1. Analyse the suitability of chosen audition material for audition context. Give an account that shows how you chose your audition material. In this case your "Osama The Hero" speech. You should relate your choices to your own vocal and physical abilities. Give details of the speeches that you dismissed and reasons why you dismissed them.
I like the character of Francis after reading the script. I liked the darkness of his monologue about how his dad made him kill a dog he found. I get the impression that Francis comes across as a scary person, especially when delivering his monologue, from what I've seen from different videos on youtube. I strangely enjoyed the ending of the monologue where Dennis wrote about how Francis' dad made him kill the dog; i felt as if I'd play this part well because I like telling stories and nothing can gross me out and I like making others feel gross inside. 'Blood hit the fucking ceiling. Took me forty five minutes to cut the head off, another hour to cut the legs off... through the bone.' This was the most intense part and I feel as if when I performed this part, Ella and Olga felt like horrified by it and felt sorry for the dog, which was what I was aiming for.
2. Write a synopsis of the play which your speech comes from
The play is about a naïve young boy who believes everyone is tolerant and mature enough to understand that people have different opinions. However when he shares his views at school by doing a presentation on Osama bin Laden, saying that he is a hero in his opinion. He then realises that not everyone shares the same outlook as him. Conseqeuently Gary then gets bombarded with violence from young 'thugs' for being different and becomes victim to numerous arson attacks which he is blamed for.
3. How did you prepare for your audition? What did you do to interpret the speech and respond to the style of the audition text?
To help me prepare for this audition I tried the task of hot seating my character and people would ask me questions about my dog and how he died. I'd respond in my character and use excerpts from my monologue to answer them. This helped me because I was replying as if I was in conversation and thats how I need to deliver my monologue, so it would help me sound more natural when delivering it. Which it needs to sound for the audience/panel to believe me. I also read through the script again to get a better understanding of mine and the other characters relationships as I always believe this is beneficial because if you understand your relationship better with that character, you will talk to them and treat them differently.
4. How do you feel that you have demonstrated effective and confident vocal and physical technique in an audition situation? Give examples, in reference to your text if possible?
I feel as if I demonstrated effective and physical technique in my monologue because I got into my characters shoes and got into their emotional state. I decided to sit on chair the opposite way, so that I could have my arms on the back rest. I chose to sit down because its a rather long monologue and I felt awkward standing up and telling this story. I felt as if my character would have been siting down in a comfortable position. I also feel as if I I demonstrated effective and confident vocals well by delivering my speech slowly. It came across more effective as I felt the slower I delivered it, the more it felt like that I was speaking about a memory, as I'm thinking about it. For example where it says 'Dog in the bath, shaking. Takes my hand, puts it on the dogs jugular, says - feel that pulse? - puts the knife in my other hand.' I slowed this down. I done this because at the end of each sentence the listener is engaged and is eager to know what happens next, so by slowing it down I was creating that suspense and building it up, which is what I aimed to do.
Monday 18 January 2016
Contrasting Monologue - Review 2
1. Analyse the suitability of chosen audition material for audition context. Give an account that shows how you chose your audition material. In this case your "Unbearable Hotness" speech. You should relate your choices to your own vocal and physical abilities. Give details of the speeches that you dismissed and reasons why you dismissed them.
Andrew is a young man who throws a house party and is focused on one girl. Ive been at many house parties and have been in this situation a lot of the time so straight away I felt as if I could relate myself to this character. I read through the script once and really enjoyed it. The script was filled with humour and romance. I get the impression that Andrew comes across as a hormonal desperate man so throws a house party to get the chance to get with the girl of his dreams. I found that the opening sentence of this monologue was is interesting and grasps the audience's/panels attention. 'i just fuckin' killed Chuck' I'd say its a mystery for the audience or panel at this stage as they're not sure wether this monologue is comedy or a horror of some sort, until you carry on reading and the humorous parts reveal such as 'Chuck then starts in on how he's just this total fuck up and maybe he should just throw himself off the roof. And for a split second I'm thinking "YES! Throw yourself off the roof! Do it!" I like this part and the audience do because Andrew comes across as innocent and harmless.
2. Write a synopsis of the play of which your speech comes from
Andrew has thrown a house party in hopes that the girl of his dreams, Marisa, will attend. Once he learns she is somewhere in his home, he becomes set on winning her heart. Matters are complicated when Chuck arrives bent on the same goal, followed by Jill who reveals her ex boyfriend is pursuing Marisa. Beatrice (aka "Benny"), a tom-boy, watches on amused as her peers become more and more frenzied over the unbearably hot object of their affections. When Marisa finally enters, passions run high and Chuck is almost killed! In the end, an unexpected twist unites Marisa with her true love.
Andrew is a young man who throws a house party and is focused on one girl. Ive been at many house parties and have been in this situation a lot of the time so straight away I felt as if I could relate myself to this character. I read through the script once and really enjoyed it. The script was filled with humour and romance. I get the impression that Andrew comes across as a hormonal desperate man so throws a house party to get the chance to get with the girl of his dreams. I found that the opening sentence of this monologue was is interesting and grasps the audience's/panels attention. 'i just fuckin' killed Chuck' I'd say its a mystery for the audience or panel at this stage as they're not sure wether this monologue is comedy or a horror of some sort, until you carry on reading and the humorous parts reveal such as 'Chuck then starts in on how he's just this total fuck up and maybe he should just throw himself off the roof. And for a split second I'm thinking "YES! Throw yourself off the roof! Do it!" I like this part and the audience do because Andrew comes across as innocent and harmless.
