Monologue 3: "Roses are red" - Craig monologue

I found the monologue 'Roses are red' was an interesting monologue to look at as it explored a very emotional and deep state of a character who's mother had died of cancer. However, like the other monologue from "And turning, stay" by Kellie Powell, the monologue was not from a published play. Therefore, doing this monologue would not be useful to me as I wouldn't be able to explore the character's emotions from before that monologue and afterwards. In addition, the character is also a teenaged boy. It would be possible for me to play the character of a male, however, the more suitable option for me would be playing a teenaged girl.

I believe the monologue is extremely sensitive as it covers two main topics: cancer and death. Doing this monologue would have to make me bare in mind that the people who may watch me do this monologue may be able to relate to it. Furthermore, I'd have to be as sensitive to the context of this monologue as possible. Nonetheless, due to the sensitivity of this monologue, it would allow me to be challenged and try my best to portray the character and the given circumstances being as careful as possible. If the monologue was from a play (being published) and the character was a teenaged girl instead of a boy, I would have taken the monologue into further consideration. 

The monologue:

Craig's mother died of cancer two weeks ago at a very young age. Craig's father sent him to a therapist to help deal with this tragic loss. Craig does not like the idea of seeing a therapist, but he agrees to go to please his father. Here, he is speaking to the therapist.

Craig: You understand? You understand? No, you don'tunderstand. You think just because you have a Ph.D. and a framed certificate on the wall, that you magically know what I'm feeling? What a load of crap. You've just doing your job -- making your money. You probably never cared about anyone in your life. Well I do. I care too much. That's why I'm going crazy. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Every time I see a woman who even slightly resembles my mom, I swear she's gonna turn around and it will be her. Alive, here, now, smiling at me. But it never is. I keep waking up in the middle of the night, screaming, all drenched in sweat. Yesterday, I put my fist through the window and shattered it into pieces. My mom is dead. She's dead, and I can't even cry. Cause if I do, it'll mean I accept, really accept, that she's gone forever. I don't want to do that. I can't do it. Can you understand that? I can't let my mom be gone.

Monologue 2: "Don't you dare walk away from me" - Amy monologue - 'And turning, stay' by Kellie Powell

I thought about doing the monologue "Don't you dare walk away from me" speaking from the character of Amy from a monologue created by Kellie Powell. Unfortunately, the monologue was not from a published play. Therefore, this monologue wasn't suitable for me to do as I wasn't been able to develop and explore the back story of the character. However, from reading the monologue alone, I thought doing the monologue would be great for me to do as the character is a teenaged girl in high school.

The synopsis of the monologue is about a girl named Amy who is angry at a boy named Mark who led her on and has now let her down. Due to this, Amy finally speaks out to him and lets out all of her anger that has formed inside of her and cannot contain it any longer. 

What I liked about this monologue is that it explored the angry side of a teenager going through a typical situation of a teenaged girl. However, this monologue did contain limitations of being able to explore a variety of emotional states as the monologue only explored two emotions: anger and vulnerability. Nonetheless, if the monologue was from a published play, it would be a perfect monologue to use for a girl who is my age.

The monologue: 

Don't you dare walk away from me! And don't tell me you're sorry! And don't tell me to forget it, and don't you dare tell me to "let it go." God knows, I'd like to. I wish I could, but I can't! I can't forget that we had something, and you're running away. You're running away! Don't you see, Mark? You're running from what I've searched for all my life! Why, because you're scared? Well, I'm scared too, but you and I - we have something worth fighting for. We could make it work, I'm not saying it would be easy, but I care about you. And I know deep down, under this (Spitting out the word.) bravado, you care about me. And that's what it's all about, Mark, don't you get it? It's the human experience. You can pretend all you want, but you're only lying to yourself. You're denying the simple and wonderful fact that you are emotional, and vulnerable, and alive.

Can you honestly stand there and tell me that I mean nothing to you? That everything that happened that night was a lie? That you feel nothing? (AMY is crying or close to it. The following is a painful statement that she makes not to attack or threaten Mark but rather, to allow herself closure with the situation.)I feel sorry for you, Mark. I'll move on. I'll find someone else. I'll be all right, because I will know that I tried. That I did everything I could. But someday you will look back, and you will realize what you threw away. And you will regret it always.

