Improv Monologue I Mono II Reference Books Theatre Bookshelf For the lists of recommended reading see classes!
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Monologue pages in Acting DirectoryFrom shows.vtheatre.net"Monologue is a performance in which one actor speaks alone." The "performance" can last for less than a minute or go as long as several hours (as when one does a one person play).
For auditions, a monolog is usually one to three minutes in length. Frequently, auditioners are requested to perform two "contrasting" monologs. For example:
That's the basics you can read everywhere....
- A comedic monologue
A tragic monologue- A monologue with lots of energy, movement and a highly animated character
A monologue with inner drama.An auditioner might also be requested to present a contemporary monologue (one from the mid to late 20th century) and a classical monologue (ancient Greek up to the early 20th century).Most monologues books provide a brief character description and synopsis of the scene in which the monolog occurs. When preparing to rehearse a monolog, it is best to read the play. This will help you better understand your character, the circumstances that lead up to the point in the play when the monolog occurs and the relationship(s) between the monolog's character and the other character(s) in the play to whom the actor might be speaking or speaking about.
Acting ACTING AS CONVERSATION" and FUNDAMENTALS OF ACTING
The list is limited. I will extend it, if I can find time; you can do your own search (including Barnes&Noble and other online bookstores I have on my pages).
You can find the texts of some public domain plays and some classical plays, like Shakespeare's complete works, on the internet for free. Also, check the Electric Library, also copyright free sources.
Some say the openning is 50% of success, I say it is 100% of failure when it wrong.
Whatever you didn't fix at the start will never be done.
Actor will try to get on track (and you can see it) and often he ends where he should start. Watching auditions is witnessing the false starts.
What is an exposition in monologue? Can point the line where exposition ends?
You should.
I need to know the situation (emotional stage) and your character (reaction to it)... before I learn it from the text!
... Here is the problem. Most students think that whatever I need to know I will when I listen to the monologue.
Wrong.
You see, you are an actor, not a teller. If you expect me to learn from what you say, not from HOW you say it, you got it wrong.
In addition to the pre-acting concept Meyerhold developed the counter-text theory.
It came from the same principles of the biomechanics: in order to action to take place I have to establish the aim -- to DIRECT you attention to what is about to happen. In simple terms, if I am about to throw a stone, you will see me moving in the opposite direction to the action!
Each monologue is a confession. I need to see the struggle to start it, I want to watch it coming. Life performance is always a process, not the shortcuts and results. Let me see WHY do you have to talk.
In monologue class I have my exercises with pre-acting: I ask to find the movement, gesture, anything non-verbal that prepares me for this line you are about to deliver. I have to wait for the words, I must ask for them. Don't give them to me till I beg you. PLAY with me, make me wonder, never give it away without a game...
Monologue?
There are no monologues on stage, it's always a dialogue with the public. The moment you learn how to transform you monologue into a dialogue with me -- you are an actor.
Read Monologue Page in Acting Directory.
* Amazon mono-books: The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook: An Actor's Guide to over 1000 Monologues and Scenes from More Than 300 Contemporary Plays * Great Scenes and Monologues for Actors * Monologues for Young Actors * Magnificent Monologues for Kids (Hollywood 101) * The Ultimate Audition Book for Teens: 111 One-Minute Monologues (Young Actors Series) * 99 Film Scenes for Actors * The Actor's Scenebook: Scenes and Monologues from Contemporary Plays * Group Improvisation: The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games * The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues * Audition Monologs for Student Actors: Selections from Contemporary Plays * Neil Simon Monologues: Speeches from the Works of America's Foremost Playwright * Contemporary Scenes for Student Actors * The Contemporary Monologue: Women * Contemporary American Monologues for Women * Moving Parts: Monologues from Contemporary Plays * One on One: The Best Men's Monologues for the Nineties (Applause Acting Series) * The Contemporary Monologue: Men * Soliloquy! the Shakespeare Monologues (APPLAUSE ACTING SERIES) * 1 Act Plays for Acting Students: An Anthology of Short One-Act Plays for One, Two, or Three Actors * Actors Book of Classical Monologues * Monologues from Literature: A Sourcebook for Actors * The Actor's Book of Movie Monologues * Monologues from the Plays of Christopher Durang (Monologue Audition Series) * Shakespeare's Monologues for Women * The Ultimate Monologue Index (Smith and Kraus Monologue Index), Second Edition * 2 Minutes and Under: Original Character Monologues for Actors (Monologue Audition Series.) *