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The Acting Thing
by Hanne Beener
This passage follows a school drama production as they prepare for a play.
As you read, pay attention to the perspective of the narrator of the passage.
“And again!” the director bellows with false enthusiasm. She’s just as tired as we are, but she’s the type who’s always for “onwards and upwards.” We drop our characters like dirty laundry, sag onto various pieces of furniture. Eyes involuntarily close, and moans escape some.
I pick my head up. “What did you say?” I ask weakly and indifferently. I could care less what she said, I just know that in half an hour I’ll be home . . . doing about two hours of homework.
“Act Two, Scene Three. Again! Come on, you guys, the performance is this Friday!” The director smiles and slaps her script on the table loudly.
Does she have to remind us? The whole play is a mess, no one knows their lines, no one knows their blocking, no one has their props, no one has their costumes, and everyone is tired.
I have been in my school’s drama club since the sixth grade and I still have no clue how we’re going to pull this all together in the next three days. But we slowly drag ourselves into beginning places for Act Two, Scene Three.
The director calls, “Curtain!” seeing as the stagehands haven’t bothered to close them and open them again. Now comes the part only actors can do. The tired, despondent high schoolers disappear at the word “curtain.” We pick our characters up and become others, words written in black on white. But we take the words and turn them into actions, voices, people. That is what acting is about. That is why we are here.
Of course, you can tell who’s new to acting and who’s not. The veterans, who carry battle scars of other theatrical ventures, slip easily and at a moment’s notice into Mrs. This or Dr. That. After six years of participating in theater, I am fairly adept at this.
Anyway, it’s 7:30 on a Tuesday night, and dress rehearsal is two days away. We’ve been working on the play for three months, but these next two days are when we really start pulling it together—when fear motivates us to higher levels, and we start saying our lines in our sleep.
___
Adapted from The Acting Thing, by Hanne Beener, ©️ by Cricket Media, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
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Questions
“I could care less what she said, I just know that in half an hour I’ll be home . . . doing about two hours of homework.”
How does the narrator’s perspective in this excerpt impact the story?
The narrator’s third-person perspective clearly establishes the story’s setting, so readers are able to vividly picture the rehearsal stage.
The first-person narrator describes events from their own perspective, so readers get an unbiased recounting of Tuesday night’s rehearsal.
The narrator has a first-person perspective, so readers know their honest thoughts and feelings about rehearsing late into the evening.
The narrator has a third-person omniscient perspective, so readers know the thoughts and feelings of all characters, including the director’s.
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Activating this element will cause an extra tools region to appear
The Acting Thing
by Hanne Beener
This passage follows a school drama production as they prepare for a play.
As you read, pay attention to the perspective of the narrator of the passage.
“And again!” the director bellows with false enthusiasm. She’s just as tired as we are, but she’s the type who’s always for “onwards and upwards.” We drop our characters like dirty laundry, sag onto various pieces of furniture. Eyes involuntarily close, and moans escape some.
I pick my head up. “What did you say?” I ask weakly and indifferently. I could care less what she said, I just know that in half an hour I’ll be home . . . doing about two hours of homework.
“Act Two, Scene Three. Again! Come on, you guys, the performance is this Friday!” The director smiles and slaps her script on the table loudly.
Does she have to remind us? The whole play is a mess, no one knows their lines, no one knows their blocking, no one has their props, no one has their costumes, and everyone is tired.
I have been in my school’s drama club since the sixth grade and I still have no clue how we’re going to pull this all together in the next three days. But we slowly drag ourselves into beginning places for Act Two, Scene Three.
The director calls, “Curtain!” seeing as the stagehands haven’t bothered to close them and open them again. Now comes the part only actors can do. The tired, despondent high schoolers disappear at the word “curtain.” We pick our characters up and become others, words written in black on white. But we take the words and turn them into actions, voices, people. That is what acting is about. That is why we are here.
Of course, you can tell who’s new to acting and who’s not. The veterans, who carry battle scars of other theatrical ventures, slip easily and at a moment’s notice into Mrs. This or Dr. That. After six years of participating in theater, I am fairly adept at this.
Anyway, it’s 7:30 on a Tuesday night, and dress rehearsal is two days away. We’ve been working on the play for three months, but these next two days are when we really start pulling it together—when fear motivates us to higher levels, and we start saying our lines in our sleep.
___
Adapted from The Acting Thing, by Hanne Beener, ©️ by Cricket Media, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Scroll Down
Questions
“I could care less what she said, I just know that in half an hour I’ll be home . . . doing about two hours of homework.”
How does the narrator’s perspective in this excerpt impact the story?
The narrator’s third-person perspective clearly establishes the story’s setting, so readers are able to vividly picture the rehearsal stage.
The first-person narrator describes events from their own perspective, so readers get an unbiased recounting of Tuesday night’s rehearsal.
The narrator has a first-person perspective, so readers know their honest thoughts and feelings about rehearsing late into the evening.
The narrator has a third-person omniscient perspective, so readers know the thoughts and feelings of all characters, including the director’s.
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Answers
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
The correct choice is:
"The narrator has a first-person perspective, so readers know their honest thoughts and feelings about rehearsing late into the evening."
Reason: The passage is told in first person ("I"), and the narrator directly shares personal attitudes (e.g., "I could care less..."), giving readers access to their thoughts and feelings. Options saying third person or “unbiased” are incorrect.
"The narrator has a first-person perspective, so readers know their honest thoughts and feelings about rehearsing late into the evening."
Reason: The passage is told in first person ("I"), and the narrator directly shares personal attitudes (e.g., "I could care less..."), giving readers access to their thoughts and feelings. Options saying third person or “unbiased” are incorrect.
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