Modeling & Acting Acting 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In film acting, what does 'hitting your mark' refer to?
- Delivering your best performance of a scene
- Standing on a precise taped spot so the camera keeps you in focus (Correct answer)
- Memorizing your lines before a take
- Matching the emotional intensity set by the director
Correct answer: Standing on a precise taped spot so the camera keeps you in focus
Marks are pieces of tape on the floor indicating where an actor must stand so the camera's focus and framing remain correct.
Question 2: What is 'continuity' and why does it matter for film actors?
- Keeping the same emotional arc across all performances in a run
- Ensuring physical details (costume, props, positions) match between multiple takes of the same scene (Correct answer)
- Delivering lines at a consistent volume across scenes
- Maintaining the same blocking from rehearsal to performance
Correct answer: Ensuring physical details (costume, props, positions) match between multiple takes of the same scene
Film is shot out of order, so actors must replicate exact physical details in every take to avoid visible inconsistencies in the final cut.
Question 3: What acting exercise involves one actor repeating back exactly what their partner says to build listening skills?
- Emotional recall
- Repetition exercise (Meisner) (Correct answer)
- Gibberish scene work
- Hot seating
Correct answer: Repetition exercise (Meisner)
Sanford Meisner's repetition exercise trains actors to genuinely listen and respond to their partner rather than waiting for their cue.
Question 4: What does 'fourth wall' mean in theater?
- The back wall of the stage where scenery is hung
- The imaginary wall between the performers and the audience (Correct answer)
- The fire curtain that separates the stage from the house
- The cyclorama backdrop used for lighting effects
Correct answer: The imaginary wall between the performers and the audience
The fourth wall is the conceptual invisible barrier through which actors perform without acknowledging the audience.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'status' in acting and improvisation?
- The salary tier an actor occupies in a union contract
- The relative power or dominance a character projects in a scene (Correct answer)
- The number of lines a character has in the script
- The billing position an actor receives in the credits
Correct answer: The relative power or dominance a character projects in a scene
Status describes the dynamic of who holds power in any interaction, expressed through physicality, eye contact, and vocal choices.
Question 6: What is a 'sides' packet given to actors at an audition?
- A full copy of the play or screenplay
- Selected pages or scenes from the script used for the audition (Correct answer)
- A list of stage directions to memorize
- The character breakdown sheet from casting
Correct answer: Selected pages or scenes from the script used for the audition
Sides are short excerpts from the script that casting uses to evaluate how an actor interprets specific scenes or characters.
Question 7: What does 'sense memory' ask an actor to do?
- Remember blocking from a previous production
- Recreate the physical sensations of a real experience to produce genuine emotion on stage (Correct answer)
- Memorize lines using a mnemonic device
- Identify the sensory cues written into stage directions
Correct answer: Recreate the physical sensations of a real experience to produce genuine emotion on stage
Sense memory, developed by Stanislavski and expanded by Lee Strasberg, uses recalled sensory details to stimulate authentic emotional responses.
Modeling & Acting Acting 3
In film acting, what does 'hitting your mark' refer to?