Mark Schemes for Three Sisters

January 2001

Chekhov: Three Sisters – 5(a) Explain how you would perform the role of Andrey Prozorov in Acts One and Four of “Three Sisters” to convey the development of his character to an audience. (In different editions of the play this character, the brother of the three sisters, is known as Andrei or Andrew.)

Candidates’ answers will vary according to their interpretation of the role of Andrey and their perceptions about the development of the character however, in relation to the Assessment Criteria below, expect answers to include references to some of the following:

• Andrey’s first appearance in Act One, his shyness and embarrassment at his sisters’ teasing
• his physical qualities, contrast between the relative animation of Act One and domesticated weariness in Act Four
• vocal qualities, pitch, pace, tone, accent
• optimism of a man in love in Act 1; resignation to his restricted horizons in Act Four
• sensitivity to Natasha’s distress in Act One; acknowledgement of her vulgarity in Act Four
• energy, exuberance, birthday mood in Act One; downtrodden appearance in Act Four, pushing the pram
• contrast between the Acts in terms of pace in delivery of lines
• attitudes towards achievement of ambitions in each Act
• attitudes to both work and marriage in each Act
• his impatience and bad temper in Act Four; dismissive attitude towards Ferapont
• loss of energy; general lassitude in final Act
• his demoralised speech about his wife; admission of failure
• sentimental response to his sisters
• submissiveness both to his wife and his duties
• use of the stage
• the intended audience response; sympathy, pity, sense of waste, impatience with his weakness

Assessment Criteria
(AO2) Knowledge and understanding Knowledge of the play and understanding of the play’s potential in performance will be evident in:
• sensitivity to the pathos inherent in Andrey’s character development
• consonance of performance ideas with the Chekhovian style of the play
• appropriate reference to a range of performance ideas designed to highlight changes in the character
• sensitivity to Andrey’s inner dissatisfaction as the play progresses Social and cultural context, genre and style Awareness of the play’s social and cultural context, genre and style will be evident through consideration of some of the following:
• indications of period in terms of costume
• the naturalistic acting style demanded by the play
•sensitivity to Chekhovian mood and texture

June 2001

January 2002

5(a)

How would you want an audience to respond to the character of Theodore Kulygin, Masha’s husband? Explain how you would perform the role on stage to achieve your aims. (Various editions of the play may offer different spellings of the name.)

Candidates’ answers will vary according to their interpretation of the role of Kulygin and their preferred audience response. However, in relation to the Assessment Criteria below, expect answers to include references to some of the following aspects:
• Kulygin’s appearance; age, build, costume, hair/moustache
• physical movement, gesture, gait, idiosyncrasy
• vocal qualities, pitch, pace, tone, accent, emphasis, monotony
• Kulygin’s first appearance and introduction; pedantry, forgetfulness, good nature, unconditional devotion to Masha and respect for his superior
• his interaction with others; apparent obliviousness to Masha’s indifference to him
• his very brief appearance in Act Two and apparent lack of suspicion about Masha’s feelings for Vershinin until Act Four
• general long-windedness and geniality
• long-suffering devotion; vulnerability
• use of the stage
• the intended audience response; sympathy, irritation, amusement, derision

Assessment Criteria (A02)

Knowledge and understanding

Knowledge of the play and understanding of the play’s potential in performance will be evident in:
• sensitivity to the comedy and pathos inherent in Kulygin’s character
• consonance of performance ideas with the Chekhovian style of the play
• appropriate reference to a range of performance ideas designed to elicit sympathy/humour/irritation from an audience
• sensitivity to Kulygin’s inner anguish as the play progresses

Social and cultural context, genre and style

Awareness of the play’s social and cultural context, genre and style will be evident through consideration of some of the following
• indications of period in terms of costume
• the naturalistic acting style demanded by the play
• sensitivity to Chekhovian mood and texture

Potential effectiveness for an audience

Awareness of potential effectiveness for an audience will be evident in:
• clarity and coherence of approach in conveying Kulygin’s character to an audience
• clearly defined intentions in terms of the desired audience response
• attention to the actor/audience relationship

(b)

What effects would you wish to create for your audience at the beginning of Act Three? Explain how you would stage the scene to achieve your aims. (You should concentrate on the section from the opening of the Act up to the moment when Chebutykin drops the clock.)

Candidates’ answers will vary according to the effects they choose to create for their audience. However, in relation to the Assessment Criteria below, expect answers to include references to some of the following aspects:

• the change in setting from the previous Act, a bedroom, clearly shared by Olga and Irina
• the setting/space to be used
• the appearance of the characters, disturbed in the night
• the sound of alarm bells/church bells offstage, the fire-engine
• Anfisa’s distress
• Olga’s kindly attentions/sense of urgency
• Masha’s silent presence on the sofa, in black, as usual
• the red glow of the fire; the sense of emergency
• the visual effect of the elderly servants
• Natasha’s abrasiveness, her quick temper, her self-importance, her selfishness, her callous disregard of others, her mercurial mood shifts
• the reactions of Olga and Masha to Natasha
• Olga’s weariness
• Natasha’s ascendant position in the household, despite her lowly origins
• Kulygin’s long-suffering affection and concern for his wife; his maudlin admiration
• the sound of Chebutykin’s drunkenness before his arrival on stage
• the increasing number of characters on stage; the entry of Irina, Vershinin, Tuzenbach in contrasting states of repair and attitude
• Chebutykin’s morose mood and guilt
• horror as Chebutykin drops the clock
• the general disorder in the Prozorov household
• range of effects specified, tension, sympathy, comedy, pathos, confusion

Assessment Criteria (A02) Knowledge and understanding

Knowledge of the play and understanding of the play’s potential in performance will be evident in:

