Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 26 - 16/12/16

Below is my evaluation of both of my monologues:

Syme - 1984

I feel that I characterised myself very well as Syme with not only my body language but my accent as well. I wanted Syme's voice to be as draining as what he's speaking about which I feel works wonders for this monologue. My gestures throughout were very effective alongside the points I'm trying to prove and based on feedback the gestures help people understand what my character is trying to get across a lot more. I did well to not slur my words too much like I have done before in rehearsals and kept very clear, pronouncing every syllable with clear articulation.

Bottom - A Midsummer Night's Dream

I feel that this monologue had a lot to live up to after my Syme monologue but I still think it did very well. My entire characterisation was great showing that I had a clear understanding of my character. From my voice, to my gestures, to my body language it was clear I was Bottom. I feel, however, that my fall of the seats was still quite awkward but this didn't last long as the section after felt a lot more funny. Performing a comedy is difficult, especially when the class sees the same thing and slowly find it less and less funny, but I still feel that this monologue was incredibly amusing from the character himself to the content of the monologue. 

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 24 - 07/12/16

Today in Double, we worked on our contemporary monologues again but I then went on to work on my classical monologue.

At first I performed my Syme monologue from 1984, but after one performance, I felt confident enough in my performance that it's ready for assessment. I decided that it would be more useful if I worked on my classical monologue, Bottom's monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream more today as it needed a lot more work done to it rather than Syme's monologue.

I began by quickly running through it to get myself familiar with the character again. I then performed it again to Ollie and asked him to give me notes on how to improve. He said he felt that as I hadn't performed this monologue in while that the energy was lacking. I totally agreed with this and I hammed up the energy a lot more in my other runthroughs. After running through it a few times, I received the following notes:

• Slow down some of the lines. Speaking too fast can lose some of the meaning
• Remember that your character cares for no one but himself, be more arrogant.
• Stop furrowing your brow or you look too confused.

To combat this, I've slowed down my section when I describe my dream and used more shocked facial expressions rather than a confused furrowed brow. I've also become more self obsessed as my character and showing how amazed Bottom is with his own ability to act. Next lesson, we will be performing our monologues to be filmed and assessed.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 23 - 05/12/16

Today, we worked on our contemporary monologues once again keeping in mind the idea of elements as well as our notes from last lesson. We were asked to disperse into two groups (Ollie, James and Lorna/Rob and I) and showcase our monologues, giving feedback after every runthrough.

With Rob's monologue, I felt that he remained quite static throughout so some movement would do him well. After adding this his performance was much better. Due to his absence, he didn't know about elements so I also discussed this with him, making it clear that there aren't exact definitions for each element.

When performing Syme's monologue from 1984, I was very confident as I had performed it a lot before and I had taken a lot of comments on from before.

Below is the feedback I received after performing my monologue to the class at the end:

• Very good facial expressions throughout which represents your character as Water very well.
• Your gestures were relevant to your speech which works very well with this monologue.
• The voice is working incredibly well at creating an authentic and memorable character but your diction still needs some work. Try to accentuate some of the words you have issues with like "vocabulary" and "bad".

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 22 - 30/11/16

Today we went over our monologues again each taking into consideration what we learnt last lesson about elements. After performing my monologue, I received the following notes:

• Very comical monologue, it's a good choice for you style of acting.
• The voice suits the character very well but you need to work on your diction a touch more; some phrases or words aren't very clear.
• There are some lines that you can accentuate much more so be sure to look through your monologue again for opportunities to accentuate.

I feel that these notes are very fair and I've worked on these by working on my diction when using my "Syme" voice and annotating my script on how to say my lines.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 21 - 28/11/16

Character's Element

Fire

Water

Air

Earth

Today we focused on the characterisation of our monologues and labelling our characters as "elements".

Tom came in and demonstrated an exercise he was introduced to at a workshop he took part in during the summer and it focused on relating our characters emotions to one of the four elements: Fire, Earth, Water, Air.

We first were asked to associate ourselves to each element and first was Earth. We were asked to simply walk around the room as ourselves and were then simply asked to walk like someone who would be described as Earth. At first, I didn't have a clue what this meant but I then grasped that their wasn't one singular attachment to the term and that it can be described slightly differently but around the same idea. We were also told that if it made it easier we could associate our walk with someone we knew. I associated Earth with my friend Ben as I felt that Earth was very content and was confident in what they want and who they are. I represented this as when Ben walks, he flicks his feet when walking and is very confident with his footing. However, upon sharing our ideas, I feel that I got Earth wrong and that Earth may be confident but they're very rooted and assured of their actions. So still very confident, but I feel the flicks in my feet aren't very "Earth-y". 

