Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question and what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?

• EQ
• What is the most effective method a theatre actress can use in order to best build her character?
• Answers
• The most effective method a theatre actress can use in order to best build her character is the Stanislavski Method.
• The most effective method a theatre actress can use in order to best build her character is the Meisner Technique.
• The most effective method a theatre actress can use in order to best build her character is the Chekhov Technique.
• Best Answer
• My best answer is the Stanislavski Method because it is the only method that really goes in-depth with the psychological characteristics of the character the actor is supposed to portray. The psychology of the actor's character is one of the most important parts of character to build because it is what's going to create the realism the actor needs to fulfill the purpose of theatre. The psychology will then lead on to creating real actions, mannerisms, and connections.

2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• The process was very simple, I took the knowledge I knew from my past experience and independent components, the knowledge I had from my mentors, and the information I got from my research, I can to the conclusion that what really creates realism in acting is the psychological characteristics of the character. Without the psychology of the character, the character would a cliché which is unappealing to audiences.

3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

• I only had one problem I had to overcome. The first was that I had a mentor from July-October. After that, he didn't have anything for me to do and he would hardly ever reply to my emails. Luckily from August-October I was able to fit in 48 hours of mentorship. To fix this issue, I had to find a new mentor. I asked my dad if he knew anyone that could help me, and he introduced me to his co-worker Chip Healy, the drama teacher/director at South El Monte High School. Mr. Healy is an amazing and encouraging mentor. He has taught me so much about my topic and encourages me to start getting into the business.

4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• One of my most useful sources was my mentor Chip Healy. He talked a lot to me about what makes theatre and acting so meaningful and important. He gave me many tips on character building and his take on the methods I decided to use. A lot of the information he gave me during Interview 4 was about important aspects when character building, leading me to picking my best answer.
• The other source that was significant was actually three different books written by Constantin Stanislavski. An Actor Prepares, Building Character, and Creating a Role, all gave me in-depth information on the Stanislavski Method while explaining how it fulfills the meaning of theatre. They helped me because they had everything I needed to know about the method and provided valid reasons as to why it works so effectively, helping me choose it as my best answer.