Monologue 1: "You're selfish" - Allie monologue - Mules by Winsome Pinnock

I decided to do the monologue "You're selfish" - Allie monologue from the play Mules by Winsome Pinnock as it contains so much potential to explore various emotional states within the character which allows me to present the monologue in the best way possible. The synopsis of the monologue is of a seventeen year-old girl named Allie who has ended up in a prison cell with another character named Lou. The reason for them being in the cell is due to them being caught at the airport trying to smuggle drugs into another country. Allie is trying to talk to Lou, however, Lou is purposely ignoring her due to yh current events that have taken place. Allie gets frustrated by this and shows this to Lou by having a rant at the beginning of her monologue. Although, after this rant, Allie then becomes lost in her own thoughts and talks to herself about past events that happened to her in her hometown: Jamaica. Allie had a rough childhood due to her being abused by her mum's boyfriend. When Allie projects her thoughts, she explains an event that happened due to the abuse of her mum's boyfriend. 

I believe doing this monologue will allow me to touch upon a sensitive topic that many young girls experience across the globe. It will allow me to explore different emotional states from being angry to being scared then being vulnerable. This monologue doesn't allow me to play it safe; it allows me to speak about things that many people would be scared to speak about. This monologue challenges me; it's a challenge I'm willing to accept! 

The monologue:

Approaching your script

First

Work out your character’s given circumstances; create a list of what you know about your character using evidence from the text. Separate this list into what people say about you and what you say about yourself. Then separate this research into a new list stating which are facts and which are opinions.

What people say about you?

(Fact or Opinion)

‘You seem to know what you want’ – Rose – Scene 2 page 7 – O

‘She looks just like a kid’ – Pepper – Scene 4 page 20 – O

‘A nice innocent little child, isn’t she?’ – Pepper – Scene 4 page 20 – O

‘You’ve got a good, kind nature and there’s people will take advantage of that’ – Pepper – Scene 4 page 20 – O

‘Pretty girl in the dark’ – Bad girl 1 – Scene 8 page 36 – O

‘Fur coat and no knickers’ – Bad girl 2 – Scene 8 page 39 – F

‘You seemed cool as a cucumber when I picked you up. Very cool for a first timer’ – Bridie – Scene 10 page 45 – O

‘You don’t know how strong you could be’ – Bridie - Scene 10 page 46 – O

What you say about yourself?

(Fact or Opinion)

‘I make up my mind very quickly’ – Scene 2 page 5 – O

‘I don’t believe in stealing’ – Scene 2 page 8 - O

‘Even if I had run away, I’d make sure I was still well turned out, clean and tidy’ – Scene 2 page 11 – O

‘I wasn’t frightened. More curious’ – Scene 4 page 16 – O

‘I travelled light, left everything back home except the clothes I stood up in’ – Scene 4 page 18 – F

‘I was a shop assistant. Worked in the same shop since I was sixteen’ – Scene 4 page 18 – F

‘I got a room’ – Scene 4 page 19 – F

‘Now all I need is to get myself a regular job’ – Scene 4 page 19 – F

‘I’m a good girl’ – Scene 4 page 21 – O

‘I have nothing’ – Scene 6 page 28 – O

‘I was mugged. My landlady chucked me out of her house because I couldn’t afford the rent. I’m all alone in the city. I haven’t eaten for two weeks. I’m not very good at begging’ – Scene 6 page 29 – F

‘I’ve had enough, right, of you, me mum, the whole bloody lot of you. I been fucked over once and too many times’ – Scene 8 page 40 – F

‘I’d do my disappearing trick, will myself to disappear. My body, just a body’ – Scene 8 page 40 – F

‘I felt full of this power’ – Scene 10 page 45 – O

‘I felt like I could do anything I wanted’ – Scene 10 page 45 – O

‘I feel like I can take on the world’ – Scene 10 page 46 – O

‘I can feel myself getting strong’ – Scene 10 page 46 – O

‘…crept all over the house at night and all over me, fucking bastard’ – Scene 10 page 48 – F

