Real-Life Communication -- Solution
Scene 1
A test like this one probably means the
director wants to see you move, so use the entire stage. After all, if you
were a boy looking for a dog, you would look more than you would talk, right?
Run
from one end of the stage to the other, then front to back (but don't
turn your back on the audience -- that's bad form). Shout the dog's
name and maybe run up to an imaginary stranger to ask if they've seen
Fluffy. The more frantic the better, Roth says -- and don't stop until
the director asks you to.
Scene 2
Performing one end
of a phone conversation takes talent.
You always have to think at least
one step ahead of yourself or else you'll run into a dead end. And remember,
there is another person talking, so you may have lines as simple as "yes"
or "mmmm" from time to time.
Above all else, try to make a story (called
a plot in the business) come out of the conversation. Here's some sample
dialogue.
"Yes, I see. Missing is he? For how long?"
"A
month! Well, that is serious. Where did you see him last?"
"In his Rolls
Royce? Well, I guess that's a clue. Did he say where he was going?"
"The
moon? Well, that is odd. Now, don't cry. Don't worry. We'll
find your butler if it's the last thing we do."
Scene
3
This is your chance to be zany and outrageous. The fact that
the director chooses such a bizarre scenario may mean she wants to see how
creative you can be. So don't hold anything back.
Use a silly
voice, a zany walk. Speak in funny, pretend words as long as their meaning
is clear.
For this scene, try to think of what items would most attract
an alien's attention. Cereal boxes with aliens that look just like him
on it? The vegetable aisle, where the parsley resembles the ruler of your
home planet, Zarkon?