the
local newspapers and study the theatre
scene where you are living. Attend shows
and introduce yourself. If you see a theatre
company that you like, ask them if and
when they hold open auditions and always
check listings and bulletin boards at local
Actors’ Equity Association offices.
Lawyers Entertainment lawyers serve a
more specific function than agents do.
They negotiate contracts and help protect
the actor/director. Entertainment lawyers
usually work for a fee rather than a percentage. Many very successful artists
have both a lawyer and an agent. Don’t
worry about finding a good entertainment
lawyer—when you are successful, they will
find you.
Managers Some actors also find it
helpful to have a manager. Managers are
concerned with all aspects of an actor’s
career, often serving as counselor, friend,
image consultant, and career guide. Like
an agent, managers receive a percentage
of what the actor earns.
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Student Handbook
Some auditions are open and others are
exclusive. Exclusive auditions require you
to have an agent set up the appointment.
If you don’t have an agent, the best thing
to do is to attend every possible open
audition that seems to fit your age and
type. Don’t waste the time of directors and
producers by showing up for auditions
where you clearly won’t be cast. You may
also hear about auditions for talent “showcases” or volunteer/ internship programs.
Study all of these carefully. Doing some
work for free in hopes that it may lead to
money and publicity later is a gamble that
sometimes pays big dividends. Too much
free work can devalue you as an actor, but
it is also a way to network and meet other
people in the business.
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“Foot-in-the-Door” Jobs
Below is a list of jobs that are not ones
you left home to pursue. However, they all
may help you make the connections you
need to move up the industry ladder.
• Box Office Worker Sells tickets.
• Drama Specialist If you have some
training, particularly college or university
training, you might find work at a youth
program or camp that needs a drama
specialist. You may be expected to
teach theatre, direct, or even act with
young people ranging from the very
privileged and experienced to at-risk
students.
• Dresser Like a costume assistant, a
dresser simply works backstage and
helps a principal actor with quick costume changes.
• Extra Extras get paid next to nothing,
but they do get screen time and once
in a while are picked out for speaking
roles or extra on-camera opportunities
in a movie.
• Food Service Provider This can range
from working in a concession stand to
working a catering job for a company that
provides meals for production personnel.
• Grip This term comes from simply
•
•
“gripping” equipment—moving things on
location, holding microphones, pulling
cables, and otherwise assisting on a
movie set.
Intern An intern is sometimes paid a
minimal amount but often works for free
in order to learn some aspect of the
trade. This is a good stepping stone;
just don’t get stuck.
Production Assistant This is a catchall
title that can include jobs as diverse as
•
•
appointment book manager, errand runner, props collector, script-reader, or
even tutor.
Receptionist This person answers
phones and greets visitors for directors,
producers, or production companies.
Stagehand Although these jobs are
usually held for trained technical people, it is sometimes possible to get
hired as a stagehand for a particular
production. Technical theatre people
probably have the easiest time finding
work in the industry.
• Stand-in Most television and movie
stars do not stand and wait while the
camera angles are set and lights
arranged. They have a stand-in of the
approximate height, build, and hair color
who “stands in” the position until it’s
time to do the scene. Although this can
be very boring work, it puts your face in
front of directors, camera people, and
the actors on a regular basis.
Headshots, Portfolios, Demo Reels,
and Resumes
Headshots When you go to an audition,
you will be expected to bring a headshot,
a photo of your head and shoulders. Most
actors have at least one current headshot—as recent as two years for a young
person and within five years for an adult.
Some actors have several photos. They
choose whichever one is most appropriate
to the audition or job interview at hand.
Headshots will cost $100 and up, depending on the photographer. They should be
done by a professional photographer who
is experienced in this field. Your senior picture is not a headshot. Ask a fellow actor
or a talent agent to recommend someone.
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Once you’ve had your sitting, the photographer will give you contact sheets from
which you will pick your favorite shot. Get
help in choosing the image that will best
serve you. If possible, ask a director and/or
casting director who looks at headshots on
a daily basis to help you. They can give you
feedback on how your photo compares to
other actors’ and how well it reflects your
appearance. Glamour shots that give a
false impression can work against you. You
then need prints made of your headshot.
You can order 300 to 500 copies of your
picture for under $100. Don’t scrimp here.
You need plenty of photos so that you are
not afraid to leave a trail of them at auditions and with directors and theatre companies. Make this investment before you
start trying to sell yourself as a performer.