‘We’ve both lost all our lives’ – Scene 12 page 54 – F

‘All my life I’ve been somebody that nobody noticed. I could always count on being the one they served last at a bar. People just wouldn’t see me and now, all of a sudden, I’m standing out like a sore thumb, being dragged out for body searches’ – Scene 12 page 53 – F

‘(Allie points into space. Lou looks quizzically but, of course, sees nothing)’ – Scene 15 page 61 - F

Then…

1. Ask Questions.

You’re an actor approximating reality. So use any acting skills or techniques that you have at your command to create this reality. And ask as many questions as you can to make an unreal situation real for yourself, including:

a. Who am I? Reconstruct the character’s life and make it your own. “I” instead of “he” or “she” when you talk about them.

Prepare a written autobiography (using the evidence in the text and your imagination) so that you can define for yourself your character’s education, occupation, income, religion, likes, dislikes, age, weight, height, health, physical handicaps, behavioural characteristics, family life, customs and habits of the era in which s/he lives or the society in which s/he moves.

Like an internal monologue

(SPACE)

b. What is the present situation? What did the character come here to do . . . what does the character want . . . what is the character’s intention?

Portraying a strong intention may be all you need to do to make the character and the situation real for you. It helps to express this intention as a “to . . .” verb.

 b. What is the present situation?

What did the character come here to do?

She ran away from home to start a new life for herself. She was not happy at her home in Jamaica with her mum and her boyfriend; she needed to escape and get away from it all to live a happier life.

 What does the character want?

A happier life that doesn’t resemble the life she had in Jamaica. She wants to start fresh and begin a new life in London where she can get paid better than she did in Jamaica.

What is the character’s intention?

She wants to create a new life for herself in London. She would rather be anywhere else other than in Jamaica with her mum and her boyfriend; she wants happiness and stability.

c. Where am I? Define the environment . . . the place . . . as a force in your script: era, year, season, time of day, temperature, humidity, weather.

 c. Where am I?

SCENE 2 – It’s almost autumn as it is raining outside and is also a bit dark. I think it’s the late afternoon as it is getting dark and my character’s finding somewhere to live for a bit until she’s settled. It’s 1997 as a character asked for 20p for tea which suggests things were quite cheap then.

SCENE 4 – It’s midnight in London where she is on Waterloo Bridge. Due to it being midnight in autumn, the weather is quite cold.

SCENE 6 – It is cold on the street Allie is on in London. It’s around 10/11am as the event that previously took place with Allie happened during the midnight.  

SCENE 8 – It is late in the night where Allie was sleeping in the cold on a street in London. I know this as a character in the scene says Allie is in the dark.

SCENE 9 – Allie is now in a different environment as she is in a hotel room in London. Due to the environment changing, I think the weather would be quite warm. However, the weather is not too warm as it is nearly autumn.

SCENE 12 AND 13 – It is night time in a cell that is cold with a breeze.

SCENE 15 – It is late morning around 11am and Allie is behaving in a weird manner. Due to this, I’d say the temperature of the room would be not too cold yet not too warm to match her puzzling mood.

For each scene that you are in. Imagine the gaps. Even if you don’t speak you have to do it for the scene.

d. Working in costume.

1. Bring the relevant clothes for your character to help you get into your role.
2. Draw some in costume get pictures from magazines.
3. Add personal reflections by noting the choices you are making. Why does one costume idea work and another not work?

HOW TO ANALYSE A SCRIPT

There are 4 main steps to help you analyse a script:


1. Split your text into thoughts/beats - It is important to note down where you think there are opportunities to create meaningful pauses to create tension as well as suspension on stage.

2. Write objectives - Behind the lines you have, it is crucial to make sure there is a clear intention to go with it. For instance, I have a line that says "Do you think you're the only one that doesn't get visits?". If I consider the context of the line, the line is being said during a monologue where my character is extremely angry. Therefore, my objective for this line would be "to tense" as people tend to tense their body whilst they are angry.

