1.Using the same line (“Can you help me please?”), students will say the line out loud ten times, using the ten different emotions they brainstormed.
2.Select one line from a play, or use one of the sample lines provided (found in the handout).
3.How does the emphasis of the different words change the meaning of the line? Note the differences in tone and emotions.
4.With the same partner, students will brainstorm a list of ten different emotions/feelings (for example: happy, sad, surprised, angry, bored, exhausted, annoyed, ecstatic, disgusted, hopeful).
5.Count how many words there are in the sentence. For example, the line “Can you help me please?” has five words.
6.How do these different approaches to the text affect the meaning of the lines, as well as your performance? Reflect on your explorations.
7.Try interacting with your partner in a scene, each feeling the same emotion but to the opposite extreme (for example, loud angry versus quiet angry).
8."Consult" is another one of those tricky words that have two different meanings and they are opposites of each other. "To consult" can mean to seek advice or to give professional advice.
9."Lie" could mean to lay down and to tell something untruthful when used as an adjective. If used as a noun, it is a false statement.
10.Write out the line as many times as there are words in the sentence. From our example, students will write the line out five times.
11.Try a sliding scale of emotions. If “level 1 anger” is a silent death glare and “level 10 anger” is screaming in rage, what is level 3 on the anger scale? Level 5? How about level 8?
12.Use your senses. What do the emotions look and sound like? For example: “loud angry” might involve yelling and screaming, flailing, and pacing, while “quiet angry” might involve death glares, stiff posture, and clenched fists.
13.How does the line meaning change when spoken with a different emotion? Does the line still make sense? (If it doesn’t, can you think of a reason or situation where the line would be said with that feeling?) Make note of these thoughts.