Susan

The theatre is a world where you really do step into someone else's shoes. You examine how the character views herself and how she is viewed by others. My theatre professor suggests some questions for studying a character--What do other people say about my character? How do other people react to my character? These questions help examine how the character is viewed by others and, thus, create the "looking-glass self." To act the character you need to understand her "me" (the "looking-glass self"). This understanding of the character should allow the "I" to come naturally. The "I" is the spontaneous self, the source of motivation. It defies study, as when it is closely examined, it disappears.

Glenda

A ring. A class ring. A guy's class ring. In high school it was the ultimate sign of status, whether dangling from a chain or wrapped with a quarter inch of yarn. Without ever speaking a word, a girl could tell everybody that she was loved (and trusted with expensive jewelry), that she had a protector (and how big that protector was, based, of course, on ring size—the bigger the better), the guy's status (preferably senior), and his favorite sport (preferably football). Yes, if you had the (right) class ring, you were really somebody.

Erin

An example of being a looking glass to others: When my little sister was about five or six years old, she would still act like a baby because that was the way I treated her. After my mom figured out the cause and approached me about it, I began treating her more like an equal; she quickly changed her behavior and began acting her age, and even a little older.