3. Exaggerate objectives - Make sure you play your character to the fullest extent you can possible by living through your objective. Explore the extremes of the objectives even if it doesn't fit the context of your lines. Explore different things you can do with your lines. The more ideas and thoughts you have to make your performance come to life, the better it should be.

4. When the line comes, the objective feeds the line, not vice versa - The objective should bring the line to life - not the other way around. When your objective is clear, your line should be able to connect with it without any problems or confusion. Before you say a line, make sure you know for certain what your intention is behind it. If you can do this successfully, the audience of your performance should have no confusion about what you're doing on stage.
 

ADVICE: 

Don't worry about to getting your part right at first! It is okay to go from grey (bland and boring) to technicolor (a variety of emotions, objectives and actions). Remember to always keep experimenting with different things you can do - there are no limitations in the world of acting! The only limitations you can find are the ones you can subconsciously create for yourself if you build up a barrier between you and progression. Furthermore, do not restrict yourself when performing to only use one body part to project a certain emotion. Whether you're happy, excited, angry or depressed, implement that throughout your entire body to fully portray your character's emotions and state of mind physically. It is important to remember your body and voice work together as one and not separately. Make sure your body is in sync with what your voice is doing. Whatever your objective may be, make sure it is clearly shown equally in yor voice and body. Release instinct through your physical objectives, make them clear to not ony yourself but to the audience. If you do this, it will allow you to come to life as the character. Lastly, don't fixate too much on the actions. Although it is important to project emotional and mental states through your body as well as your words, when you rehearse something too much, it becomes unnatural. Therefore, be free! Explore different actions, vary the pitch of your voice and enjoy the journey you go through when discovering who your character truly is! Enjoy finding out more about your character and I guarantee this will help you to perform the character the best way you possibly could.

ADVICE FOR AN ACTOR/ACTRESS

ADVICE I WOULD GIVE TO A (DEVELOPING) ACTOR/ACTRESS

It is important to be able to visualise in your mind what you are saying out loud when performing your monologue. For instance, a line that my character Allie says is "his pokes left little indentations all over my body because there was no life in my skin". What I would make sure I do is create an image in my head of that to perform to that line to the best of my ability. If I can apply this technique to one of my lines, I should be able to apply it to the rest of my lines and perform my monologue as good as possible.
When you breathe whilst saying your lines, it should come from your belly - not from your head. Doing this technique helps the performance seem less rehearsed. Furthermore, your line should come from the objective you give your character to make you speak, not the action making you speak. It should not be an intellectual process when developing a piece of theatre you have to perform. The application of it should be purely physical and you should graft it.
Acting is about finding your artistic side on stage and find the honesty of what you're saying. It is important to believe in the lines you project on stage, not just say them without any meaning behind them.

SKILLS AUDIT

Performance skills:

• Voice (projection, control, accents, singing confidence)
• Characterisation
• Rehearsal skills
• Movement/ physical skills
• Different styles of acting (comedy? Shakespeare? Emotional work?)
• Confidence in working with text 

From analysing all the things mentioned above, I would give myself a 7/10 on how confident I am in all of those areas as I feel I have many things to improve on. For instance, My projection and control in my voice is good. However, I do not know how to do accents, my singing confidence isn't as high as it could be and I have poor articulation. In order to improve this, I must do articulation exercises such as tongue twisters, watch videos and tutorials on how to do different accents and practice singing daily and sing more in front of people. 
From looking at my characterisation skills, I have concluded that I am able to think outside of the box, I input ideas and try my best to explore different things that could be added to whatever I'm performing. Nonetheless, characters of an older age range (e.g. a character in their 20s) I haven't completely mastered along with being able to do humorous female roles. 
During rehearsal time, occasionally I get distracted when I feel I have rehearsed enough. However, every little bit helps and that's what I need to remember every time I rehearsal so that I always use my rehearsal time productively. 
I can tell a story using my body. Although, I am not flexible which restricts me on emphasizing on particular body parts as much as possible to portray a character to its full degree. In order to become more flexible, I aim to stretch for half an hour every day to improve my flexibility.
Shakespeare is something I would love to be able to do. Furthermore, comedy is something I would also like to do. The style of acting I am most confidence with is emotional work (drama). However, to be an all-rounder in acting, you must be able to do all of the above and more. In order to achieve this, when given the opportunity to choose whatever role you want to do, I will come out of my comfort zone and do Shakespeare or comedy so that I can become stronger in other fields of acting.
My confidence in working through text isn't bad. I am able to annotate a script to get a full understanding of the plot and my character and read in between the lines by using my English skills as an advantage. However, although I do know how to find objectives to give my character, I would like to improve on how to find objectives for them to make sure without fail I portray my character as well as I possibly can.

