How my character reacts to other characters

An important note that I have made to myself is what characters are what and whether their status is higher or lower than my own character's. For example, the Provost works for Angelo and so as an actor I have to make sure that when I am on stage I always present my character in a professional and respectful manner when with him. However, I understand the Provost enough to know that she doesn't agree with what Angelo is asking her to do and so I'm not afraid to present my character as being slightly disrespectful of him on stage so long as it is out of Angelo's sight (for example rolling my eyes behind his back). By doing this, I am able to draw out some of the plays comedic side and also meet my scene objectives of pleasing Angelo whilst shinning my version of the Provost's personality (sassiness) through.

Furthermore, characters such as Pompey Bum, Mistress Overdone, Lucio and even the undercover Duke to a certain extent, are victims to the Provost's open expressions of opinion of their lower status'. I am able to deliver the Provost's authority to the audience by only ever raising my voice to Pompey in order to show him who's boss, when arresting Mistress Overdone my facial expressions show the Provost's disgust in having to even touch her and the reactions to some of the vulgar things she says extends that disgust. The Provost's hate for Lucio is a continual thing because he tries to push past the Provost in order to talk to Claudio at the start and his overall ora is that of a criminal. Even the Provost's first encounter with the Duke I've turned into a sort of confrontation when she says 'I would do more than that' because she's questioning the undercover Duke's authority. This also extends the humour at the end of the play when it is revealed that the undercover Duke is in fact the Duke and it is apparent that the Provost regrets her previous attitude and behaviour around him.

Hierarchy of characters. Mariana has most likely fallen from a high authority to a lower one