A Portfolio A portfolio can be a very
useful tool. Most directors, educators, and
designers use a portfolio to show examples of their work when a “live” audition
isn’t appropriate. The portfolio consists of
sketches, photographs, programs, drawings, and other documentation of your
work. It is an excellent interview tool for
actors looking for work with a company,
though rarely is such evidence called for in
an audition.
Demo Reels The demo reel is a film
portfolio featuring clips from television or
motion picture work you have done. As
with headshots, ask other people in the
industry to recommend professionals who
can help you put together your demo reel.
Resumes You must have a resume. (See
pages 553–554 of this handbook.) In fact,
you might want to have multiples—each
designed to showcase the aspect of your
work most likely to get you a specific job.
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Student Handbook
For example, if you are auditioning for film,
list your film and/or video credits first. If
you are auditioning for a Shakespearean
play, be sure to place prior Shakespeare
credits early in the resume.
Location
Some actors are comfortable in New York,
others in Los Angeles, and many at regional theatre centers in between such as
Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, San
Francisco, and so on. You need to find a
place where you can make connections
and have the least amount of fear. Of
course, New York and Los Angeles are the
biggest markets, but they are also the most
competitive. In both regional and major
urban markets there are many smaller theatre companies willing to work with new
actors. You don’t have to wait for the “big
audition” to begin developing your craft.
Networking and Connecting
Networking is one of the greatest keys
to success. You must do your best to
know who is doing what sort of work in
the business and try to find ways to get
close to people who are having success.
Sometimes this means working at a related job, such as becoming a paramedic
for film or television sets or helping to
organize extras for a casting director.
Apprenticeships and opportunities to
further others in the business can only
help you later on.
Connecting is similar to networking but
has more to do with consciously seeking
out those who might help you. You need to
be courteous and not pushy, but it never
hurts to try making a connection with someone who might be able to help you. Often
people who are successful in the business
TE_EM_Handbook_FNL Pages 9/18/03 9:38 AM Page 595
are very willing to serves as mentors to
others. This may be the way they got their
start, and successful people are often
willing to share their expertise. Just
remember when you become successful
to help others along the way.
SAG or AFTRA, which may, by the time of
this printing, be merged into one union.
Consulting with friends or officers in the
various unions is a great way to find out
what you should do in your location with
your particular skills.
Organizations and Unions
Self-Esteem
Larger cities offer alumni groups from universities or colleges you might join. These
groups provide a valuable service, allowing
you to meet others who may work in the
industry and who may have experiences
to share. Join any such organizations that
you can. It is also an excellent idea to join
professional organizations such as
TCG (Theatre Communications Group),
ASSITEJ/USA (The United States Center
for the Association of Theater for Children
and Young People), or AATE (The
American Alliance for Theatre and
Education). You may also soon qualify for
the various unions including AEA (Actors’
Equity Association), SAG (Screen Actors
Guild), AFTRA (American Federation of
Television and Radio Actors), IATSE
(International Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees), WGA (Writers Guild of
America), or DGA (Dramatists Guild
of America).
While you are waiting for your career to
take off, be sure you are also living your
life to the fullest—doing things for other
people as well as for yourself. You should
always have a “fall-back” trade in case you
become frustrated with your progress in
the theatre. Don’t base your self-esteem
on what others think of your work or how
often you get a role.
Joining a union will take money and time
and is not always the best decision. Many
companies have a certain number of union
vs. nonunion jobs and young actors can
price themselves out of the market by
becoming union members too soon. On the
other hand, the union provides a safety net
in terms of pay scale and health insurance
as well as connecting the young actor to
others in the business. Certain large film or
television roles may require actors to join
Stamina and Commitment
Theatre is a rough business. You must
be fully committed to a career in theatre
and aware that for most people success
doesn’t come overnight. Actors who are
“discovered” are much less frequent
occurrences than careers launched
through determination and commitment.
Try your best to not take things personally,
to move past rejection, and to find things
that satisfy your soul as you’re making the
journey. Also, remember that the journey
itself is part of the career, even if it means
living through many rejections and setbacks.
Finances and Taxes
Finances are difficult for a young actor.
The best advice is to find a job that is flexible enough to allow you to audition and
perform, but still lucrative enough to support you when theatre and acting jobs are
not coming in. Remember that to make
money, you must spend money—on headshots, resumes, training, makeup, travel
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