Performing isn't easy. You must be able to feel free enough to venture out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to try new and different things. If you can do this, I believe performing will come a lot easier to you as you are not restricting yourself and building boundaries that are stopping you from progressing as a performer. It is important to have confidence, drive and determination to be the best performer you possibly can.

Skills Audit - Personal Professional Development in the Performing Arts Industry

What skills you have developed so far on their BTEC so far?

VOICE: Within this BTEC so far, I think I have become stronger in my projection when acting by making sure my voice is as loud as possible when performing. Nonetheless, my articulation needs a lot of improvement due to the fact that when I talk, it can be hard to understand and hear what I'm saying. To improve my articulation, I need to begin speaking from the front of my mouth by doing articulation exercises (tongue twisters for example) to make sure the audience of my performance understands what I am saying.
CHARACTERISATION: Furthermore, I have been able to explore contrasting female roles from a reclusive 19 year-old (a character in the play 'The Witness') to a disturbed women in her mid 20s (a character in The BRIT School's version of '1984' by George Orwell). I have worked in an ensemble which has made me develop skills to confidently work with other people. I believe this is crucial as social skills play an important part when working within the performance industry. In order for your performance to go well, communication with people working in your company helps to showcase a successful performance.
REHEARSAL SKILLS: During rehearsal time, I have been able to contribute as much useful information as possible to make whatever piece we are doing as great as it can be. For instance, one unit I did was focused on movement. Within my group, I contributed the idea of how we can begin the opening scene of it to engage the audience. I believe that when working in a group, everyone's ideas are useful as the more ideas said, the better the performance will be. I have been able to think outside of the box by giving the idea to do synchronised movement with the rest of the group I worked in during the movement unit and portrayed different characters I have played as best as I possibly can.
MOVEMENT AND PHYSICAL SKILLS: In my BTEC so far, I have established how to tell the story I'm acting by not only using words but by also telling a story through my body. I do this by exaggerating my movement and emphasizing on specific body parts to portray a particular character (e.g. leading with my head held high to demonstrate a character of a high status).
DIFFERENT STYLES OF ACTING: I am quite good with emotional scenes as it feels easier for me to portray emotional characters rather than any others. In addition, I can play characters that are older by me as I am generally mature for my age also. Nonetheless, I do feel that exploring different styles of acting would be helpful for me to not only improve my acting skills but also my cast-ability. I would love to be able to master Shakespeare as it is something every actor should know how to do (in my opinion) and Shakespeare plays such a predominant part within the performing arts. Furthermore, comedy is another style of acting I would love to master given that in order to be a good performer, you should be able to do different styles to vary your ability and talent.
CONFIDENCE IN WORKING WITH TEXT: My confidence with working with text is good given that I do enjoy English a lot. I am able to read off a script whilst acting and take in stage directions printed within text. However, before all of this is done, I must annotate my given text to make sure I completely understand the content of the script. I do this by working out objectives for my character e.g. "I hate you!" could have the objective 'to inform'. Also, I can work out shifts of tones in the character's voice by analysing the use of punctuation within the text. Nonetheless, I believe I need to focus on building objectives for my character to make sure I can act that character to my full ability. It is vital to have an understand of who your character is and the given circumstances your character is in. If you fail to know this, it is more than likely your portrayal of your character will not be as strong as it should be.

Have you gained any skills elsewhere?

