CHAPTER XII
IMPERSONATION
By “impersonation” we mean the art of assuming for the time being the rôle of some character in a story or a play. We “play the part,” we assume the carriage, the gestures, the quality of voice belonging to the character.
How do we acquire this art? First: We study the part carefully till we are sure we understand it. Second: We visualize the scenes, and live them over again in our own imagination. Third: We begin to speak the lines. We try different inflections, different gestures which suggest themselves to us through our own experiences and our observation of characters in real life which are similar to those of the character we are depicting. This careful observation of the mannerisms and eccentricities of real people aids very materially in interpretation. Finally: We decide on the gestures and inflections which seem to us to most nearly interpret the part, and these we practice over and over again until they become a part of our very being, then we are ready to “play the part.”
PRACTICE SELECTION
Merchant of Venice
Enter old Gobbo, with a basket.
Gobbo.—Master young man, you, I pray you, which is the way to master Jew’s?
Launcelot (Aside).—O heavens, this my true-begotten father! who, being more than sand-blind, high-gravel-blind, knows me not: I will try confusions with him.
Gobbo.—Master young gentleman, I pray you, which is the way to master Jew’s?