Stone Cold
Sample Questions and Answers
Answer all questions
Look at Act 2 Scene 1 – The Daily Tribune Office
To
Act 2 Scene 2 – His room snaps to black
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
How would the actor playing Gavin make his entrance in this
section? You should refer to the character’s movement and
positioning on stage giving reasons for your answer. {4}
Describe a suitable costume for the actress playing Louise in this
section. In your answer refer to the period, garments, colour and
how costume choice, hair and make-up would emphasise
elements of the character.
{6}
As an actor how would you communicate the role of Shelter to
an audience in this section?
In your answer you should refer to:
 character motivation;
 voice;
 movement and gesture;
 interaction with other characters.
Give reasons for your answer.
(iv)
{10}
As a stage designer, explain your ideas for this section.
(a) Draw a basic labelled ground plan of your chosen stage
showing only entrances, exits and audience position. {4}
Type of Stage:……………………………
(b) Give a full written explanation of your design ideas referring to:
 your chosen production style and how it is linked to your
chosen choice of stage;
 your choice of set;
 how you would use colour to create atmosphere;
 any other ideas you might like to include.
{16}
(i) The actor playing Gavin should enter downstage left into The Daily
Tribune Office. He would be stood behind Louise so that she does not
immediately see him. Louise should be stood downstage of the desk
facing the audience. He would walk in hesitantly looking at the floor as
he is attracted to Louise and wants to help her with her assignment,
but is nervous of her response. He is also nervous for her as the
assignment could be dangerous.
(ii) ‘Stone Cold’ is set in the 1990s so the costume must be suitable for this
period. Louise, a journalist, is in work and is young and smart so I
would have her wearing a cotton skirt suit with a blouse underneath
the jacket. She is quite feminine, which we can tell because Gavin is
obviously attracted to her, so I would want the suit to be a soft pink;
this also shows her kind character. The blouse would be white and she
would wear small silver earrings and a silver chain necklace. This
jewellery would be subtle as she is trying to create a good impression
in work as she is quite new there. Her hair would be dark brown and
long, but tied back so that it does not get in her way. She would have
soft feathery bits at the sides of her face so that it does not look
severe. Her make-up would be foundation, pink lipstick and blusher;
subtle as she is in work.
(iii) In this scene Shelter is planning his campaign to rid London’s streets of
homeless kids, or workshy dossers as he sees them. Throughout most
of it I would ask the actor to be holding the dictaphone near his
mouth, as Shelter is said to be ‘recording’ his words. To emphasise his
obsession with the army I would also ask him to be slowly marching
across his room from stage left to stage right repeatedly in that
section of the room nearest the audience. He should march during his
first 2 sentences. Whilst marching he should be very upright to show
his army training, and each time he turns he should do so in the way
they are taught in the armed forces.
When the light comes up on Ginger and Link he should stop and face their
direction, though not looking directly at them, to indicate that he is
remembering seeing them. His line ‘a couple of disgusting scruffs’ should
be said with clear hatred, almost spitting out the word ‘disgusting’. He
should also wrinkle his nose and frown to show his contempt for them. He
should smile when he says that he has discovered their names, to show
that Shelter is pleased that his detective work is paying off.
On his line ‘Know what you think, Link,’ the actor should smile evilly, put a
finger to the side of his head on ‘think’, then, using the same hand, make
his fingers into a gun shape facing the audience on ‘Link’. This should
make the audience very aware that he intends to kill Link.
On the line beginning ‘Just need to bide ..’ he should once again march
until when he gets to ‘who wait’ he should turn to march to the portrait of
the old soldier. His line ‘And I’m waiting ...’ should be directed to the
soldier, to again show Shelter’s obsession. After ‘ to be a-l-l alone,’ the
actor should first switch off the dictaphone and then turn towards the
audience and laugh evilly.
The words ‘gets this’ should be shouted aggressively as he picks up the
hammer which should be placed on the armchair, unseen until now. He
should lift it above his head in a threatening manner, snarling as he does
so.