I am able to not only act but sing and dance as I have been in school productions of Oliver! - The Musical, did singing at Sylvia Young Theatre School and went to WEst End Stage Summer School in 2014. I achieved a distinction in my ISTD bronze jazz exam, developed singing confidence by performing at The Royal Albert Hall for 7 consecutive years and performed on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre which really boosted my confidence due performing at one of the biggest theatres in London. I have mastered how to portray intimacy on stage in a professional manner by partaking in a kissing scene playing the character Dunyasha in 'The Cherry Orchard' (Parallel) by Anton Chekhov at The Young Vic Theatre. I believe this is a good skill to have as when being a performer, you will be put into many uncomfortable situations where you will be put out of your comfort zone. However, if you break out of your comfort zone, you will feel more relaxed and out-going when it comes to trying new things in theatre. In addition, I have been able to implement my skills in English within theatre by reading in between the lines when analysing scripts to find the hidden meaning behind the text. I have learnt how to improvise not only within the BTEC but at Sylvia Young Theatre School where I partook in acting classes. 
In my opinion, I believe that developing schools outside of your required study time demonstrates a sense of drive and commitment to what you are passionate about. If you are really passionate about performing arts, acting twice a week really shouldn't be enough for you - it isn't for me. In result of this, I try to make sure I'm involved in at least one acting class or a play outside of school.

THE JOURNEY OF BRINGING A PLAY TO LIFE

THE STAFF - WHAT PEOPLE ARE NEEDED?

BACKSTAGE (PRODUCTION/ TECHNICAL)

Technicians 

Stage manager

Runners

Hair and makeup artists

Cleaners

Head of wardrobe (usually a women)/ wardrobe assistants 

DESIGN TEAM

Costume designer 

Set designer

Lighting design

Sound design

CREATIVE

Choreographer 

Vocal coach

Director

Conductor/ Musical director

PERFORMANCE

Actors

Musicians 

Marketing team

Front of house

Web designer

Temps

Interns 

Runners

THE JOURNEY - WHAT STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN TO PUT THE PLAY ON?

Safety check 

Costume fitting

Technical rehearsal

Casting / Auditions 

Rehearsals/ Rehearsal space

Permission / performing rights/ estate

Read through

Design props

Dress rehearsals

Design and make the costumes 

Music rehearsal 

Score

Write the play

Funding

Advertise the show

Design and build the set

Contact agents

Workshops to develop the play

Choreograph scenes

Design and rig lights

Contact service provider 

RESOURCES - WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU NEED?

Makeup

Rehearsal space

Props - materials to make them

Costumes 

Scripts

Set materials 

Venue

Sound equipment 

Lighting equipment 

Stationery 

Money 

- comes from ticket sales 

- advertising/sponsorship 

- the arts council

- lottery (grants/trust/charities)

- investors 

Venue

THE PERFORMANCE - WHERE WILL IT HAPPEN?

Outdoor theatres

Theatres

Festivals

Studios

Shopping centres

School

Sight-specific

Stadium/arena

Street theatre

Cinema screenings (live feeds)

Furthermore, Equity and Bectu are unions that supports actors. 

Here are the notes Sam, Clay, Lauren, Kit and I took in class on the journey of bringing a play to life:

MONOLOGUE ANALYSIS

My first impression of six characters in search of an author

In lesson, we looked at a monologue that was included in the play Six Characters In Search Of an Author by Luigi Pirandello. My first impression of the monologue was that it was a monologue included in the play to project a character’s views on how angry she was. A lot of punctuation was used to show that the character had ideas that she wanted to project. For example, question marks, exclamation marks and dashes were used which indicates the various emotions and feelings the character projected.  

I quite like this monologue as it allows me to explore a variety of emotions within one minute. Although the general emotion in the monologue is anger, there are lines such as “bound by a chain that can’t be broken” that have potential to explore the objective “to stare” to show the character’s vulnerable side as the line does sound quite poetic instead of a line that projects anger.

