Kathryn Brunner Acting Styles 20 February 2014 Play Report Guidelines for Shakespeare in Performance Cheryl Williams, Instructor

Play/Film Assignment !ac"eth #$emple $heaters% 1) What did you like about the particular play/ il! you "ie#ed$ Was there a particular !o!ent that !o"ed/e%cited/enthralled you$ Why$ & recently sa# 'acbeth per or!ed on the (o!linson stage at (e!ple (heaters) & lo"ed that & #as #atching !y peers per or! in a production o Shakespeare* so!ething that & a! so hea"ily in"ested and interested in learning about) & lo"ed the special e ects o the sho# +i)e) the s!oke* costu!es* props) along #ith !any o the per or!ances) 'y a"orite !o!ent #as #hen ,ady 'acbeth* played by ,eah Walton* #as desperately trying the #ash her hands o in"isible blood in the !idst o sleep #alking* una#are that she has others listening to her spill her darkest kept secrets) (his !o!ent or !e #as the epito!e o truth ul* "ulnerable* and honest acting) 2) What did the play say/!ean to you$ What basic issues did it address$ Was it rele"ant to our ti!e$ &n #atching 'acbeth* & ound !any co!!on and reoccurring the!es throughout) (he biggest issue addressed in the per or!ance #as the danger o a!bition and the corruption it besto#s upon greed) 'acbeth and ,ady 'acbeth beco!e so o"ertaken by their undying a!bition to rule as King and -ueen that they are #illing to kill anyone that threatens their po#er or stands in their #ay) (o !e* this is a #arning to be content #ith #hat you ha"e and not get carried a#ay #hen gi"en po#er) (his also could be a #arning to "ie#ers that #ith great po#er co!es great danger.so!eone is al#ays #illing to snatch your po#er a#ay ro! you) /uring the ti!e o 'acbeth* this could !ean killing the person standing in the #ay o your po#er) &n our day* #e see !any instances o people sabotaging those in greater po#er to gain a better standing in their pro ession) (his could !ean bad !outhing your political opponent* sleeping #ith your director to get the lead* or in0uring a tea!!ate to play in the big ga!e) (his happens in e"eryday li e* as !uch as & #ish it did not) 1) Select one character/actor and discuss2 What dre# you to this particular per or!ance$ /iscuss speci ic actor choices that enlightened you or !o"ed you) Was the actor/character truly ighting or so!ething i!portant to hi!/her$ /id they ha"e clearly de ined relationships$ Were they listening and responding in the !o!ent$ /id you belie"e e"erything they did on stage$ Why$ (ake

e"erything you3"e learned about the cra t o acting and apply it directly to an indi"idual per or!ance. in other #ords* take ro! this e%perience #hat you need to gro# as an actor) 4ne character and per or!er that & #as al#ays dra#n to #as ,eah Walton* portraying ,ady 'acbeth) & thought that she truly stole the sho# by her i!peccable portrait o one o Shakespeare3s !ost rightening e!ale characters) &n the beginning o the sho#* she is stronger than her husband) 5ou can see this through her body language* strong speech/diction* and clear understanding o her body) She used her se%uality and passion to portray an al!ost 6se%y7 "illain) 8er stakes #ere al#ays set e%tre!ely high) She #ants /uncan dead so that she can ac9uire a higher po#er alongside her husband) She al!ost ca!e across as !asculine in her desire or po#er* #hich is spot on in !y eyes) 8er relationships #ere clearly de ined* especially that #ith her husband* 'acbeth) & appreciated ,eah Walton3s use o !anipulation in !ost o her relationships to get #hat she #anted) As the sho# progressed* & en0oyed #atching Walton unco"er the !any layers o ,ady 'acbeth) She e%periences e%tre!e guilt* and starts to beco!e #eaker than she #as in the beginning o the play) ,ady 'acbeth and 'acbeth do a role re"ersal in their strong a!bition) She has been reduced to sleep#alking through the castle* desperately trying to #ash a#ay in"isible blood ro! her hands) 8er 0ourney through this three: di!ensional character #as pheno!enal) & appreciated ho# she !ade the language o Shakespeare easy to understand) (his #as !y irst ull per or!ance o li"e Shakespeare* and & #as ner"ous that & #as going to e%perience di iculty in understanding it) ,eah Walton used the language o Shakespeare and spoke through a conte!porary lens) She helped carry the story or#ard in a !o"ing #ay and kept the audience engaged throughout the entire per or!ance) 4) What speci ics about Shakespeare and/or te%t did you take a#ay #ith you ro! "ie#ing this play/ il!$ Were you enlightened in any #ay through #atching this production$ /id you recogni;e any o the points #e3"e discussed/#orked on in class$ So!e speci ics about Shakespeare that & took a#ay ro! "ie#ing this play #ere his great attention to detail) (here #ere so !any plot t#ists* character disco"eries* and cle"er lines all throughout the play) & #ould say that & #as de initely enlightened a ter #atching this per or!ance) Shakespeare #as truly talented< his plot* characters* and use o language are i!peccable) & lo"ed the !any di!ensions to the characters that he e%plores and the #ay he propels the story or#ard #ith beauti ul "erse lines) & a! learning to lo"e Shakespeare) & noticed a e# things #e ha"e discussed in class* too= & recogni;ed the use o inco!plete and shared "erse lines along #ith the clear use o punctuation/breathing) & also noticed the actors3 in lection at the ends o lines< keeping the sound 6up7 and not dropping the end o lines #ith their "oice) When this happened* it #as ob"ious.you either didn3t understand #hat the actor #as saying or couldn3t hear the! "ocally) & look or#ard to learning !ore about Shakespeare and the proper #ay to use his #ords) & #ould lo"e to per or! one o his #orks one day=