Monologues

Suppose you’re auditioning for a play. You choose the most dramatic monologue in your aresnal. Let’s say the character is at her father’s funeral. She never told him she loved him while he was alive. Wracked with guilt and regret, she finally lets it all out and makes peace with her father, finally telling him she loves him. You rehearse the piece over and over. You perform the monologue at the audition. Flawlessly. Terrifically. Tears flow. (pause) The director asks you to perform the same monologue again, but this time act like you’re thrilled the old man croaked. He was a stingy so-and-so and now you stand to inherit his vast fortunes. You’re thrilled he’s gone. GO! But you know this character inside-out. You practically know the rest of the play by heart. You’ve created the backstory and know the character is in fact devastated by her loss. There is no other way of looking at it. What do you do? Easy – without a moment’s hesitation you perform that sucker again exactly as you were asked. Take this as encouragement. The director likes you and wants to see more. You’ve now moved on to the second date. Any combination of these three things is happening here: 1. The director has something in mind for you, but the role asks for other qualities in the performer (maybe greed? vengeance? cold-heartedness?) 2. The director is testing your range. Sure you can cry on command but can you take us on the whole journey leading to that moment? 3. This is the most important one. Can you take direction? Can you just “go with it?” Good or bad. Right or wrong. I’ve seen people lose parts over this – I’ve seen people argue back about “my character wouldn’t do this” and other nonsense. You’re being handed an opportunity here. Don’t blow it. Rehearsal is like that too. When the director suggests an adjustment you take that suggestion and go with it 100%. You can’t see the play. You’re in it. There are a lot of moving pieces and only the director can see the whole. I had a “go with it” moment the other day in rehearsal. My partner and I were asked to take a scene in a different direction. It certainly wasn’t how I saw the scene and I didn’t think the text supported what he wanted us to do. But you have to trust what you’re being given. You have to try it out And you know what? It worked beautifully. It brought the scene to a different place and said so much more about our characters’ relationship than what we were playing previously. On further reflection I found that the text did support what we were doing. My scene partner turned to me and said something like, “You forget sometimes how bad of an actor you are.” Both of us had the same doubts but both of us committed and were the better for it. So the takeaway here is go for it. Take the direction and run with it. Embrace it. Make friends with it. If it works… epic win. You’ve discovered something you didn’t know was there before. If it doesn’t work… epic win still. You’ve discovered something that doesn’t work and can move on and try other things. But if you don’t commit 100% you’ll epic fail. Every time.

Katie Dalrymple, theatre teacher at Florence High School helps Lindsay spread the love for Competition Monologues: Book Two. Recorded live at the Alabama State Thespian Festival.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about Puzzle Pieces, a monologue-based drama for teenagers by Krista Boehnert.

This week on Spread the Love we talk about This Phone Will Explode at the Tone by Lindsay Price. Filmed live on location in a phone booth.

The stage can be a lonely place when you’re performing a monologue. It’s just you. Well, you and your wits. And your anxieties. Maybe your fears, too. Sure there’s an audience, or maybe a stern-looking judge, or a roomful of fellow competitors. But if something goes wrong, or you need someone to play off of, you’re stuck with your aforementioned wits. I’m one of those actors who likes acting with other actors. So when I perform monologues I always smuggle an SSP with me. What’s an SSP? It’s my Secret Scene Partner, of course! I think that the most important question to ask yourself when preparing a monologue is this: Who are you speaking to? So many times, I see students speaking their monologues to a generic “Nameless Faceless Void.” This will never be the best acting choice. The best acting choice is always the most specific acting choice. Here’s how to create your very own SSP. PhysicalIs your SSP… • Standing? Sitting? • Moving? Still? • Taller or shorter than you? • Male? Female? Human? Animal? Alien? • Pointing a gun at you? • Putting gum in your hair? • On fire? Drowning? Walking on a tightrope? Putting their head in a lion’s mouth? Drawing mustaches on portraits in the museum? Emotional/PsychologicalHow is your SSP responding to your monologue? Are they… • Listening attentively? • Mocking you? • Ignoring you? Deaf? • Talking overtop everything you say? • Crying? • Laughing at your serious monologue? • Crying at your funny monologue? Actor-y Questions• What do you want from your SSP? Do you get it? • What does your SSP want from you? Do they get it? • What is your SSP’s journey during your monologue? Once you’ve sketched out your SSP, try your monologue again. Then, change your choices and try the monologue again. Try a variety of SSP scenarios. Think outside the box. Try SSPs that have nothing to do with the play. Try SSPs that you think are completely wrong for the play. Avoid safe choices, the ones that are easy on your character. Choose the one that challenges your character the most; this will always be your most interesting choice as an actor.

