Practise Answer for Extended Response

Summer of the Aliens as Mrs Irvin
Mrs Irvin is a middle-aged mother in the Australian play ‘Summer of the Aliens’, to be performed at the Little Row Theatre Co in Perth. Written by Louis Nowra and published in February 1992, ‘Summer of the Aliens’ is representational, with slight presentational elements, due to the narrator present in the story. Set in the year 1962 in a housing commission in Fawkner, Melbourne, characters address the ‘current’ issue of the Cuban Missile Crisis ‘STAN: Blast Cuba out of the water.’ Scene 3 Act 1. The current scene studied for this particular character is Scene 7 Act 3, where Mrs Irvin interrogates Lewis to find out if he fornicated with Dulcie. Warm up processes used to develop the character are harmony; the park bench game to help get into character, and spinal rolls; to control breathing and articulation, but also to create focus. Verbal techniques to aid character development would be pace, articulation and accent, and non-verbal techniques would be pressing and gliding. In regards to Act 3 Scene 7, contextual information, the fundamental questions, the magic if, concentration, warm up techniques and emotion memory all are important factors for developing Mrs Irvin’s character.

Process
Justification
-Spinal Rolls

-controls breathing which improves articulation
-Mrs Irvin is a character who has a lot of articulation and little slang, due to her highly religious (Christian) beliefs
-‘Dulcie won’t be long. How’s your mum?’-Act 1 Scene 3
-‘She’s almost beyond praying for. But I’ll pray for you.’-Act 2 Scene 8
-creates and maintains focus which helps get into character easily and smoothly

-Park Bench Game
-allows actor to comfortably move into character
-enables improvisation practise for on stage performance if lines are forgotten
-creates interaction and group cooperation between actors and characters
Q1- Discuss warm up processes that you would use as an actor to prepare for rehearsal. (4 marks)
Verbal
Non-Verbal
Technique
Justify/Evidence
Technique
Justify/Evidence
Pace: steady paced and easy to understand
-holds herself highly to her morals and would want her opinion to be clear all the time
-Make up is a temptation to men. At your age you should be beyond temptation.’-Act 1 Scene 3
Pressing: fiddling and praying to her bone, would pray a lot
-‘(looking at bone)Please St Thomas...just one child, that’s all...’-Act 1 Scene 3
is gripping bone throughout the scene
-‘She’s almost beyond praying for. But I’ll pray for you.’-Act