4

Magic If

Objective

Super objective

Open/Closed call

Cold reading

Stanislavsky “The Method of Physical Action”

Auteur

Metaphor

Rhetorical tradition

Blocking

Director

Science of Applied Aesthetics

Affective memory

Theatre Producer

Production concept

Dress Rehearsal

Previews

Promptbook

Technical rehearsal

Given circumstances

Stage picture

Run through

Biomechanics

Stage manager

Off-book

Non-traditional casting

Casting director

Tablework

Scene work

Quadrants of the stage

Classmate Post

The actors and actress were able to make a believable performance. It was obvious by the way the actors performed that they had exercised Stanislavski’s acting exercise called the 
Magic If. 
The Magic If is an acting exercise which requires the actor to ask, “how would I react if I were in this character’s position” (Quizlet, 2022). These actors obviously used this acting exercise to elicit emotions. Their emotion’s seemed like they were their very own thoughts and feelings which is what makes such a believable performance. Based off just their performance alone, I would think that they are professionally trained actors. Their acting made you feel like that this is their story that they’re enacting. They were able to make it feel personal. Furthermore, they had excellent usage of 
Biomechanics 
throughout the short clip. One of these instances was when Tony grabbed his wife (1:53) by her arm. He was able to put enough force behind his movement or grip to visually show his frustration, but in all reality, he wasn’t hurting his counterpart. Trained actors should have well trained body mechanics to provide a believable performance without hurting their co-workers. Another sign pointing towards the Actor who played Tony was a professional was the fact that in an interview from ABC News (2010) it was stated, “He has won the Oscars twice for Glory in Training Day.” This alerted me that he has acted in movies before which shows he might be more professionally trained.

               Rose, the wife of Tony, seemed more disheartened and distraught about the affair. Her emotions seemed to be geared more to the fact that she has given her all in the relationship to stay by his side. She feels like she has given up her dreams for him, but she still wanted to be faithful to their marriage. Tony is more so angry that she had the nerve to say that only she has sacrificed things for their relationship. The actors did an amazing job enacting their character’s 
given circumstances
. Each of them was able to channel the human emotions involved with the certain situation. They were acting out a married couple fighting over the husband having an affair. The actor who played Rose was well acquainted with the meaning behind the 
essence of acting. 
 According to Levin (2022), “the essence of acting is the communication of character. What makes a character real is not just what the character says, but how the character says it.” Rose shows that she is angry and distraught through the raising of her voice. Her voice showed passion, suffering, and sorrow in her words. She was able to add emotion to her lines through raising her voice. When Rose pointed at Tony it adds to her accusatory tone. Her gestures and swinging of her arms added to the emotion. It showed how passionate she was about the words she was speaking. Most of us will use gestures as a way of enunciating our words, and she did just that in her performance. It adds more stress behind her words. Also, she made many facial expressions through the video which stressed what she was saying. All of this made for a highly affective play. Their actions, facials, body language, and tone were all used to portray a believable argument.