Choosing the right monologue can be an agonizing part of the process. How do you know it’s right? And right for you? And right for the situation? The wrong monologue can ruin everything… Monologues are used for a variety of reasons within plays. To share a thought, a story, an emotional outburst. A revealing character moment. A private moment between the character and the audience. Not all monologues make for great competition monologues. You can’t just look for a chunk of text from your favourite character and go to town. Is the monologue story driven, or character driven? Is there an emotional change? What does the character reveal in the monologue? What is the character fighting to achieve? Is there potential action? Here are two monologues. They’re both good pieces but only one of them is right for competition. Which one is it? Answer’s at the bottom! Sweep Under Rug by Lindsay PriceCOUNSELLOR KELLY: Counsellor Kelly here on C-I-T-Y with the evening announcements for Blocks 7A through E. I’m so excited to announce the upcoming plans for the tenth annual Bobby Sue birthday celebration! I can’t wait! Can you believe it’s been ten years? “A Bobby Sue in every home that needs one” has been the motto from the very beginning. We see no reason to change it. When you have a Bobby Sue to tell you what to do, life gets better! Employment is way up; crime is way down. Just the way we like it. Yay! You guys are so good. We’re so proud of you! To help celebrate ten successful years, we’re going to have an extra special celebration. Party hats and noisemakers for everyone! Just remember to treat them nicely, we’ll be collecting them at the end. We’ll do a count down, just like New Years Eve, and we’ll all sing together. Won’t that be fun? And then, very exciting, a confetti cannon! And then we’ll hold a lottery to see who gets cake. I know, I know, I know. Yes it would be great if we could give everyone cake. But in these times, it’s just not possible. What can we do? You don’t have to eat your piece if you get one. You can always share. That would be such a good thing to do! Deck the Stage by Lindsay PriceSHELLEY: You don’t get off that easy. Sit down! I haven’t even started. Sit down. (She holds up a picture) Ask me who’s in the picture. Ask! That’s my dad. Pretty handsome guy don’t you think? Ask where he is. Ask where he is! Come on, you wanted to talk; ask where he is. I don’t know. Isn’t that funny? Isn’t that a scream? I don’t know. Two years ago he went to work on Christmas Eve and he never came home. Don’t be. He stole money from his company and ran away with the boss’ secretary. Merry Christmas! That’s our nearest guess anyway. No one knows for sure because there hasn’t been one word. Not one. Not a letter. Not a telegram. Not a postcard. Not an answering machine message. Nothing. He left us with debts up to our ears, and we didn’t even get a goodbye. How’s your dad? Is he alive? Does he talk to you every day? Well good, ’cause let me tell you, around here there isn’t much talking. Around here, we bounce from apartment to apartment and my mom tries to keep working but she’s not very strong. My dad knew that. And he left. So you’ll have to excuse me if I’m cold, or distant, or pretentious. But my mind’s a little full ’cause I only got three hours of sleep after working the night shift at the 7-11. And I could really give a crap about Christmas because all it means is that my father didn’t love my mother and he didn’t love me. WHICH IS IT? Sweep Under Rug: There is certainly a clear character in this monologue with a specific voice. While there’s the potential to have fun with the characters, there’s also a lot of plot being set up. There’s more storytelling here than any emotional journey – the character’s emotional state is exactly the same from beginning to end and that’s an issue if you’re looking for something to win a competition. It’s much more about the story and much less about the character. Deck The Stage: This is a character driven emotion based monologue. The character is on a roller-coaster of emotion as she not only confronts the person she’s talking to, but reveals some very deep wounds about her dad. Not only that, but there’s specific clues for how to play the character physically – if she works the night shift at the 7-11, she’s going to be exhausted, frustrated, spitting mad. These are great clues toward an award wining performance.

Lindsay and Craig spread the love for Have You Heard? by Krista Boehnert.