lighting, for the position of the actors, etc., in one of the following scenes from Shakespearean plays:

a. The casket scenes and the court room scene in The Merchant of Venice

b. The funeral scene and the tent scene in Julius Cæsar

c. The scene in the witches' cave and the banquet scene in Macbeth d. The heath scenes in King Lear

e. The graveyard scene, the play scene, and the ghost scenes in Hamlet

f. The balcony scenes, the death of Mercutio, and the tomb scene in Romeo and Juliet

Try to find out how these scenes were produced on the stage in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. If possible, get pictures, diagrams, and newspaper clippings.

Exercise 5

Look up accounts of recent productions of Shakespearean plays paying particular attention to new, or contrasting, or especially striking details in scenery, costuming, lighting, handling of crowds, securing of atmosphere, incidental music, etc. Productions by Sir Herbert Beerbohm-Tree, Sir Henry Irving, Forbes-Robertson, Walter Hampden, Robert B. Mantell, Edward H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe, John Barrymore, Jane Cowl, James K. Hackett and others will be of interest here.

Exercise 6

Study one of the following parts as if you were to be the actor or actress to play it-making notes of gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, costume, make-up, stage business, effective entrances and exits, and anything else that will help to reveal your conception of the character:

1. Hamlet

2. Brutus

3. Cassius

4. Rosalind

5. Mercutio
6. Falstaff
7. Jaques

8. Macbeth
9. Lady Macbeth
10. Malvolio

11. Viola
12. Portia

13. Shylock
14. Ophelia

15. Polonius
16. Audrey

17. Touchstone
18. Katherine
19. Celia

20. Jessica
21. Orlando

Phonograph records of the following scenes from Shakespeare are available. Play one of them until you are familiar with it; then comment on this interpretation, calling attention to such details as phrasing, tempo, accentuation, dramatic emphasis, naturalness, eloquence, variety, etc.:

a. "The Seven Ages of Man" speech in As You Like It

b. The "To be or not to be" speech of Hamlet and his advice to the players

c. Ophelia's mad scene in Hamlet

d. Antony's funeral oration in Julius Cæsar

e. The scene between Brutus and Portia in Julius Cæsar

f. The Duke and Viola in Twelfth Night

g. The casket scene in The Merchant of Venice

h. The "Mercy Speech" in The Merchant of Venice

i. Shylock's defense in The Merchant of Venice

j. The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet

k. Two scenes between Katherine and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew

Exercise 8

What actor or actress whom you have seen on the stage or in the moving pictures should you like most to see in the following parts? Explain your choice.

13. Desdemona 14. Cordelia 15. Regan 16. The Nurse 17. Beatrice 18. Katherine 19. Cleopatra 20. Falstaff 21. Hamlet 22. Jaques 23. Orlando 24. Macbeth 25. Brutus

26. Cassius
27. Antony
28. Romeo

29. Prince Hal
30. Touchstone
31. Benedick

32. Mercutio

33. Shylock

34. Bottom
35. Puck

36. Prospero

37. Titania

47. Mary Stuart
48. Nora Helmer

49. Merton of the Movies
50. Sister Beatrice

38. Sir Toby Belch 51. Mélisande

Exercise 9

If you have not seen a professional performance of a Shakespearean play, try to find an account of the production of a Shakespearcan play with a well-known actor or actress in it. Make a study of this actor's or actress's interpretation of the part. Comment especially on the use of voice, gesture, make-up, stage business, as well as the depth of insight into the character, originality, sincerity, appreciation, etc.

Exercise 10

Explain why certain parts in plays which you have read are obviously good acting parts, for example, Beau Brummell, Richelieu, Dulcy, Rosalind, the Nurse, Emilia, Hamlet, Shylock, Cassius, Lady Macbeth, Tony Lumpkin, Liliom, The Emperor Jones, Anna Christie, Paula Tanqueray, Joan of Arc, The Butler in You Never can Tell, The Princess in The Swan, Merton of the Movies, Peter Pan.

Exercise 11

Point out in one of Shakespeare's plays, parts, scenes, events, and passages which show that he had the actor's point of view.

Exercise 12

In one of Shakespeare's plays find clear evidences of the influence of the stage conditions of his time.

Exercise 13

What is the struggle which constitutes the plot of one of the

Is the struggle inherent mainly in character, in social conditions, in fate, or in plot? Is it worthy of serious consideration? Is its outcome inevitable or machine-made?

Exercise 14

Point out the complicating elements in one of the following plays. Show how and when they arise. Discuss their influence on the plot and the extent to which they form a logical chain of events. 11. The Importance of Being

1. The Merchant of Venice

2. Twelfth Night

3. Romeo and Juliet

4. A Midsummer Night's Dream

Exercise 15

Explain how subplots are woven in with main plots in The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Which play do you consider more skillful in this respect?

Exercise 16

Julius Cæsar is a particularly well-constructed play. Study its artistic economy pointing out the dramatic necessity of each scene, character and speech. Select from it striking examples of condensation, of using means to an end, of dramatic emphasis.

Exercise 17

In one of the following plays find scenes used for contrast, for comic relief, for foreshadowing, to convey information, to establish character, to suggest lapse of time:

1. The Merchant of Venice

2. As You Like It

3. Hamlet

4. Macbeth

5. Romeo and Juliet

6. Twelfth Night

7. Julius Cæsar

8. Beau Brummell 9. The Copperhead 10. Loyalties

11. Quality Street

12. His House in Order

13. What Every Woman Knows 14. The Admirable Crichton

Exercise 18

Discuss the use of the obligatory scene in one of the following

In one of the following plays which characters are created merely

to fit the plot?

1. As You Like It

2. A Comedy of Errors

3. Two Gentlemen of Verona 4. Beau Brummell

5. The Copperhead

6. The Bat

7. The Man from Home

8. Nice People