Perfecting Your Monologue

Before you start practicing a monologue, make a plan! Here are guideline questions for perfecting any monologue you do. They are questions because they are meant for you to ANALYZE.

First, ask: who are you talking to? Where are they? Picture them in their setting. How would your monologue's delivery change because of this? At all times imagine what the other person is doing, make decisions based on that.

What kind of play? If it's a naturalistic play, do not overact! Keep to the style of the play, it's very important.

If you choose a monologue where you are speaking to the audience, try to choose a different one. It's hard to portray well, and doesn't show off your connection to other characters. In storytelling monologues, there really is no arch, which is important. If you can't choose another one, pick someone you can talk to specifically. How would you talk to them? Have a motive, try to do something.

What did that person say right before you started talking? What made you want to say these things to them? If you know what they said, you can realistically portray what you would want to do and say. And when you pause, why would you? What did the person say, or what did their facial expression say? Try a different tactic, a different way to get what you want.

What is your relationship with the person you are talking to? Why are you even confronting them? Why don't you just leave?

What happens next? What is the other person doing after the monologue? What are they feeling?

What is the arch of the piece? Something changes in the middle, dynamics, climax, what is the change?
You begin feeling:
You end feeling:

Also, during an audition or rehearsal, a director may give you an adjustment. Even if this makes very little sense, it might just be to see if you can take direction so make sure you comply!

Choose a monologue that is age appropriate and shows emotional diversity!

Break a leg,
Maison

My Technique for Getting Into Character

None of these techniques are my own, but I use a simplified version of them. This is what works for me, and feel free to try them! I use them once I get a part and can see it in the context of the play. I suppose it could work before an audition, if you want to find the script and get really in depth with your reading or monologue. I'll also show you with a past monologue I've done, where the character is a brat faking a note.

• First, I assign an action that my character is portraying with every line. A lot of times, when you are trying to go in depth with your character, you would say what your character feels, so that there is more behind what you are saying. But this part is purely what your character is trying to express in that line. Here's an example of what I did with my short monologue.

(to attract attention) Your mother wrote you a note that said, "(to extract pity) Mavis is allergic to plays. (to excite classmates) If she is in one, she'll break out into hives. Her legs will swell to five times their normal size and she'll begin to sneeze uncontrollably. (to show off) Please excuse her."

Now this is out of context, but basically in this show, 15 Reasons Not To Be in a Play, Mavis starts off hating plays and ends up liking plays. Everyone talks directly to the audience, but interacts with the other characters as well. In this monologue she is trying to show her superiority by her ability to pass off a fake note. But we go more in depth about that character in the next step. This technique works with normal dialogue as well.

• Next, I assign a superobjective. A superobjective is what your character is ultimately trying to accomplish through everything they say or do. This part is not as shallow as (to show off) or (to extract pity). When I do this, I usually end up with a couple pages of description leading up to it, because just figuring that out can change the way your character holds itself or speaks.

For Mavis, I was originally just calling her a brat. But then, I figured out her superobjective was to maintain stable power. She wasn't just a brat, she was insecure and afraid of losing power. This was shown through every line. She tried (to attract attention) to get power, and so on. Now this post isn't about my character, so think about it as yours. When you first read your lines, you will get a first impression, but figure out what lies between the lines and how your character feels apart from what they're saying. We lie, and a lot of what we say has an ulterior motive. Your character is a human and will act as such as well. This can also make a dull part come to life. On the page, Mavis is actually becoming ill with plays, but if I said it like that I would literally be reading off a page with no personality whatsoever.

• Then I attach the emotion and character to my life. I believe that when you play a character, it shouldn't be a whole new person, it can be a different part of you that's dominant. Now don't play every character walking and talking as yourself, but find the similarities. And also, if you have to portray a strong emotion such as grief or embarrassment, find it inside of you instead of assigning physical things to do. The physical acting part will come naturally if you can find yourself feeling what your character is feeling. Find a moment in your life that you can remember vividly and attach it to each line you are struggling with relating to. If your character is feeling embarrassed, think through a moment you can play through your head that makes you cringe with embarrassment and remember it every time you say that line. The audience wants to see real, relatable people with emotions on that stage, not someone who simply says, 'Oh, I'm embarrassed.'
• And this is a little thing, but refer to your character as 'I' instead of he/she. It makes a difference!

Break a leg,

Maison