MONOLOGUE - theatrefolk.com · Theatrefolk offers two books of contemporary monologues for student actors: Competition Monologues, and Competition Monologues Book 2. We also have

MONOLOGUEEVERYTHING!

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Lindsay Price

Monologue Everything!Copyright © 2014 Lindsay Price & Theatrefolk

CAUTION: This book is fully protected under the copyright laws of Canada and all other countries of the Universal Copyright Convention.

No part of this book covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical – without the prior written permission of the author.

Published by Theatrefolk Inc.

e-mail: [email protected]: www.theatrefolk.com

Photocopying / Multiple CopiesThe sole owner of this book may copy the Lesson Plans for his or her class for educational purposes. All other purposes for duplication and/or distribution are prohibited.

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MONOLOGUE EVERYTHING! • MONOLOGUE EVERYTHING! • MONOLOGUE EVERYTHING! • MONOLOGUE EVERYTHING!

WHAT IS MONOLOGUE EVERYTHING?

Monologue Everything is a book crammed full of exercises that will help you to become an expert in the art of monologue writing.

The monologue is a mini-play. It is a microcosm within the macrocosm that is the play, a moment of magic that has its own form within the larger story structure. The monologue functions as communication directly from the soul of a character to the audience.

Monologues are inherently theatrical, because in real life they rarely occur. No one stands up and reveals their innermost thoughts as they’re waiting for the bus. But monologues are tricky to write – they can quickly turn ugly. Monologues can become boring, pedantic, and drag the pace of a play down to a grinding a halt. A great monologue will make an audience sit forward and hold their breath as a door is opened for them into the character’s psyche.

Monologues aren’t just play devices: A monologue is a Swiss army knife for the writer, it’s a warm-up tool, it’s a backstory/character development tool, it can be used in the classroom – the possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

PS: Lesson Plans and Rubrics to help you to employ these exercises in a formal classroom setting can be found in the Classroom Edition of Monologue Everything!

Monologue Everything! theatrefolk.com/monologue_everythingii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: What is a Monologue? .......................................................1

The Monologue as Warm-up Tool ...........................................................6

The Monologue as Development Tool ..................................................17

The Monologue as Classroom Tool .......................................................21

The Monologue as a Mini-Play ..............................................................28

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INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A MONOLOGUE?

From the Greek: monologos – speaking alone (mono = alone, logos = speech/word)

WHAT IS A MONOLOGUE?A monologue is spoken text which:

• is presented by a single character.

• is written in the first person.

• can be comedic or dramatic.

• reveals something: the character’s inner thoughts, emotions, secrets, a story, or the answer to a question.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MONOLOGUE AND A SOLILOQUY?A soliloquy is a speech which a character makes to him or herself while alone onstage – they are thinking aloud. The most famous soliloquy is Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In contrast, a character who delivers a monologue is communicating either with the audience or with another character.

HOW LONG HAVE PLAYWRIGHTS BEEN USING MONOLOGUES IN THEIR PLAYS?Since the very beginnings of theatre! Ancient Greek theatre evolved from monologues – in its earliest form, one character spoke alongside a chorus. Later, this form evolved to use two actors, then three – but it all began with the monologue.

IF I’M AN ACTOR, SHOULD I WRITE MY OWN MONOLOGUES FOR AUDITIONS?I’d never say “never,” but, for the most part, taking a monologue from an existing play is a better choice than using a stand-alone monologue. You want to present a piece that comes from a larger work, one which relates to a wider context. A stand-alone monologue exists only within its own moment.

Monologue Everything! theatrefolk.com/monologue_everything2

IF I’M A PLAYWRIGHT, WHY SHOULD I BOTHER WITH MONOLOGUES? I PREFER DIALOGUE!It takes skill to write an impactful and effective monologue, and developing that skill is reason enough to practice writing monologues. You can use the monologue as a warm-up tool – even if it’s not your preferred style of writing – or use it to further develop your characters. There are many ways to hone your skills through using monologues.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MONOLOGUE?There are many factors to consider when writing a monologue. The three key elements are:

• A need to speak. The character is speaking for a reason – they have a need to share, a need to reveal, a need to explain. “I need to tell you about my dad.”

• A specific character voice. Capturing how a character talks is essential to creating a captivating monologue. What type of language do they use? At what pace do they speak? How do they convey their story? Do they speak in run-on sentences, or in fits and starts? “You sit down, you hear? I got somethin’ to tell ya!”

• A journey. A monologue is a mini-play, so it must have a beginning, a middle, and an end – but don’t limit your concept of “a journey” to something physical. An emotional journey for a character can be just as impactful – where is the character emotionally at the beginning of the monologue, and where do they end up? From “I need to tell you about my dad,” to “That’s why I will never marry you.”

