Passage 1<br/><br/><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Because it is filled with contradictions, performance is </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>also filled with risk. This is the domain of stage fright. The </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>actor is aware that appearing in front of an audience is a </td></tr><tr><td>Line </td><td>scary proposition. Maintaining the reality of the character is, </td></tr><tr><td>5 </td><td>in itself, a fragile affair; it demands of the actor a series of </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>complex transformations. The actor has the unique problem </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>of hiding and showing at the same time. The actor’s conscious </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>fear is not about making a mistake, but about allowing the </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>audience to see something that it is not supposed to see: </td></tr><tr><td>10 </td><td>namely, the performer’s fear, or stage fright. </td></tr></tbody> </table><br/><br/>Passage 2<br/><br/><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>The term “stage fright” has largely dropped out of use, </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>because we know now that dwelling on something this </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>malevolent gives it power. If I tell you not to be afraid, </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>you may dwell on your fear. If I say, do not think of </td></tr><tr><td>15 </td><td>fast-food burgers under any circumstances, a line of </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>them will parade through your mind. The key to most </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>fears is substitution. On the simplest level, you replace </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>the ogre with something less menacing to fill your </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>consciousness. If you will imagine yourself to be a </td></tr><tr><td>20 </td><td>host rather than an actor, and think more about the </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>will fall into place. </td></tr></tbody> </table><br/><br/>In the context of Passage 1, the phrase "Maintaining the reality of the character" (line 4) most directly refers to
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AKeeping the character from becoming purely imaginative
BPlaying the character in a way that resembles real life
CBelieving oneself to be the character
DShowing the audience how the character sees a situation
EPresenting to the audience only behavior relevant to the character
✓ Correct answer: E. Presenting to the audience only behavior relevant to the characterPassage 1 suggests that “maintaining the reality of the character” involves the “unique problem of hiding and showing at the same time” (lines 4-7). The text further suggests that the actor must not allow “the audience to see something it is not supposed to see: namely, the performer's fear, or stage fright” (lines 9-11). This suggests that the actor must hide things that do not relate to the character and, by extension, show the audience only behavior relevant to the character.
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Theory