1. What is the ‘controlling idea’ (Robert McKee) of your portrait?

The controlling idea of my portrait is that theatre (specifically the theatre that Asher creates) has the power to profoundly affect not only the people who they perform for but also the performers themselves. My goal is to show that Asher’s dream of creating humanitarian theatre has brought him to change the lives of many students.

2.  How is your portrait film structured?

The interview is structured with effectively two plot lines, the first is about the overseas trips themselves and how they affect the people overseas and the performers and the reasons why students have such a great time experiencing another culture. The second plot line is about theatre in general and the power that it has to change students and the country even back home here in Australia. I asked four questions and I’m intercutting two plot lines throughout rather than just giving the one perspective the whole time. I think this will create a more engaging piece.

3. What do you want your audience to make of your interviewee?

I would like the audience to see that Asher is not only very intelligent and well researched but also passionate and caring towards his students and I would like them to feel uplifted at the end of the interview.

4. How is your portrait being narrated?

The only narration in the the interview will be Asher himself. I do not want to speak at all as I feel it will break the feeling I am going for which is very flowing, the speech should be rarely broken.

5. What role will the ‘found footage’ play in your portrait?

I would like to find a lot of found footage of theatre performance and maybe use some of the footage people shot on the trips he has done with students. Also music is very important but I think it will really hard to find the right track because the mood in my head is very specific.

6. Does your portrait have a dramatic turning point?

Yes. I would like there to be one when he says that art should have no agenda, that the agenda should be love because I really think that that’s a really great point. Maybe I’ll find some more softer pieces of narration to place after this moment to tie the interview up. As I am editing the interview out of order, it will be a little difficult.

7. When does this turning point  in your portrait and why?

The turning point takes place at approximately three quarters of the way through, in many ways, this is similar to the three act structure, it has that end of act two, beginning of act three feeling

8. How does your portrait gather and maintain momentum?

I think I kind of talked about this in Question 2. I think through the fact that the two different topics will be happening simultaneously will make the pace feel like it’s building until I focus more on the one topic and then it will feel like a nice resolved denouement.

9. Where will your portrait’s dramatic tension come from?

I don’t think there is that much dramatic tensioning the interview. I don’t think that’s the kind of interview it is, I think certainly it has form, but I am struggling to think of a point in the interview where there is a juxtaposition strong enough to create dramatic tension.

10. Does the portrait have a climax and/or resolution?

Yes. Though I am only in the very early stages of editing the piece, I think the climax of the piece is definitely the turn of the third act as I mentioned earlier when Asher says that the agenda is love, it really has an emotional weight and I think between that and the ending there’s a really beautiful correlation and the way that line sets up the ending is really nice. The idea that the agenda is loving others and then that sets up the last line of the piece “let’s share something together” I think it really not only says something about Asher’s goal as a teacher but also him as a person.