Test Guide

Interviewing an actor in character helps the actor to consider more deeply the objectives and actions of that character in a play. Objectives tend to focus on the psychological aspects of the character, while actions tend to correspond to the physical performance of the objectives.

The actor plays Walter Lee Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Frustration consumes Walter as he continually confronts a world of racial prejudice and thwarted opportunity. His frustration expresses itself in several angry outbursts. Exploring the nature of these outbursts both psychologically and physically would help the actor understand the depths of Walter’s anger, the social constraints against which he struggles, and how the pain of racism becomes violently re-directed towards loved ones and destructively against himself. Act Two, Scene One, for instance, contains a series of Walter’s rants directed against George, Ruth, and his mother, who, at the culmination of the scene, Walter accuses selfishly of butchering his dream. Asking the actor to explore the depths of Walter’s bitterness, self-loathing, and rage, would help the actor understand the psychological effects of this anger as well as its potential physical manifestations.

Production design #2 is an effective choice for staging a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream because it would complement the play's metatheatrical qualities—that is, the dramatic components that communicate to spectators that they are experiencing a play (for example, breaking the “fourth wall”). With its digitally produced nature sounds, in-your-face color/lighting, and contemporary wardrobe, production design #2 continually reminds audience members that they are engaged in playgoing and prompts them to ask questions that complement the play's meditations concerning the line between what's genuine and what's contrived.

To enhance the chosen design, it might be a good idea to continue blending realism and fabrication by taking advantage of the projected natural scenery. Since animals are likely to appear in a pastoral drama, an actor playing a shepherd could tend a video-projected flock. The sheep would still be real, but they would also be an image or representation mediated by contemporary technology. Moreover, they would have a presence on stage but would not actually be there in person.

Farce relies upon absurd situations, exaggerations of character, and often, elements of trickery, domestic discord, drunkenness, and mistaken identities.

An example of exaggerated volume and physical action is in Arsenic and Old Lace when the character Teddy, who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt, rushes in, bounds up the stairs, and shouts out “Charge!” then exits.

In Yasmina Reza’s domestic farce, God of Carnage, two married couples meet to discuss an altercation involving their respective sons. As the play progresses, these seemingly self-possessed adults completely unravel into a disheveled mess, exhibiting the same brutish behavior as their school-aged children. Techniques heightening this contrast would be effective. For example, when Annette finally has enough with her husband’s narcissistic self-absorption, as he repeatedly and loudly interrupts the conversation to answer his cell phone, she throws the cell phone into a vase of water. The husband, Alan, collapses into a fetal position, whimpering like a child, as he clutches his briefcase for comfort.

Since performance of farce relies heavily on the use of speed, energy, exaggerated expressions of emotions, and a variety of vocal effects, the techniques detailed above would enhance the absurd and ridiculous effect.

Devised theatre is a largely extemporized performance created by and aimed at local community members, to address an issue or event in that community. It avoids canonical texts, provides information, and raises consciousness about its subject matter and its impact on a local audience.

An example of devised theatre might be to create a performance around the current historical moment of COVID vaccination in America. Vaccination is a divisive topic in many local communities, because of misinformation and the history of mistreatment of minorities by government medical programs.

In such a devised theatrical performance, the concerns and distrust of local residents over medical vaccinations could be addressed. Various characters and situations easily present themselves in performance: the “guinea pig” vaccination subject versus the benefits of vaccination; the nefarious government official versus the community nurse; the devastation of disease on the minority community versus the benefits and difficulties of acquiring vaccination. Some characters could be allegorical (such as the COVID virus itself, or Misinformation) to render the issues more transparent and increase the entertainment values of the performance.

The journey of a local resident's decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate could be the through line of the performance. Technical theatre elements, such as improvised masks and costumes (to identify the officials, doctors, or allegorical types) could be employed; large hand written placards could provide themes and outcomes to the dramatization, and could be offered in multiple languages in communities where the performance might be held.

In such a devised theatre performance, consider the target audience: a performance aimed at children would offer different scenes than one aimed at adults. Ideally, the performers would be part of the creative process, and should be citizens of the community where the performance is held. Their ideas are especially valid for communicating the issue to the targeted audience.

Such a performance would sympathize with the fears of a person living through the current history of COVID vaccination, offer information about vaccination, and address the contradictions in a health care system which historically both helps and hinders its citizens.

In the excerpt, Shelly experiences a painful confrontation between her imagined version of Vince's family and a darker reality. Her disillusionment results in shifting emotions as she attempts to grapple with this truth.

Changes in delivery could heighten the emotional shifts the character undergoes as she comes to terms with this discovery. For example, the repetitive demand, “don't come near me” illustrates Shelly's sense of threat and fear. These opening lines could be delivered in a high-pitched voice and frightened tone, highlighting her extreme level of confusion, vulnerability, and anxiety. This anxious delivery could give way to more nostalgic tones and wistful facial expressions as she reflects on her previously held, and perhaps idealized, image. Finally, the last lines seem expressive of both bitterness and resignation as Shelly again invokes the contrast between the family as it exists versus her imagination.

In the excerpt, there is an underlying sense of betrayal, as Shelly seems to admonish the family for failing to match the image in her mind. Therefore, one way the actor could connect personal emotions with the character's emotions is to reflect on a time when they also experienced betrayal, especially a form of betrayal where a deeply held belief or ideal was shattered irrevocably. This reflection would help the actor connect to the character's conflicting emotions, and highlight the mix of confusion, anger, and bitterness often associated with painful and world-shattering experiences.

Interpreting this confrontation as a form of betrayal would change the meaning of the excerpt, and therefore, the audience's response. For example, the last three lines could be interpreted as a form of resignation or Shelly's acceptance of reality. However, if the actor chose to emphasize betrayal and bitterness in her performance, these lines would be expressed with a much more indignant, accusatory tone. This, in turn, would suggest to the audience that the family holds some blame for the shattered ideal, and should perhaps, be held accountable. The audience's focus would shift, then, from Shelly or Vince as deluded subjects onto that of the family as the object of critique.