We then repeated this action for water. For Water, I thought of my brother as to me water is chill and fluid and doesn't seem too concerned with the world around him. Water is lighthearted and funny and also seems very sluggish. I slouched back a bit whilst also leading from my pelvis. Water to me seemed very similar to Harlequino from Commedia Dell'arte minus the silliness. Upon discussing our interpretations, I was correct in thinking that Water was chill and that he seems to be fluid in the way he thinks and lives him life; much like my brother.

For Fire, we approached it very differently as Fire works differently to the rest of the elements. We were asked to stand still and imagine that we were a tiny flame in a candle and over the space of 5 minutes our fire spread to be a full blown house fire. We did this in increments going from candlelight to larger candlelight, to paper being caught alight, to desk on fire, spreading to the carpet and finally setting the entire house ablaze. When I did this activity, I took to it straight away and began slowly making flowy movements as the fire became bigger, I flickered and twitched and became bigger and more violent with my movements; if I didn't have a sore throat that day then I would've added noises too. We identified Fire as very unpredictable as one minute he can be comforting and cosy but when given the fuel to do so, they become violent and uncontrollable.

Finally we looked at Air. We were all very unsure on Air as it seemed to be very odd compared to the other elements. We originally thought that Air was very outgoing but we were told that Ollie Marshall, from single, is a great example of Air. Our ideas changed to someone who is free and is also very airheaded; they haven't a single trouble in the world. When walking as Air, I walked at my own pace and without a sense of direction; I was free to walk where I wanted.

We then applied this idea to our characters in our monologues by deciding which one suited our character best. For Syme, I'd say he's very Water as he's constantly chill throughout the monologue. Also because Water is fluid, he would be very manipulable and this suits Syme as he is practically brainwashed by Big Brother.

When it came to performing our monologues, we were asked to first, act it as the element we chose for our character, and then, we were asked to adapt it to a different element which wouldn't typically be associated with our character. When I was asked to perform as a different element, I was given Fire and this couldn't be any further away from my character. Fire is quite unsure about things and uncontrollable whereas Syme is adamant on the idea of Newspeak and is currently controlled by The Party. The way I portrayed Syme was with twitching, darting looks, and stuttered words. This truly showed how different a character can appear based on what element we're portraying. Next lesson, we will continue to work on our contemporary monologues.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 20 - 23/11/16

Today we began our work on our contemporary monologues for the second part of our Auditions for Actors unit. The monologue I chose was Syme's monologue from 1984. I chose this monologue as I felt it contrasted very nicely with Bottom's monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream in terms of movement, energy and volume.

With Syme's monologue, I wanted to explore the character deeper in order to perform the best I could. Below is my character profile I made for Syme:

While performing my monologue, I received very positive reactions and below are the notes I was given:

• Very comical,
• Good contrast with last monologue,
• Good speed,
• The accent put on is very good but make sure you're accentuating each word because some of it wasn't understandable partway through,
• Try not smirk while the audience reacts.

Next lesson, we will perform these again.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 19 - 18/11/16

Today we went off in pairs (Lorna & James/Ollie & Me) and we spent our final lesson on our classical monologues until the day of our performance. We spent some time looking deep into our partners monologue and picking bits out that really need improvement. 

Ollie helped me with my opening which last lesson I felt was weak. Together we arranged it so I'm lying across three chairs as a bed and I'm snoring and tossing and turning which leads to me falling out of bed and awakening in shock. I then added donkey noises and kicking my leg backwards as it represented Bottom's dream of becoming a donkey. I then thought it would be even funnier if instead of falling off the chairs one side, I would fall off the other side which meant tipping the chairs whilst kicking in my sleep. Although this was very humorous when performing it to Ollie, I didn't want to risk breaking the chairs or hurting myself in the fall so I just stuck to falling off.

After running through the monologue multiple times, I performed it to the class and received the following notes:

• Stop furrowing your brow, it's okay at the beginning but when you're talking about your dream seem amazed not confused.
• Start laughing gradually, don't burst into laughter straight away.
• Use your diaphragm when calling for your friends as you'll wreck your voice.
• You have a script in your hand so use it. Don't ad lib because you said thought too much.

Next lesson, we will work on our contemporary monologues.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 18 - 16/11/16

Today we performed our classical monologues once again and attempted to find the last pieces of the puzzle which we're missing from our monologues.