EXERCISE• Gather thirty monologues. Get them from books, from online sources, or ask

a teacher for examples. The only rule is that the monologues must come from plays. Read each monologue and decide if the three key elements (a need to speak, a specific character voice, and a journey) are present.

• Create your own criteria – what do you think makes a good monologue? To what standards will you hold your own work? Do your gathered monologues meet your criteria?

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WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF GREAT MONOLOGUES?It’s impossible to have a top ten list of monologues that works for everybody. What makes a monologue great depends on your personal relationship to the character and the play. Are you looking for a man’s monologue or a woman’s monologue? Are you a teenager, or are you in your fifties? Are you looking for something modern or something classic?

The following list is by no means a complete list, but it’s a good place to start. To get the best impact from each monologue, you’ll need to place it in context – so be sure to read the entire play from which it comes.

CLASSIC MONOLOGUESPLAY PLAYWRIGHT CHARACTER FIRST LINE

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

William Shakespeare Hamlet “To be, or not to be, that is the

question...”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

William Shakespeare Helena “How happy some o’er other some can

be!”

Tartuffe Moliere Marianne “Sir, by that Heaven which sees me here distressed...”

Man and Superman George Bernard Shaw The Devil “Well, well, go your way, Senor Don

Juan.”

The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekov Lopakhim “I bought it.”

The Seagull Anton Chekov Nina “Why do you say that you kissed the ground on which I walked?”

Antigone Sophocles Antigone“Tomb, bridal chamber, eternal prison in the caverned rock, whither I go to find mine own...”

Oedipus Rex Sophocles Oedipus“What’s done was well done. Thou

canst never shake my firm belief.”

Faustus Christopher Marlowe Faustus “Ah, Faustus. Now hast thou but one

bare hour to live...”

Twelfth Night William Shakespeare Viola “I left no ring with her; what means this

lady?”


MODERN MALE MONOLOGUESPLAY PLAYWRIGHT CHARACTER FIRST LINE

Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller Biff “All right, phoney! Then let’s lay it on the line.”

Biloxi Blues Neil Simon Arnold “I was in the latrine alone.”

The Laramie Project Moisés Kaufman Dennis Shepard

“My son, Matthew did not look like a winner.”

Fences August Wilson Cory “Going to his funeral would make me feel defeated.”

The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams Tom “Listen! You think I’m crazy about the

warehouse?”

The Homecoming Harold Pinter Lenny “One night not too long ago...”

The House of Blue Leaves John Guare Ronnie “My father tell you all about me?”

Mad Forrest Caryl Churchill Priest “This is so sweet like looking at the colour blue.”

Our Country’s Good Timberlake Wertenbaker Ketch “James, sir, James, Daniel, Patrick after

my three uncles.”

Angels in America Tony Kushner Ray “I’m dying, Joe, cancer.”

MODERN FEMALE MONOLOGUESPLAY PLAYWRIGHT CHARACTER FIRST LINE

Crimes of the Heart Beth Henley Babe “And we were just standing around on the back porch playing with Dog.”

‘Dentity Crisis Christopher Durang Jane “When I was eight years old, someone

brought me to a theatre…”

A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams Blanche “I, I, I took the blows in my face and my

body!”

No Exit Jean-Paul Sartre Inez “To forget about the others?”

Eleemosynary Lee Blessing Echo “Uncle Bill hardly remembers you...“

The Children’s Hour Lillian Hellman Karen “No, no, no. This isn’t the way things work.”

The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht Grusha “Now you’ve wet yourself again.”

‘Night Mother Marsha Norman Jessie “I am what became of your child.”

Our Town Thornton Wilder Emily “Oh, Mama, just look at me one minute… I can’t! I can’t go on!”

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Christopher Hampton Merteuil “When I came out into society I’d

already realized...”

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MONOLOGUES FOR TEEN ACTORSTheatrefolk offers two books of contemporary monologues for student actors: Competition Monologues, and Competition Monologues Book 2. We also have plays that are completely comprised of monologues or feature monologues heavily: The Pregnancy Project, Puzzle Pieces, Stressed, and Have You Heard?

Here are some selected monologues from Theatrefolk plays. The complete works can be found at www.theatrefolk.com.

PLAY PLAYWRIGHT CHARACTER FIRST LINEWait Wait Bo Bait Lindsay Price Tamara “Oh Mr. Phone, why don’t you ring?”

Puzzle Pieces Krista Boehnert Jamie “Pressures. I guess you could say that’s how this all started.”

A Box of Puppies Billy Houk Skip “I used to enjoy English.”

