Talking about the play, character, or scene
Many dramatic assessments involve you speaking, either before or after the performance about the play, your character, and the scene you performed. This, of course, requires a good knowledge of all of these things, which you can only get by reading the play and doing some research beforehand. This is when you get a chance to show (and get marks for) your understanding of the play, so even if you fluff the performance somewhat you won’t completely bomb out on the assessment.
Because you’ve usually only got a limited time, the key is to pick a couple of key aspects of the performance to focus on in your discussion. It is best to pick aspects that you perform well too. For instance, say you’re acting the part of a life-weary beggar trundling the streets looking for food in garbage bins. In rehearsals, you may have focused on getting the movement just right. So in the discussion, talk about it - discuss the emotional state of the character (weary of life, sick of living) and how it translates to the physical state and movement of the character. Or perhaps you’re playing a character who realises halfway through a scene that his wife is cheating on him. You could discuss how you went about broadcasting the moment of realisation when the character realises the truth. You can talk about any changes in body stance, voice, tone, and facial expression that you used to achieve the effect.
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