Stage performances are judged to be realistic to the degree that actor

B it is.

Because Method actors experience the same emotions that their characters are meant to be experiencing, the author conclude that audiences judge the performance of Method actors more realistic.

Therefore, the assumption is that the behavior conforms to the behavior that is generally associated by audiences with that emotion.

Such kinds of CR question are really hard to read and understand for me.
Any suggestion?

Principle: Judement of realism is based on the degree that the audience associate character behaviors with character emotional states.
Fact: Traditional actors imitate behaviors. Method actors actually experience the emotions of the character.
Conclusion: Audiences will judge method actors to be more realistic.

Ask for assumption.

(A) Performances based on an actor’s own experience of emotional states are more likely to affect an audience’s emotions than are performances based on imitations of the behaviors generally associated with those emotional states.
Talk about affectiveness. Wrong.

(B) The behavior that results when a Method actor feels a certain emotion will conform to the behavior that is generally associated by audiences with that emotion.
Yes.

(C) Realism is an essential criterion for evaluating the performances of both traditional actors and Method actors.
Out of scope.

(D) Traditional actors do not aim to produce performances that are realistic representations of a character’s emotional states.
Wrong focus. They may very well try to be realistic, just that the different approaches make a difference.

(E) In order to portray a character, a Method actor need not have had experiences identical to those of the character portrayed.
Contrary to the passage ("recollection of personal experience"), I believe. Notherless, it has nothing to do with the conclusion.

C,D, E is very easy to be eliminated. The choice between A and B is harder. I would choose B myself.

B?

Premise: A audience can judge the performance as realistic only if it finds that the emotions expressed matches their perception of the emotion.
Premise: ME(method actors) are actually able to express right emotion.
Conclusion: says that audience judges the performance of ME more realistic.
Predicate 1 :If expressed emotion match with audience(call it X)---> performance realistic
Predicate 2 : ME express emotion
Conclusion: ME express emotion (call it Y)---> performance realistic
Since it is assumption there is only one possibility and hence that possibility is when the following happens
X is same as Y, which is B

botirvoy gives an excellent explanation above - the answer should be B. The key here is recognizing the scope of the argument - it only discusses how audiences evaluate the realism of an actor's performance. Nowhere does it say that realism is actually important to audiences, so C is out. Nor does it talk about how audiences are affected emotionally, so A is out. E is more or less contradicted by the passage - the passage says method actors need to draw on experiences of an emotion to portray that emotion - so it certainly isn't an assumption of the argument. D is also essentially contradicted by the passage.

Argument - Judging a stage performance to be realistic - when there is a similarity between the emotions experienced by the audience and the emotion portrayed by the actors.
Traditional actor - imitate the emotion , Method actor - experience the emotion on stage
Conclusion - Audience will judge method actor's emotion to be more realistic.

Probable assumption - Method actor will be able to produce the same emotion that the audience experience while viewing the scene

(A) Performances based on an actors own experience of emotional states are more likely to affect an audience's emotions than are performances based on imitations of the behaviors generally associated with those emotional states.
- The culprit is "Affect"
- The argument does not mention the "affect" - whether the affect is positive or negative.
- May be the affect is more on a negative side, alienating the audience from the method actor's performance
- Close but Incorrect

(B) The behavior that results when a Method actor tells a certain emotion will conform to the behavior that is generally associated by audiences with that emotion.
- The argument states that audience will judge a performance realistic when their emotion are reproduced by the actors on stage. This argument was missing in the original passage.
- Correct

(C) Realism is an essential criterion for evaluating the performances of both traditional actors and Method actors.
- Negate: Realism is not an essential criterion for evaluation.
- First issue - Evaluation by whom? - Critics / audience = Do not know
- Even if it is not an essential criterion what matters is if they can match those emotions with those of the audience.
- Wrong

(D) Traditional actors do not aim to produce performances that are realistic representations of a characters emotional states.
- Their aim is irrelevant.
- Wrong

(E) In order to portray a character, a Method actor need not have had experiences identical to those of the character portrayed.
- This discusses the ability of method actor to portray a character. The argument focuses on the matching of emotional states of actors and audience.
- Irrelevant to some extent.

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