The Pregnancy Project Lindsay Price Neil “First she’s quiet.”

Sixteen in 10 Minutes or Less Bradley Hayward Vance “I wish I could stay in the same

house.”

Chicken. Road. Lindsay Price Ten “I am a chicken.”

Chemo Girl Christian Kiley Girl “It’s harder than it looks, holding your breath.”

Sweep Under Rug Lindsay Price Rea “Accept so much.”

Stressed Alan Haehnel Alex “I would go in my bedroom.”

Have You Heard? Krista Boehnert Cleo “Cause of death undetermined.”

Bottle Baby Lindsay Price Alice “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to go Beeb.”

Floating On a Don’t Care Cloud Lindsay Price TJ “But don’t you see Jamie?”

MONOLOGUEEVERYTHING!

Classroom Edition

Lindsay Price

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................................................................. ii

Teacher Advisory Panel ...........................................................................iii

Assessable Elements ...............................................................................iv

Lesson Plans

ONE: What Is a Monologue? Analyzing Existing Monologues ........... 1

TWO: Using Monologues to Warm Up ............................................. 13

THREE: The Headline Prompt Monologue ........................................ 16

FOUR: The Picture Prompt Monologue ............................................ 22

FIVE: The Literary Character Monologue .......................................... 29

SIX: Character Development Monologue ......................................... 36

SEVEN: Writing Impactful Monologues – A Three-Part Unit ............. 44

EIGHT: Dealing with the Past ............................................................ 58

NINE: The “Need to Speak” ............................................................. 66

TEN: Character-Driven Language ..................................................... 73

Appendix ............................................................................................... 83

Monologue Everything! theatrefolk.com/monologue_everythingii


INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A MONOLOGUE?

Monologue Everything! Classroom Edition takes the instructions and exercises from the Monologue Everything! ebook, and frames them into formal lesson plans with journal prompts, discussion topics, assignments, and assessment rubrics. While Monologue Everything! can certainly be used as a stand-alone classroom tool, having this classroom edition on hand will greatly lessen your workload.

Our goal is to get your students writing – and these plans will set them in the right direction.

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TEACHER ADVISORY PANEL

These lesson plans have been reviewed by teachers, and tested out in classrooms before publication. It is with much gratitude that we acknowledge our Teacher Advisory Panel for this edition:

• Allison Green (Ontario, Canada)

• Cindy Cabral (Ontario, Canada)

• Marybeth Pidgeon (Ontario, Canada)

• Roxane Caravan (Florida, USA)

• Kendra Blazi (Florida, USA)

• Connie Voight (Alabama, USA)

• Christian Kiley (California, USA)

• Billy Houck (California, USA)



LESSON PLAN THREE

The Headline Prompt Monologue

OBJECTIVETo demonstrate comprehension of the monologue form by applying a writing prompt.

DESCRIPTIONStudents will demonstrate their understanding of what makes a good monologue by applying the criteria to an original monologue that uses a headline prompt as the jumping-off point.

MATERIALS• Elements of a Monologue (see Appendix)• Monologue Rubric: Headline Prompt• Monologue Checklist• Monologue Checklist – Peer Editor sheet• Pen & paper

INSTRUCTIONSession One1. Journal Prompt: Students start the class by writing in their journals on the

topic: “Where do ideas come from?”

2. Discuss with students: What prompts might be used to jumpstart the writing process? Guide them toward tangible examples such as pictures, poems, lyrics, or objects.

3. Discuss with students: Why is it more effective to use a tangible prompt instead of trying to create something out of thin air? Guide students toward making the connection that a tangible prompt gives the writer something to work with. Trying to create something out of thin air is an unreliable technique, and can lead to insecurity and writer’s block.

4. Explain to students: They will write a monologue using a tangible prompt – the headline.

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5. Discuss with students: Where can headlines be found? (e.g. in newspapers and online news sources.) Why is a headline an appropriate prompt for a monologue?

6. Guide students through a sample exercise using the following headline as a writing prompt: “Bed bugs are a booming business.”

• Students use the automatic writing technique to write about the headline for two minutes. What comes to mind when they think of that headline? Emphasize to students that they are to write for the entire two minutes – to get any and all thoughts about the headline onto the page – and not to self-critique.

• Students address the “who and what” of the monologue.○ Who are some of the possible characters derived from this headline

(e.g. a germaphobe woman, a salesman selling bug spray, the bed bug itself)?

○ What “need to speak” could the character have? (e.g. The bed bug wants to convince people he’s not so bad. The salesman wants to sell the bug spray before its nasty side effects come to light.)

• Students address possible beginnings and endings for the monologue. (e.g. The salesman wants to sell but ends up confessing the side effects, maybe even displaying some of the side effects.)

