Read I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead for Free Online Page A

play is to be hated — do not
create that feeling of hatred for yourself.
    Agnes wrote a paper titled “Analysis of a Character,” which indicates that
Agnes paid close attention to Jehlinger’s lectures. “Careful examination
of text of a play must take into account what the author says about the
character.
    What does character say about himself?
What are exact circumstances under which he speaks?
What do others say about him?
a) Enemy opinion
     
b) Friendly opinion. Judge him by what he does or does not do.
    Actions speak louder than words.”
The paper went on to list a series of questions the actor should ask to
determine his portrayal:
    1) Who are you?
2) What is your nationality?
3) In what country do you live?
4) What is the period of the play?
5) What is your age? a) single b) married c) divorced
6) Have you children? How many? Gender?
7) Physical description — any unusual physical features or defects,
even gestures?
8) Are you neat, or careless, in dress or manner?
9) Posture — constant? Changing? Habitual?
10) How do you walk? Rise? Sit?
11) Characteristic voice — tone, pitch, defects? (lisp or stutter),
monotonous (maybe necessary for characterization)
12) Are you in good health? If not, what is the cause?
13) Character’s distinction in society — distinguished or not in play?
14) Financial status? Poor, rich, white collar, etc.?
15) Education? Good English? Illiterate? Dialect? Regional?
16) Kind of home you live in? Elegant, poor, modern, etc.? How
furnished — period or type.
17) What kind of life have you led?
18) Who are your ancestors?
19) What do you do in your spare time?
20) What is your religion?
21) What are your political views?
22) What are the things you are deeply interested in?
23) At the beginning of the play, what is your attitude toward each of
the other characters?
24) Why do you feel this way?
25) How do they feel toward you?
26) Do your feelings change in the course of the play? If so, Why? In
what way?
    In addition to lectures and classes, the students were encouraged to see
leading actors and plays on Broadway and write of their experiences. Agnes
along with a fellow classmate, Vera Krug of New Jersey, went to see the
noted stage actress Jane Cowl in a play called Road to Rome . In her report
on the experience, Agnes notes that she and Vera first had lunch (they must
have attended a matinee) at the Old English Tea Room. Of the play itself
Agnes writes: “Most thrilling. Enjoyed every minute. Much impressed with
Jane Cowl’s voice and her excellent hand acting, characteristic gestures and
poses. The play surprised me. A modern theme in a Roman atmosphere.”
She then went on to describe her reaction to each of the three acts. On
November 21, 1927, Agnes again viewed a play with Miss Krug, Porgy and
Bess , presented by the Theatre Guild and directed by Rouben Mamoulian
(who would later become a prominent Hollywood director and direct
Agnes in the 1948 film Summer Holiday ). Her review of this effort was a bit
less enthusiastic: “Very realistic — draggy in places — general atmosphere
of the play was human. Would arouse sympathy toward the black race.
Spirituals were good — the laughs and agonizing cries of the women were
especially good.”
    As Mr. Jehlinger had lectured, lessons in acting can come from observing
real situations in everyday life. Agnes attended a class at the AADA called
“Life Study” taught by a Miss Wittington, where if the notes are correct, the
students would go out of class and observe real people and write of their
experiences. For instance, in Agnes’ notebook are several examples observing
people at the following locations:
    5 TH A VENUE 59 TH S TREET , 7:30-8:30 PM L OBBY OF P LAZA H OTEL T HE R ITZ AT 46 TH S TREET
42 ND S TREET ON B ROADWAY
T HE B OWERY
    She was to observe what took place, every movement, pantomime it,
then write about the type of character traits the person processed, giving
specific details by taking notes. Here