(iv) (a)
Type of Stage: Proscenium Stage
(b) To stage this section I would use a proscenium arch stage. Although
this type of stage is usually associated with a realistic play, I believe it
would work well for this play as the audience need to be all facing end-on
in order to see the projections where specified and acting can take place
on the apron whilst the rest of the stage is in blackout to accommodate
scene changes.
My set would be representational because of the play’s episodic nature.
This would be both practical in terms of quick scene changes for the
numerous locations and it would ensure that the audience were not
distracted by an overcrowded set. This is similar to Brecht’s ideas on the
staging of a play.
Because this play is stylised, with characters talking directly to the
audience and breaking the fourth wall, choruses appearing and actors
multi-roling I do not believe the playwright would have wanted a realistic
set.
However, I would have Shelter’s room permanently upstage centre as it
would be a permanent reminder of the dangers to the homeless
characters in the play, and it would also be cumbersome to set and strike
it so many times. It would be on a raised platform to accommodate the
bodies of Shelter’s victims hidden under its trapdoor.
I would have the armchair stage right on the platform with the small
table downstage of it and the standard lamp behind it. The fireplace
would be upstage centre with the ‘portrait of an old-looking soldier’
hanging prominently above it. The doorway into the kitchen/bathroom
would be stage right of the fireplace and the cat basket slightly
downstage left of it. The windows would be on the stage left side of the
platform, upstage of a doorframe to represent the door into Shelter’s
room. (A solid door would cause sightline problems.) Steps should lead up
to the door. I have also added a rug which would be on top of wood
panelled flooring covering the trap door where Shelter’s Army are kept.
The rug, along with the arm chair, would be of a khaki colour, to highlight
Shelter’s obsession with the army. The shade of the standard lamp
should also match this colour scheme. The small table should look
carefully polished to show how Shelter’s army background has influenced
his need for cleanliness and order. Likewise the rest of the room should
be clean and very tidy. I would have a small light above the portrait
making it stand out in the room as it is clearly important to Shelter. The
curtains should be of a deep red velvet material; the red is symbolic of
the bloodshed which Shelter causes and plans to cause. I would use
pyrotechnics to make the fire look lit; this is ironic as it will give the
room a warm, cosy feeling when it is actually a place for murder.
There would be a mantelpiece above the fireplace and I would place some
old army medals on display here, again to show how important the army is
in Shelter’s mind.
The 2 props used in this scene are the hammer and dictaphone. The
dictaphone should be in Shelter’s hand until he puts it down to pick up the
hammer. He should then place it on the small table. The hammer should
be hidden on the arm chair seat, only revealed when Shelter lifts it, so
that it is a shock to the audience.
The Daily Tribune Office would be a much more basic, minimalistic set.
There will be a computer desk with computer on it, to show it is a work
space. There will also be a land line phone on it, as Louise uses this phone
to talk to her boss in another scene, and it must be recognisable as the
same office. There will also be a red swivel chair behind the desk; I have
chosen red as it is Louise’s desk and she is quite a feminine character.
Props needed in this scene are an Oxfam bag with ‘a scruffy-looking
jumper’ inside it for Louise and a mobile phone for Gavin. The bag should
be on the desk with the jumper in until Louise removes it to hold it up
against herself. The phone should be in Gavin’s trouser pocket until he
hands it to Louise. She should then place it on the desk as she does not
think it is appropriate, ‘How many homeless kids have you seen with these
Gavin?’
The only area lit during scene 1 will be the office area downstage left.
For this I will use a bright white light, appropriate to office lighting.
Scene 2 will have the standard lamp giving out a yellow glow and the light
above the picture shining brightly on the portrait. To aid audience vision
I will also add a yellow light covering the whole of the room. As directed
in the script when stated a spot light should come up on Link and Ginger
who would be downstage right. When the eight other dossers join them in
the same area there should be a slightly larger light so that they can all
be seen. It should have an orange tinge to it as if of a street lamp. At the
end of the scene, the street light and all of the lights in Shelter’s room
should snap out at the same time, plunging the stage into black, and
shocking the audience.