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Assignment: Your text offers suggestion on two basic approaches to acting, ie. the internal and the external. Chose either one and take the scene between Emily and George as your reference point and develop a fragment of "inner monologue" OR tactic concerning interpretation underlying a short section from the scene. I suggest the men choose to deal with George and the women choose to deal with Emily, although if you wish you may choose to develop an "inner monologue" or "external tactic" for either character. You may use up to 500 words for this module, given the complexity of the requirement. Be sure you let me know exactly which section of dialogue you plan to use for developing your answer.

Response:

The internal approach to acting allows for the actor to step into the shoes of the character. The actor should create a life for the character in order to better understand, and thus show the audience what the character is experiencing through his/her “vocal tone, gesture, or facial expression” (Arnold, 2011). Actors/actresses using the internal approach create an ‘inner monologue’ which is essentially the stream of thoughts that are what the actual character would be thinking throughout the scene/play.

In this scene, George has just asked Emily to write him letters when he goes away to State Agricultural College the following year. Emily is still tearful and upset at herself for telling George what she really thought about how he had changed and she is suddenly frightened at the idea of him leaving Grover’s Corner.

Out Town- Act II- Page 54

Emily. (Winks back tears) I certainly will. I certainly will, George- (Sips) It certainly seems like being away three years you’d get out of touch with things. Maybe letters from Grover’s Corners wouldn’t be so interesting after a while. Grover’s Corners isn’t a very important place when you think of all New Hampshire; but I think it’s a very nice town. (Sips)

Emily’s Inner Monologue

Of course I will, George. I would write you every day if you wanted me to. Being away and seeing the big world that is out there will probably make you forget completely about little ‘ol Grover’s Corner and all of us still back here, even me. You say I am your friend but you will make new friends. You will make new friends and I won’t even cross your mind anymore. I am just a small-town girl and there are plenty of others out there that you will meet. But I don’t want you to forget about me, George. Don’t forget about me or your family or Grover’s Corner, for it is such a nice town, even if it is not all that important. Don’t forget about me, George, for I won’t forget about you.

Citation Arnold, S. (2011). The creative spirit: An introduction to theatre. (5th ed., pp. 125-126). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.