Teacher: What is a Monologue?

Unit 3 - Character
Module 1: Ways Into The Work
Lesson 2 - What is a Monologue?

Introduction:
Students will be introduced to the concept of monologues through reading and research.

Objectives
- to use improvisation to explore characters and situations
- to listen to the ideas of others
- to initiate ideas for drama experiences
- to become confident at communicating a character through speech
- to understand the historical and cultural influences on a play

Resources
Sample monologues (pdf links are below), monologue on the internet, resource books with monologues for both male and female, Historical Background notes.

CELs
C, IL, CCT, PSVS

Components
Creative/Productive, Cultural/Historical

Activities

Activity 1 - Warm Up:
Have students stand in a circle and stretch and breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Use stretch to reach up and then bend at the waist - as they fall exhale with a sound. Begin walking about the room with various movement qualities and sounds: vibrate; slide; bounce; shimmy; jab. (5 min.)

Activity 2 - Concentration Exercise:
Find partners, call each A and B, stand facing one another. A is to begin a monologue about shoes - B starts a monologue about a movie at the same time. Their job is to concentrate on their topic while trying to make the partner lose their concentration. (3 min.)

Key Question : How do an actors keep their concentration and remain in character? What is the best way to speak in character - what happens to the body physically? (2 min.)

Activity 3 - Reading Monologues:
Select a variety of monologues to read aloud as a class. Try to pick a variety of styles, age, gender, and topics. Look for monologue collections, select a monologue from a specific play, or use the sample PDF monologues below (just click on the title to go to a printable version) (35 min.)

"The Break: 10 the Hard Way" - by Cliff Burns

These 6 monologues have been selected from a one-person show on the theme of relationships breaking up. In the original collection there are ten monologues written for ten separate characters, with a wide range of emotions depicted. Though written from a male perspective, either gender can play the role for the purpose of the classroom exercise. Strong language has been used in some cases, feel free to adapt it as needed. Perhaps, after reading the break up stories, students may be inspired to create their own monologue on a similar theme.

The Break I - bragging to friends on the phone	The Break VI - girlfriend won't stop crying
The Break II - dumped by girlfriend	The Break VII - stalker in an imaginary relationship
The Break III - it's me, not you	The Break X - a fake phone apology

Questions to consider as you prepare the monologue piece:
1) Who is speaking? List qualities of the person’s character. What might the person looks like?
2) To whom is the monologue addressed? What is the relationship to this person?

Discuss how the type of monologue reflects upon the character represented. How might the character be portrayed in different settings?

Activity 4 - Background Information
Have your students read the information on the historical monologue. Ask them five questions regarding the content and have them write responses on a paper to check comprehension. These quizzes might be peer-marked out of 5. (10-15 min.)

Historical Background on the Monologue as a Art Form:

began in the 18th century
Samuel Foote (1721 - 1777), British satirist, wrote burlesque which mimicked well-known actors and political figures of the day
George Alexander Stevens, in 1764 he wrote Lecture upon Heads, in which he lampooned many common stereotypes and social behaviors. Was very successful, his shows ran a thousand performances each. He was the inspiration for many others.
Ruth Draper performed her one-woman shows in the 1920's - 1940's in England. Her "monos" were two hours long and involved various characters created from her imagination. She spoke many languages and performed all over the world. She portrayed a variety of characters, from all walks of life and developed the monologue as a mini play. She never used a script but relied improvisation - always looking for new ways to express herself. She use only simple props to create her magic. She felt if she truly committed herself to her imagination in creating her characters, the audience would believe in them.
Historical Monologues - shows created on real people, such as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, van Gogh and Georgia O'Keefe.
Modern Soloists - many famous shows on Broadway, Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman is the longest running on-man show. Shirley Valentine, performed by Pauline Collins, Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe, by Lily Tomlin, and Alec McGowan in The Gospel According to St. Mark are a few examples.
Eric Bogosian, Laurie Anderson and Spalding Gray are a few artists whose work has been in the modern theatre, often employing multi media effects.
Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh and Cathy Jones, from This Hour Has 22 Minutes, are good examples of topical (Canadian) humor which involves creative characters who rant in a short monologue.
There are spoken word artists, such as William Burroughs, Henry Rollins and (Saskatchewan writer) Sean Virgo, who have produced their work on CD.
Due to the simple (and low cost) nature of the monologue, it is often seen at Fringe Festivals across the country, thereby securing the reputation for cutting edge viewpoints.

(Source: Creating Your Own Monologues, Glenn Alterman, Allworth Press, New York, 1999)

Brainstorm all the ways in which a monologue may be invented - create a web of ideas to show sources for inspiration. For example: character types, locations, political issues, parody, a memory, a dream, etc. (5 - 10 min.)

Activity 5 - Improvised Monologues:
Ask students to write a stimuli for a character scenario on a slip of paper and put it in a container. Ideas of inspiration may be a problem in a specific location, a certain class of person, or a situation. Ask them to try to offer conflict in unlikely settings - something with a problem to resolve.

For example: