Drama 11 – Marvelous Monologue #2
DUE on Thursday, May 17
So far in your acting career you’ve performed a number of monologues that you have written on your own. Now you have a new challenge…to perform a monologue from a play!
For some of you this may sound like a lot less work since you don’t have to take the time to write the monologue yourself, but preparing a scripted monologue presents its own unique challenges. First, you have to choose a monologue. This may not be as easy as it sounds.
Tips for choosing the right monologue:
· Choose a monologue that you have an immediate gut reaction to - a piece that means something to you.
· Make sure that the monologue shows off your talents. If you act well vocally, don’t choose a monologue with few words and a great deal of movement. If you like physical acting, don’t pick a monologue that requires you to sit in a chair for the duration.
· Read through the monologue to make certain you can act the emotions required. Don’t choose a sad or angry monologue if you can’t act sad or angry.
· Don’t be deterred by the length of the monologue. A short monologue may have less to memorize but it still might require a great deal of acting. A longer monologue may take longer to memorize, but in the end it may showcase your skills more fully.
· Don’t be deterred by a character’s vital statistics either. Don’t worry about a character’s age, gender, or race. There is no need to act the character stereotypically. In fact it’s better if you do not rely on stereotypes in your performance. What’s important is that you feel some sort of connection to the monologue.
· Choose your monologue wisely. You do not want to spend a lot of time preparing a monologue that in the end doesn’t suit you.
Once you’ve chosen the monologue you want to perform, here are a few tips for preparing it;
· You may want to read the play from which your monologue comes. Although it isn’t an absolute necessity, it may be a good idea. It will give you a context from which to draw and some insight into what the character is like.
· Imagine the person to whom the monologue is directed. Keep the person clear in your mind’s eye. How do they react to what you are saying, and how are you responding to their reactions in your monologue?
· Practice to an inanimate object before practicing in front of someone you trust.
· Try performing the monologue in several different ways. Try different emotions, postures, vocal levels, etc before deciding what you like.
· Break your monologue down into different parts and use different emotions for each part. This will show off your range.
· Try writing a history to the character and the setting. Get inside the character’s head. Learn everything about him / her. Try writing an inner monologue of the character’s thoughts during the monologue.
· Relate to the character. Think of when you felt the same way. Use those emotions, and be sure to reveal yourself in your monologue.
The prepared scene must be 1½ - 3 minutes in length and involve only the actor presenting. The text of the monologue must be handed in on the day of your performance.
· You have approximately 2 weeks to develop your monologue. Little to no class time will be given to develop characters and ideas.
· You must provide your own costumes and props. Please keep them to only what you absolutely need to have on stage with you.
· Your scene should require little to no initial set-up. It should not take longer to get ready for the scene than to actually perform it.
· Consider this to be your audition piece for the 10 Minute Play Project. I will be watching your performance of this prepared text, but so will a group of student directors who are looking to cast their chosen plays.
· You will sign up for performance times prior to the due date.
· Any students in the audience who distract the actor on stage, other audience members or the teacher-evaluator will receive a mark of zero for their dramatic monologue.
Check out
hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/gradyj/D11_monologue_links.htm
for a list of monologue sites!
Evaluation
Criteria
/ 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1Character Development (includes costume) / q creates very clear and believable character; superb development / q creates clear and believable character; very good development / q somewhat believable character; some personality revealed / q very little character development
Focus (staying in character) / q very focused; not distracted from task at all / q focused on the task most of the time / q occasionally lost focus on the task / q rarely focused on the task; often distracted / q not focused on task
Voice (articulation, clarity & projection) / q superb expression; excellent projection / q very good expression and projection / q satisfactory expression; some projection / q flat, monotone expression; difficult to hear
Character Appropriate Actions (mannerisms) / q all actions were extremely clear, believable and appropriate / q most actions in monologue were clear, believable and appropriate / q some actions in monologue were clear, believable and appropriate / q little effort was put forth to make actions clear, believable and appropriate
Staging / Blocking / q excellent use of stage space; demonstrates keen awareness of audience / q very good use of stage space; demonstrates good awareness of audience / q satisfactory use of stage space; reasonable awareness of audience / q somewhat ineffective use of stage space; much work needed on blocking / q ineffective use of space; little evidence of blocking
Pacing / Flow / q task appeared very well practiced and memorized; excellent flow / q task appeared well practiced and memorized; good flow / q task appeared somewhat practiced and memorized; ok flow / q more practice and memorization required / q task appeared unpracticed and unmemorized
Overall Presentation / q superb / q very good / q satisfactory / q needs work
Your written monologue must be handed in for this rubric to be completed and your mark to be given.
Late Penalty: 1 Day = 5 points, 2 Days = 8 points, 3+ Days = 10 points