7. Explain to students they are going to write a bed bug headline monologue. The monologue can be quite short, half a page. This exercise should be done during class time. Review the key elements of a good monologue. Use the Elements of a Monologue handout for reference:

• A “need to speak”• A specific character voice• A journey

8. Have students share their monologues with each other in small groups.

9. Students repeat the process using a headline of their own choosing. The homework for this class period is to bring in five headlines, either from online sources or from physical newspapers.

Session Two1. Journal Prompt: Students start the class by writing in their journals and

recalling: “What is a monologue prompt? What are some examples?”

2. Divide the class into groups or pairs. Have students compare their five headlines and help each other to choose one to use as a prompt.


3. Once students have chosen a headline, have them use the automatic writing technique to write about the headline for two minutes.

4. Next, students address who the character is, why they are speaking, and what they are saying – by completing the following tasks:

• Write out a brief character description.• Define the character’s “need to speak.”• Describe the beginning and ending of the monologue.

5. Students are given the rest of the class period to work on writing their monologues. As they write, students follow the Monologue Checklist. The monologue is to be completed for homework.

Session Three1. Students bring in the first draft of their monologue. Students share their

monologue in pairs and complete a Peer Editor sheet for each other. They then make final revisions.

2. Written Reflection: Explain in your own words why using a prompt like a headline is helpful for writing a monologue.

ASSESSMENT• Students hand in their completed monologue with their Peer Editor sheet• Students hand in their Written Reflection• Monologue Rubric

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MONOLOGUE RUBRIC: HEADLINE PROMPT

Name: _____________________________________________________________

5 4 2 1Comprehension Thorough

understanding of the task of writing a monologue using a headline prompt.

Solid understanding of the task of writing a monologue using a headline prompt.

Some understanding of the task of writing a monologue using a headline prompt.

Little undderstanding of the task of writing a monologue using a headline prompt.

Headline Brought in more than five headlines to choose from.

Brought in the required five headlines.

Brought in less than the required five headlines.

Brought in one or none of the required headlines.

Character Voice Character speaks in a specific voice for the entire monologue.

Character speaks in a specific voice for most of the monologue.

Character speaks in a specific voice for some of the monologue.

Little to no specific voice character voice in the monologue.

Need to Speak The character’s need to speak is fully developed and vividly realized in the monologue.

The character’s need to speak has been developed and realized in the monologue.

The character’s need to speak is somewhatdeveloped but not fully realized in the monologue.

There is no need to speak forthe character developed in the monologue.

Story The story is fully realized with a clear journey for the character and a well-defined beginning, middle, and end.

The story is solidly realized with a clear journey for the characterand a defined beginning, middle, and end.

The story is somewhat realized. There is a journey for the character but not a clear beginning, middle, and end.

There is no journey and no defined beginning, middle, and end.

Presentation Excellent attention to presentation. Spelling, grammar, and monologue form impeccable.

Solid attention to presentation. One or two spelling/ grammar mistakes.Monologue form consistent.

Satisfactory attention to presentation. More than two spelling/ grammar mistakes.Monologue form not consistent.

Little attention to presentation. Many spelling/ grammar mistakes.Monologue form not consistent.

Overall Excellent monologue.

Solid monologue. Satisfactory monologue.

Monologue needs work.

Total: ______/35


MONOLOGUE CHECKLIST

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Character's Name: ______________________________________________________

Check the following elements off as you write your monologue.

� I understand this assignment.

� I understand the monologue form.

� I have proofread my monologue for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors unrelated to my character’s voice.

� My character has a defined need to speak.

� My character speaks in a specific voice for the entire monologue.

� I have given my character a journey.

� The story has a beginning, middle, and end.

� I have read my work aloud.

� I am satisfied with my final product.

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MONOLOGUE CHECKLIST – PEER EDITOR

Author: _________________________________________________________________

Peer Editor: _____________________________________________________________

Evaluate your partner’s monologue using the provided Monologue Rubric for reference. Be respectful with your comments. Remember, someone is critiquing your work as well!

1. What captures your attention in this monologue?

2. What questions do you have about this monologue?

3. Does the character move through more than one emotion in the monologue?

What are those emotions?

� The author used proper monologue form. � This monologue has been proofread for spelling and grammar mistakes. � The character in this monologue has a specific voice all the way through. � The character in this monologue has a well-defined need to speak. � The character goes through a journey in the monologue. � The story has a beginning, middle, and end.

Documents

MONOLOGUE - theatrefolk.com · Theatrefolk offers two books of contemporary monologues for student actors: Competition Monologues, and Competition Monologues Book 2. We also have