• appropriate selection of design elements to convey the specified effects for an audience: consideration of scale/colour/perspective/texture in the setting
• night-time suggested in costume and lighting
• sensitivity to the shifting moods within the scene
• focus upon the confrontational methods of Natasha
• appropriate selection of performance ideas
• stage groupings suggested
• sound effects suggested

Social and cultural context, genre and style

Awareness of the play’s social and cultural context, genre and style will be evident through consideration of some of the following:

• indications of period in setting, costume
• the naturalism of the suggested performance techniques
• sensitivity to Chekhov’s style - a blend of the serious with the comic
• Chekhovian “texture” Potential effectiveness for an audience

Awareness of potential effectiveness for an audience will be evident in:

• clarity and coherence of the interpretation of the Act for an audience
• clearly defined intentions in terms of the desired effect upon the audience
• attention to the actor/audience relationship

June 2002

January 2003

June 2003

5(a)

How would you want an audience to respond to the character of Natasha in Act Two of the play? Explain how you would perform the role to achieve your aims. (In some editions, this character is known as Natalya.)

Candidates’ answers will vary according to the response that they want to achieve and the performance methods selected to secure that response. However, in relation to the Assessment Criteria below, expect answers to include references to some of the following aspects:
• the intended audience response; for example, detachment, hostility, sympathy, amusement
• Natasha’s appearance; her physical qualities, build, height, gesture, gait, tempo, facial expressions • costume – initially in a dressing-gown, then more elaborately dressed-up for her drive with Protopopov
• vocal qualities, pitch, pace, tone, accent; variations in vocal qualities dependent upon whom she is addressing
• relationship with Andrey, with the sisters and their guests
• ominous appearance at the beginning of the Act as she appears, proprietorial, with a candle
• her attitude to the family’s long-serving staff and to the Prozorov house in general
• affected concern for Olga’s and Irina’s health
• manipulation of Andrey, and of the sisters; alternately wheedling and peremptory
• prohibition of the carnival party, ostensibly for the good of ‘little’ Bobik
• maternal pride; repeated anecdotes about the baby
• social pretentiousness/affected sensitivity in correcting Masha’s French and response to Soliony’s jokes
• insensitivity to the desires and feelings of others
• orchestration of the ‘early night’ to free her for Protopopov
• Natasha’s increasing encroachment on the family
• use of the stage and of props • style of acting; naturalism

Assessment Criteria (AO2)

Knowledge of the play and understanding of the play’s potential in performance will be evident in:
• application of appropriate performance elements
• consonance of performance ideas with the Chekhovian style of the play
• reference to Natasha’s chameleon-like qualities
•sensitivity to Natasha’s long-term objectives

Social and cultural context, genre and style

Awareness of the play’s social and cultural context, genre and style will be evident through consideration of some of the following:
• indications of period in terms of costume
• the naturalistic acting style demanded by the play
• sensitivity to Chekhovian mood and texture

Potential effectiveness for an audience

Awareness of potential effectiveness for an audience will be evident in:
• clarity and coherence of approach in conveying Natasha’s character to an audience
• clearly defined intentions in terms of the audience response
•attention to the actor/audience relationship

5(b) How would you direct your cast in the closing moments of Act Four of “Three Sisters” in order to convey the differing emotions of the characters to your audience? [You should consider the section from the departure of Tuzenbakh to the end of the play.]

Candidates’ answers will vary according to the emotions that they identify and their directorial ideas. However, in relation to the Assessment Criteria below, expect answers to include references to some of the following aspects:

• the differing emotions as revealed in the Act – solemnity, melancholy, regret, frustration, resignation, sentimentality, despair, love
• the main currents of the Act which determine the emotions at the end of the play such as: - the imminent departure of the regiment - Tuzenbakh’s farewell to Irina - Masha’s and Vershinin’s final ‘goodbye’ - Natasha shouting instructions from the window - news of the death of the Baron - Kulygin’s puerile attempts to inject good humour into the company
• the emotions of the characters as revealed in: - characters’ discussions about and definitions of happiness and its elusiveness - reflective speeches of the characters - Andrey’s bitterness, relegated to pram-pusher; feelings of failure, self-pity - Kulygin’s perceptions of his wife and his lot in life; understanding of his wife - Irina’s fatalism - Chebutykin’s good spirits - delivery of Masha’s song; her misery - Irina’s response to news of the death of the Baron - Olga’s pragmatism - Natasha’s plans for the destruction of the garden; her detached attitude towards her sistersin-law - attitudes towards Moscow
• directorial suggestions for the main characters intended to convey differing emotions: - physical and vocal qualities of the actors, facial expressions - suggestions for movement, gesture, use of space, tempo-rhythm, spatial relationships - ideas about delivery of lines, pace, pitch, accent, pause - texture of the scene -reference to Chekhov’s stage directions

Assessment Criteria (AO2)

Knowledge and understanding Knowledge of the play and understanding of the play’s potential in performance will be evident in:
• appropriate identification of the contrasting emotions and application of practical methods to convey these to an audience
• sensitivity to the shifting emotions within the scene
• appropriate selection of performance elements
• creation of Chekhovian ‘texture’

Social and cultural context, genre and style

Awareness of the play’s social and cultural context, genre and style will be evident through consideration of some of the following:
• indications of period in performance ideas
• the naturalism of the suggested performance techniques
• sensitivity to Chekhov’s style – a blend of the serious with the comic to create a complex emotional landscape

Potential effectiveness for an audience

Awareness of potential effectiveness for an audience will be evident in:
• clarity and coherence of the interpretation of the Act for an audience through performance elements • clearly defined intentions in terms of the audience
• attention to the actor/audience relationship