After my first performance, I received the following notes:

• Very funny when you laughed, but laugh sooner at your ridiculous dream.
• When Bottom has character lines ("Most fair Pyramus," "Bottom's Dream!") perform them really over the top! You did it well, but it needs to be more performed.

After rehearsing constantly, I performed a second time and I received these final notes:

• You're losing the comedy at the beginning as it doesn't feel genuine.
• The rest of the monologue is extremely comical and is great!

I spent a while considering the different ways I could perform this monologue and it took a while to find the right way. Eventually, I added a seat into the scene, and I walk in yawning as if I just came home from a nap and waving away at where my friends would be rehearsing. I tell them to wake me when they need me and perform my next line whilst drifting off to sleep. I then wake after a short wait and shout for my friends as they hadn't replied. I turn back to them and continue to shout for them whilst walking behind my seat. When it comes to "God's my life," I return to the chair leaning against it.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 17 - 14/11/16

Performed, more energy, better but still needs more energy

Today we performed our monologues again and got constructive feedback from the class, with the addition of Tom. Below is my notes from my first attempt:

• Very funny especially when laughing at yourself.
• Slow out the beginning but not too much.
• It needs more energy to represent Bottom clearly.

After working on my monologue more and reading more into my character, I performed my monologue again and I received the following notes:

• You still need that little bit more energy.
• The beginning was a better speed but when searching for Peter Quince and company, actually search for them, look for them.

Next lesson, we will work on these monologues again.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 16 - 09/11/16

Today, we performed our monologues again to the whole class and received notes on how to improve.

After performing it the first time, I received the following notes:

• Take your time when waking up, it doesn't need to be fast to be funny.
• "Starveling" is a name, not a expression.
• When talking your dream, laugh it off. Your character finds it utterly preposterous.
• Understand your character more, he's a very creative character to perform and the better your understanding the better your performance.

After my runthrough, I decided to look more into my character and research online for a character profile/analysis. Below is the research I found:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Bottom)

"A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck."

"His first thought is that he has fallen asleep in the woods during rehearsal and has missed his cue. He quickly realizes he has had "a most rare vision". He is amazed by the events of this dream, and soon begins to wonder if it was in fact a dream at all. He quickly decides that he will "get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream", and that "it shall be called 'Bottom's Dream,' because it hath no Bottom". Upon being reunited with his friends, he is not even able to utter what has happened and says "For if I tell you, I am no true Athenian"."

(https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/a-midsummer-nights-dream/character-analysis/bottom)

"Bottom's role involves dancing, singing, and laughter. From his first introduction, Bottom is presented as courageous and outgoing. He is confident in his ability to play any, even all, roles in "Pyramus and Thisbe." For example, he says his performance of Pyramus will cause the audience to cry a stormload of tears. As the audience realizes, this confidence is misplaced, and Bottom is little more than a swaggering fool — indeed, an ass, as Puck's prank makes apparent."

"Although Bottom is the locus of comedy in the play — he's a traditional Shakespearean clown — he also draws the audience's attention to serious themes, such as the relationship between reality and imagination."

"Through him, Shakespeare implicitly validates the vision of the artist."

After conducting my research, I feel that I understand Bottom a lot more and can appreciate the humour within my monologue a great deal more. I then gave my monologue another go and received the following notes:

• Very good opening, waking up was drawn out just enough and the yawn and snore added a lot more comedy.
• Explaining the dream was better but don't be afraid to go for it and properly laugh it up.
• When talking about "Bottom's Dream", change your tone as it is very similar to the rest of the monologue.

Next time, we will work on these again.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 15 - 07/11/16

Today, we continued on with our classical monologues and I feel that I made a lot of progress. We were split in half (Lorna & Ollie/James, Rob & Lewis) and asked to discuss our monologues and their meanings and context and then perform them to our group and respond to feedback. I feel that this is very helpful for us to understand our character as it forces us to think of our character deeply in order to teach our partners about this character.

When performing my monologue, I was given the following feedback:

• My tone of voice could be varied a tad more throughout the monologue, particularly towards the end.
• You should use your pauses more effectively when calling for your "friends". Long them out to make use of comical facial expressions.
• Be more dynamic: don't be afraid to be a little over expressive with Bottom, he's funny, loud-mouth character who isn't afraid to be heard.

