Playing Parenthesis utilises the brackets found in the First Folio to direct learners’ attention to moments of change within a character’s thought process.
Begin by explaining to learners that in the First Folio, any text in brackets is providing actors with direction. Text contained within brackets serves one of two functions. Either it is highlighting that this is the most important part of the thought the character is expressing, or it is a deviation from their current thinking or line of enquiry, which you can refer to as a ‘sidebar’.
Initially, ask learners to perform the scene; when they reach any text in brackets, they should play those words as a ‘sidebar’, a deviation from their current line of enquiry.
Following this, ask learners to perform the scene again, this time playing any text in brackets as the most important part of the thought.
Conclude this tool with a discussion, asking learners to consider which approach to the text in brackets serves the characters’ intentions within the circumstances of the scene. Ask learners to choose which approach is appropriate for each section of text in brackets and apply it to the scene moving forward. Make clear that they can change their mind as the scene develops and their understanding of the character evolves.
Tray Two : Living The Text