A monologue long is a speech that expresses the thoughts or feelings of one character.

The Monologue

How many words can you think of beginning with ‘mono’?

What Is A Monologue?

A monologue long is a speech that expresses the

thoughts or feelings of one character.

How do I write a quality monologue? A monologue should have a beginning,

middle and an end.

A monologue should always reveal something – be it a story, a secret, an answer to a question, or an emotional outpouring.

A monologue offers insight into the character.

MONOLOGUEIn theatre, the monologue can be a great gift. It's a gift to the audience to look up on that stage and see inside the thoughts of a human being. For the great monologues are private moments, secrets, emotions, heartbreaks, wonders.

The Need to Speak

In every monologue a character must need to speak.

In every monologue you write, you must determine the need for the character to speak. What drives the character? What is the character’s motivation?

Try to differentiate the speaker’s feelings and her actions

InsideCharacter

’s thoughts

and feelings

Things that character has done

Inanimate Object Monologue

Choose an object and give it a voice. Is it happy? Unhappy? What are its dreams, hopes, and fears? What does it want? What is its past and what does it hope for the future?

 Write a monologue for this object – imagine it is speaking. What would it say?

Example: (soda can)

How could you just use me like this? I thought we had something together. I thought I meant something to you. When you chose me, I was so excited. ME, you picked me out of everyone else. I was a little worried about leaving home, even though it was always, always cold in there, but I just knew that together we would have the most exciting and fabulous life. I gave up everything for you. And you --- you just threw me away. You used me up, and threw me away. Was this all I meant to you? Was I just some … container to you? Nothing more? You could at least have put me in the recycling bin.

Your Choice

ACTIVITY

Activity 1 - Moods (10mins)

The class begin in a circle and one person enters the stage,

acting out a clear and easily readable mood, such as anger or

sadness. A second person enters the stage, the acknowledge

each other with glances, gestures or routines but do not talk to

each other. The second person takes the on the mood of the

first. A third person enters the space with a different mood and

goes about slowly changing the mood of the other two actors.

Once the mood has changed, the first person exits and a fourth

enters the space, again with a different mood and goes about

slowly changing the mood of the others and so on and so forth

until everyone has had a go.

Activity 2 - In the driving seat In pairs, one person is the car and the

other is the driver. The car is blindfolded and the driver stands directly behind the car in the driving seat. Instead of using words, the pair use an agreed system of touches (i.e., left shoulder = left, centre = stop) the driver drives the car around the room, keeping it safe from penalty points, speeding fines and crashes.

ACTIVITY