Next lesson, we will continue with our classical monologues again.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 14 - 04/11/16

Today we performed our classical monologue we found ready for this lesson. After performing mine, I received the following notes:

• Not very exciting
• Could vary tempo and tone more
• Very conversational which may not be the best type of monologue for you

After these key notes, I decided to scrap this monologue and find a new one. Rob also did the same so I decided to look at his monologue and I really think it suits my style of acting. My new monologue is Bottom's monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream and is when Bottom is left alone in his sleep and recalls his dream to himself. This monologue is very comical and arrogant which I feel suits my style of performing very well and there is a lot I can do with it.

I performed this monologue today and I received the following notes:

• Very comical when looking for Peter Quince etc.
• The opening should be more sudden
• Think about the meaning behind the Shakespearean language.

Next lesson, we will continue to work on these monologues next lesson.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 13 - 02/11/16

Today, we spent time researching monologues for our two contrasting pieces, ready for next month.

We decided to make things easier for the class that one of our monologues must be classical while the other must be contemporary. This almost guarantees the two monologues to be contrasting. We were also told that these can't be the same as the two monologues we're planning on doing for our 

After searching for a while, I had found two monologues which I thought would be very good for my style of acting. Below are the monologues I found, with some general research.

Classical:

Play: The Forced Marriage

Character: Geronimo

Writer: Moliere

Written in: 1664 (Restoration Era)

Text: 

GERONIMO: If we take fifty-two from sixty-four, we get twelve; five years you spent in Holland, seventeen; seven years spent in England, twenty-four; eight years in Rome, thirty-two; and if to thirty-two we add your age when we first became acquainted, we have exactly fifty-two. So that, Mr. Sganarelle, according to your own confession, you are between fifty-two and fifty-three years of age. The calculation is exact enough. Now, I will tell you frankly, as a friend--according to the promise you made me give you--that marriage would suit you but little. Marriage is a thing about which young people ought to think long and seriously before they risk themselves, but of which people of your age ought not to think at all; and if, as some say, the greatest folly a man can commit is to marry, I know nothing more preposterous than to commit such a folly at a time of life when we should be most prudent. In short, to speak to you plainly, I advise you not to marry; and I should think you very ridiculous if, after having remained free up to your time of life, you were now to burden yourself with the heaviest of all chains. [Pause.] What's that? You're in love with her? Ah! That's quite another thing. You didn't tell me that. By all means marry, then; I haven't another word to say.

Context: Geronimo is trying to convince his friend, Sgnarelle, to not go through with his marriage as he thinks that marriage is stupid for someone of their age (they're in their fifties).

Contemporary:

Play: Like Dreaming, Backwards
Character: Yale
Writer: Kellie Powell
Written in: 2008
Text:

Yale: I sold her a ticket that night. I only recognized her because... we played foursquare together once. She introduced herself. I don't really remember anything we said, but she seemed sweet. I didn't know her last name until I saw the article in the paper. It said that she was a sophomore and a journalism major. She was from Joliet. She had a younger sister in high school, named Carolyn. I don't know why I remember everything about that article. Her picture... was in black and white and it was right under the "I-D-E" in "suicide." I don't know why I'm telling you this. The picture was small, it didn't look like a school picture, it looked more like a candid shot. She was sort of smiling, but she looked somehow... suspicious. I have a strangely vivid memory... of her face.That night... she seemed fine. Friendly, and smiling. And I couldn't have done anything different. And I couldn't have known what she was feeling. But then, I didn't ask, did I?I just never knew anyone who died...

Context: Nell commits suicide after suffering from depression. Three characters perform monologues about Nell's suicide and Yale is one of them whom he met at a theatre.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 12 - 21/10/16

Today we performed our monologues for our final performance. We were asked to leave the room and we were called in to the audition room in a random order. This was very realistic as this is the typical procedure for a drama school audition.

I was first asked to perform my monologue, after being asked who my character, what play my monologue is from, and some generic background into the scene and the characters feelings.

I feel that I was very effective at portraying the energy of my character in my performance with frantic and quick movements and my young tone of voice was very suitable for showing my character's innocence.

Next, I was asked to approach my monologue in a completely different style. As opposed to being performed on the stage, I was asked to perform my monologue for a TV programme and that the camera being used to film my performance was zoomed in to show my face only.

I feel that I struggled with this as I began to focus on just my upper body as opposed to just my face but throughout the monologue I continued to put my focus back into my face. I feel that my inquisitive facial expressions were very useful at communicating a innocent vibe to the audience.

