Monologues

1. Monologues • Choose a monologue from one of Mrs. Smith’s printouts, the textbook, or the Internet (Mrs. Smith must approve). • You do not have to commit to this monologue for the rest of the semester, so do not use your “favorite” if you have one. Choose something with which you are unfamiliar. • Read through your monologue. • Copy your monologue down on a sheet of paper. • Figure out who is speaking.

2. Character Biography This is your character’s story, what happened in his/her life previous to the beginning of the monologue. You may use the Internet to research the play or create this on your own based on the information in the monologue.

3. Contents of the Character’s Pockets We carry many things in our pockets that give insight into our personality. In order to explore the character, think of some things he or she may have in his or her pockets. Based on what you learn about the character, assume what would be important enough to him or her that he or she would carry it with him or her at all times.

4. Character Theme Music Everyone has different tastes in music. Think about how what you like most defines who you are on the inside. Then think about your character’s “inner self” and decide what his or her favorite music would be based on that information. Give your character a theme song or a play list, whether it be music from his or her time period or modern music that we listen to today.

5. Schedule • Most of today will be spent choosing your monologue. • By the end of class today, you should have chosen a monologue and begun working on your analysis. • Tomorrow you will finish your analysis and turn it in. This will be for a grade. • During the last half of class tomorrow we will discuss audition techniques.