Sample Questions from the most recent exams

5. Select a passage from a novel you have chosen to study which provides an effective introduction of an important character or characters. How would you use staging, design and acting to ensure that this introduction would have dramatic importance for the audience?

• Gabriel's first appearance
• Chapter 5, pg49-50
• Sound of Helicopter
• Coming down from a step/stair -> to show the identity difference
• Nice and luxury dress 
• Walk with a great care (since there were mud everywhere)
• Arrogant face
• Peasants should bend down
• Feel sick about the hut, the village, etc.
• condescension
• Skim over Desiree
• Stop Desiree when she tries to talk to him.
• Throwing the coins to Mama Euralie -> relates to the scene when Daniel throws the coin to peasants

4. Select a passage from the concluding chapter of a novel you have chosen to study and show how acting, staging effects and design can combine to make it an effective ending for an audience.

• Chapter 16, pg 165-166, "he hadn't seen her....
• The scene when Daniel throws coins to peasant and ignores Desiree. When Deisree looks at herself, she is dirty, her dress is rugged, and bare foot.
• Daniel should stand on a stage -> show that he is superior
• Throw coins and laugh
• Skim over Desiree -> there is no love between him and Desiree anymore
• Desiree's rugged dress shows that her peasant identity was back
• Projecting the butterflies (VR) -> butterflies come to take her life away
• Desiree should scream when butterflies project on the screen, other peasants ignore her -> showing that nobodies care

6. Select a passage from a novel you have chosen to study which contains a scene of pivotal

importance to a theme in the narrative. Outline how you would stage the scene paying particular

attention to how the theme might be effectively dramatized for an audience.

• Chapter 4, pg 46-47
• Desiree give her soul to Papa Ge
• Everybody feels asleep
• Stage is dark
• When Papa Ge appears, red spotlight on him
• Walks slowly to Desiree
• Desiree and Daniel stays in the center of the stage
• Desiree sings, and tell Papa Ge she will give her soul to him
• Papa Ge at this point approaches to her, and pretend to take out something from her
• Using projection, showing that a soul is pulling up by Gaga Ge
• Shows the theme of love, sacrifice
• Desiree should become weak -> audience can see hat and give her sympathy