Next lesson, we will look at finding contrasting monologues.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 11 - 14/10/16

Today, we spent time in pairs (James & Lorna/Charlie & Ollie/Rob & me) ,continuing to go over our monologues in order to get them perfect for next week.

Rob performed his monologue from Of Mice and Men to see if it was any better than his Killing Chuck monologue while I stuck to my Fading Joy monologue as I knew this was the one I was best at.

When Rob performed his monologue I felt that it took him a while to get into it which I feel is only because he was unsure on which monologue to do. When watching him, his posture, voice and gestures were great for his character but I feel some of his gestures were very repetitive so they needed changing up a bit from time to time. I also felt that his tone of voice didn't very a great deal but this was due to him not being totally familiar with this monologue.

When performing my monologue the first time, I received the following notes:

• Very good tone of voice.
• Brilliant movement.
• Some typical gestures of mine were repeated so change it up a bit.
• Try not to speak too fast or your words get slurred.

Throughout the lesson I worked on all of the negatives I was given and I felt that my monologue was finally up to scratch and ready to perform

At the end of the lesson, we were asked to perform our monologues and receive feedback from the class. After performing my monologue, I received this one and only note:

• Get off of script.

I need to learn my monologue off by heart because with a script in my hand it's very distracting from what I'm doing and I almost stop acting when reading the script for my next line. Also, we're not allowed scripts in our actual performance, so it needs to be learnt. 

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 10 - 12/10/16

Today, we focused a lot on our characterisation in preparation for our final performance for our first monologue next week.

We started off by writing down the feelings of our characters and some background info on them. Below is what I came up with:

We then looked into improvisation scenarios where in partners (Charlie & Rob/Lorna & Ollie/James & Me) we would be given a scenario which we would react to and interact with our partners in our characters from our chosen monologue.

The scenario James and I were given was to imagine that there was a bomb in the room and we both needed to find it or die. When reacting to the given scenario, I feel I did very well to stay in character throughout and react as my character would. For example, I got very flustered and couldn't decided whether we should touch the bomb or not for various reasons.

Our pairs were then swapped up (Charlie & Ollie/James & Lorna/Rob & Me) and we were given scenarios again however we didn't know what our partners scenarios were. For example, I was asked to sit on a chair with a bomb underneath and I wasn't allowed to move off of the chair or tell anyone why or the bomb would blow up however, Rob was told I was mental patient and he was trying to coax me off of my seat to go and get breakfast. I feel like this exercise went very well as we were both very familiar with our characters at this point so we naturally performed better.

We finished off with performed our monologues again having done all of this work on characterisation. I feel this was the best time I've ever performed my monologue as I felt like I truly knew the character after spending so much time being them. My movement related a lot more to what I was saying and I feel that my character was a great deal more believable. The number one thing I need to work on is making sure I know my monologue off by heart because a large portion of my performance today was adlibbed which isn't ideal for my final performance.

Next lesson, I will perform this monologue again but having learnt it off by heart.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 9 - 07/10/16

Today I performed Eddie's monologue from Fading Joy.

These are the notes I received:

• Sound more excited - your character is bouncing from one idea to the other so show some more enthusiasm with each new idea.
• You need to move more - perhaps even stand and pace around when changing idea; move everytime you change your idea.
• Know the meanings - annotate your script to decide what tone to take with each line.
• No reflective pauses - you take too long with your pauses so either shorten them a lot or remove them entirely.

After today, I have annotated my monologue with key notes on when to change tone, pitch, pace etc.

We were also asked to comment on each others monologues today and these are the notes I made:

• Ollie
• The plane miming was very effective and comical
• The rapid movement was very suitable for the character
• Your diction needs slight work in some areas as it's difficult to hear what you're saying
• Rob
• You calm down too quick after announcing Chuck's death; remain frantic until your pacifying line
• The section about Merissa was very comical
• When mentioning the roof shingles, sound more cheeky than nonchalant
• Avoid repeating the same hand gesture constantly
• The line about asking Chuck to jump was great and well delivered
• James
• Brilliant facial expressions throughout
• Don't look at your watch if you're not wearing one in the performance
• When beginning, look away from your watch, pause then address the audience; don't look up at the audience and stare them out as it doesn't match this character
• Lorna
• The monologue seemed much more rushed/fast paced as opposed to last time which I feel lost the effect and attention you had last time
• Your accent was excellent throughout most of the monologue but non existent in some parts
• Great facial expressions throughout (although one from last time wasn't used which I thought was very funny)
• Good movement considering you were seated the whole time
• Charlie
• I feel your voice and posture seemed too much like you rather than your character
• I believe you shouldn't be sitting down as your aim is to rally up your fellow soldiers and it's very hard to inspire that when sitting down
• At times, you were talking to people who would be onstage with you while at other times you spoke to the audience; choose one don't do both
• Very good facial expressions throughout

