BT39: TERM 2, WEEK 4
Berkoff,
Metamorphosis
(1969)
PARATEXTS
 What authority do paratextual materials have over the play?
 Are they serious?
 In contrast: are they flippant?
 How do these materials change, or potentially change, our
understanding of the piece?
 How do these materials frame the various shaping individuals
responsible for the piece?
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Author(s)
Actors
Directors
Publishers
MIND
 “But I have that within which passeth show” (Hamlet I.2)
 Paradox at center of mind on stage: must be exteriorized to
reach audience
 Some basic questions:
 To what aspects of characters’ minds do we have access? Which
characters are opaque, and which transparent?
 Where does the exteriorization of mind reach:
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Dialogue
Sets
Gesture/surface of bodies more generally
Paratexts
TRAINING
 What would an actor be required to do to take on this part?
 Physical strength
 Knowledge:
 Gestures
 Cultural observations
 Languages
 Psychological conditioning
 E.g. the Method
 What acting philosophies does the script mention, or
presuppose?
LIGHTING
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How does lighting break up stage elements?
What does it obscure, and what does it highlight?
How is it colored?
(I need your help with this one…)