My first impression of spring awakening

In this monologue, there are fewer stage directions compared to the first monologue which shows that this monologue allows more freedom for whoever is going to act it out. The lack of stage directions hints that the character could be in a stationery position. Or, the character is allowed to move as freely as it wants to move. From analysing the monologue, I have been able to infer that the character is reflecting on something that has affected them negatively through the use of negative language that the character uses. Poetic sentences were included which demonstrates the sensitivity of the character whilst also projecting vulnerability.

I find this monologue to be quite interesting as it doesn't include stage directions which mean I am able to move however I want during the monologue. The more freedom a piece of theatre gives you, the better you can explore different things to do with it and think outside of the box.

Why is working out your physical activities/objectives so important?

It is crucial to make sure you know what your physical objective is in order to accurately and effectively portray your character on stage as well as possible. With a physical objective that is clear, it will give the audience an insight on what emotions your character is feeling without having to listen to the words you are saying as your objective should be physically shown clearly. 

A physical objective should be self-explanatory when delivered on stage. For instance, if you were to remove all the words your character had to say and could only use your body to act (mime), would it be clear to the audience what emotions your character is feeling? To make sure it is clear, your physical objective must be exaggerated effectively to engage the reader in not only the words that your character says but also the story your body should be telling. With physical objectives, you begin to use your instincts instead of relying on the lines of the character. They make you believe in the given circumstances of your character when you analyse the emotions behind the text. To effectively and correctly analyse a monologue, you must mark out their thought changes. Doing this will allow you to perform the character you are playing the best you possibly can and more.

It is very important to make sure that even before you perform your monologue, you must create the world of your character before you speak to bring your character to life right from the very moment you appear on stage. If you are able to do this effectively, your performance of your monologue will be at its best.

WHAT IS AN AUDITION?

What is an audition? 

An audition is when you showcase the best of your ability and deliver the best that you possibly can to whoever is auditioning you for a specific role. Whether you are by yourself or in a group audition, you must try your best to showcase as much of yourself as a person as well as a performer towards whoever is auditioning you: you should show confidence, determination and flexibility when it comes to having to put yourself outside of your comfort zone and being open-minded. You have to live in the world of the character and commit to the given circumstances in your audition also.

Types of auditions

There are various types of auditions such as film, theatre, TV and radio.

FILM – Usually within a film audition, before the day of the audition, you would be given a character breakdown of the character you are auditioning for. Therefore, it would be useful to dress how you imagine the character to be like which increases chances of you getting the role. Other than getting a breakdown of the character, the screenplay would also be given which gives you the advantage to research the character. Furthermore, not all film auditions require you to do a monologue. For example, you may have to audition with someone else (duologue). Rachel McAdams is a perfect example of someone who auditioned with such emotion before she even got the role.

To view her audition, here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XfUUYK7Gkg

THEATRE – If you were to go to a theatre audition, the breakdown of your character would be given to your agent then told to you briefly. Therefore, doing background research on the character/play would benefit you when it comes to auditioning. Working in theatre involves mastering the ability to not only work different spaces but also to project your voice. It’s not primarily about the facial expressions you paint on your face when acting but it is also about the story your body tells when on stage. If you can project these skills within a theatre audition, you should be successful!

RADIO – When auditioning to be on radio, it’s usually for advertisements such as adverts for selling hand cream, a news report or reading a piece of text for a play that will be on the radio. Radio acting is not always shown through the style of a monologue. On the contrary, commercial style and performance work can be emphasized and demonstrated through radio.

TV – When auditing for a role on TV, looks tend to play a big part when directors are casting. What directors want is an actor/actress who matches the character description that they have created. When working on TV, you use your internal voice more as projecting your voice as loud as possible isn’t as necessary for TV like it is for theatre due to the mics TV use. Filming shots are not sequential meaning one day they could shoot Scene 1 act 7 then the next day Scene 4 act 2.

It is important when auditioning for roles to not only thoroughly work of what your character’s coming from and their journey but also to be able to put yourselves in that character’s shoes – empathy. Doing a monologue can be quite challenging as there is nobody else on stage that you are performing with to support you or rely on. However, this unit allows us to use our own initiative effectively to perform to the best of our ability.