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 8 - 05/10/16

Today, after a change in preparation, we had all brought one new monologue which we had prepared. After already having learnt Arthur's monologue from An Inspector Calls, I was well prepared for this lesson. These are the following notes on my first and only attempt on this monologue:

• Think about body language - think about your character, their age, their background, and what era they're in; would they sit slouched? Upright? Legs crossed? etc.
• Who are you directing this at? - Are you talking to? Someone else onstage? The audience? It can't be both.

From this, I know that now I need to be more precise on my characterisation otherwise the meaning of my monologue can be lost.

Next lesson, we must bring in either a brand new monologue, well-prepared, or to bring in a monologue we've already done before which we have decided to use as our final monologue for our first performance. I have chosen to bring Eddie's monologue from Fading Joy as I feel it's a monologue that I can perform very well and I am very good at characterisation when playing a younger role.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 7 - 28/09/16

Today we performed our learnt monologues we prepared for this lesson, however we were unable to perform our prepared monologue as we ran out of time. The monologue I decided to learn off by heart ready for this lesson was Eddie's monologue from Fading Joy as I found it very entertaining to perform and when I performed it last lesson, the audience seemed to really enjoy it and suggested that it should be one a should use for my performance.

When I performed it the first time today, I received the following notes:

• Was very samey - last lesson it varied in tone whilst today it seemed quite dull and not quite the same.
• Pauses were too long - this led to the audience losing attention or getting bored.
• Your voice needs to sound younger - where I sounded older, it made my character sound less innocent so the context was lost.

I feel a few of these mistakes were because I was trying to remember the monologue rather than perform it as I found this monologue very difficult to learn.

After my second attempt, these are the notes I received:

• The tone was better - could be a tad more varied.
• Pauses were better length but are they really necessary - although the stage directions say pause, you can choose to ignore this if you'd like if reason is provided.
• The voice was much more childish - this made your character more believable and relatable to audience which is what you need to grab their attention.

I feel so much confident with this monologue now and after the positive reaction from the audience, I am seriously thinking about using this monologue for my assessed performance.

Next lesson, we will, again, learn one monologue off by heart and prepare another. The monologue I will learn off by heart will be Arthur's monologue from An Inspector Calls and the monologue I will have ready will be Mark Rothko's monologue from Red.

Double - Auditions for Actors - Blog 6 - 23/09/16

This lesson we performed a monologue we learnt off by heart (in my case Pax's monologue from Dreams In Captivity) and one that we'd prepared but not fully learnt (Eddie's monologue from Fading Joy).

When I performed Pax's monologue, I recieved the following notes:

• Slow down - a lot of your lines are difficult to understand because you're speaking to fast
• Good American accent
• Search for a deeper meaning - scraping the surface of your monologue is standard but to perform it convincingly, you need to think what each line means.

I then workshopped my opening line. When performing a monologue, the first thing the audience hear is your opening line and it should grab their attention immediately. If you don't draw the audience in a the beginning, they won't be interested in what you say later.

When working on my opening line, I decided to enter loud and riled up but felt this wasn't very captivative. I then tried pointing at my audience by addressing them as Pax's wife, Livi (the opening line is "You're so scared"). This was somewhat effective but I felt that it came across too aggressive so I went with a sigh before addressing the audience as Livi. I feel the sigh caught the audience's attention immediately so they were fully interested as soon as I spoke my first line.

After this monologue, I went on to perform my Fading Joy monologue. For this monologue, I wanted to play my character as if he were unable to understand his scenario. The scenario is Eddie and Joy are stuck on a beach island and Eddie is trying to figure out why they were both there. After every theory he comes up with, he dismisses it and comes up with something totally opposite.

After performing it once, I felt that his inability to understand could be through some sort of special need (this is never specified in the play) so I decided to play the character as if he were slightly disabled but not to the point of where it looks too forced; I wanted to bring the innocence to my character rather than the cliché.

After performing it like this, I felt like it worked so much better and I got quite a few laughs from the audience. 

Next lesson we will have another monologue learnt off by heart (I will use Eddie's monologue from Fading Joy in this scenario) and another monologue prepared.