2. Write a synopsis of the play of which your speech comes from
3. How did you prepare for your audition? What did you do to interpret the speech and respond to the style of the audition text?
To prepare for this audition with this monologue I read through the play of 'Unbearable Hotness' to further my knowledge of the plot and Andrew and his relationship with everyone. This benefits me as it allows me to know how to respond and act with the other people in it. I also done an exercise where I used a friend and was pretending to have a conversation with them, half way through the conversation I would then start my monologue and my friend would keep have the script in front of them so they would ask me questions which I could answer to with my next line. This exercise was beneficial as it changed the way I delivered my lines as it felt more natural rather than me just saying it.
Another exercise I tried was by not speaking my monologue but using gestures and my body to tell it. This is important because as an actor your body is your instrument and you have to use it to its full potential. So overall after this exercise I used some of these physical movements in my monologue where they suited best.
4. How do you feel that you have demonstrated effective and confident vocal and physical technique in an audition situation? Give examples, in reference to your text if possible?
I feel that I demonstrated effective and confident vocal technique because I played each of my lines with intention and objectives. For example on the line where I say 'YES! Throw yourself of the roof! Do it!' I emphasised the whole line and raised my voice and played it in a much more angry tone. I feel as if this resembled the characters fury well and showed Ella and Olga that I was really annoyed at this guy for ruining it for me. On the line which goes 'Then theres biting, and kissing and touching' I've been told previously by Ella that she needs to see me in the moment when I was doing this. So I'd look away from where I was focused on delivering my monologue and I would be doing hand gestures and watching my hands.
Classical Monologue - Review 1
1. Analyse the suitability of chosen audition material for audition context. Give an account that shows how you chose your audition material. In this case your "Romeo And Juliet" speech. You should relate your choices to your own vocal and physical abilities. Give details of the speeches that you dismissed and reasons why you dismissed them.
- Romeo is a handsome intelligent and sensitive character around the age of 16/17. He's not at all interested in violence and is interested in love. So me and Romeo are similar ages and I feel as if I can relate to him in some sense of not being able to see someone maybe because of distance or personal reasons, so I can feel his pain within this monologue. This is also the reason why I picked to do this monologue out of all of the others. For example I think I would have played Romeo better than i would of played Petruchio. This is because I didn't feel as if I could deliver Petruchio's quick witted sentences as well as I could have delivered Romeos raging sentences. Within this monologue I get the impression that Romeo can't keep still and that he would be using a lot of emphasised hand gestures for the audience to understand his anger. I also feel as if most of his lines are to be delivered with a loud tone and fast pace as this shows his anger.
Another reason I decided to pick this monologue was because it is one of the monologues on the list for auditions at The Royal Central School Of Speech And Drama. Ive also applied for this school so It was another reason for me to pick it.
As I said above I also had a look at Petruchio's monologue from 'The Taming Of The Shrew' which I found humorous and fast paced also. In this monologue Petruchio is saying to Katherina's father how he will woo her and everything she says to him he'll turn into something positive. For example heres an excerpt from the monologue-
'Say that she rail; why then I’ll tell her plain
- Romeo is a handsome intelligent and sensitive character around the age of 16/17. He's not at all interested in violence and is interested in love. So me and Romeo are similar ages and I feel as if I can relate to him in some sense of not being able to see someone maybe because of distance or personal reasons, so I can feel his pain within this monologue. This is also the reason why I picked to do this monologue out of all of the others. For example I think I would have played Romeo better than i would of played Petruchio. This is because I didn't feel as if I could deliver Petruchio's quick witted sentences as well as I could have delivered Romeos raging sentences. Within this monologue I get the impression that Romeo can't keep still and that he would be using a lot of emphasised hand gestures for the audience to understand his anger. I also feel as if most of his lines are to be delivered with a loud tone and fast pace as this shows his anger.
Another reason I decided to pick this monologue was because it is one of the monologues on the list for auditions at The Royal Central School Of Speech And Drama. Ive also applied for this school so It was another reason for me to pick it.
As I said above I also had a look at Petruchio's monologue from 'The Taming Of The Shrew' which I found humorous and fast paced also. In this monologue Petruchio is saying to Katherina's father how he will woo her and everything she says to him he'll turn into something positive. For example heres an excerpt from the monologue-
'Say that she rail; why then I’ll tell her plain
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale'
So i decided to do Romeos monologue instead of this as I felt Romeo's age was more similar and I found that I suited his characteristics better because I could relate to his emotions/situation.
Another monologue which I had dismissed was Egeus' from 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' The reason for this was quite simply and mainly because of Egeus' age. I wasn't sure how old he was but he had a daughter who was in her teenage years and he came across to me by his manner and maturity to be older than 40. So for this reason I thought it was best to choose Romeo's monologue as he is much similar to my age range than Egeus.
2. Write a synopsis of the play of which your speech comes from
In the streets of Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the feuding noble families of Capulet and Montague. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but is himself embroiled when the rash Capulet, Tybalt, arrives on the scene. After citizens outraged by the constant violence beat back the warring factions, Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by decreeing death for any individual who disturbs the peace in the future.
Romeo, the son of Montague, runs into his cousin Benvolio, who had earlier seen Romeo moping in a grove of sycamores. After some prodding by Benvolio, Romeo confides that he is in love with Rosaline, a woman who does not return his affections. Benvolio counsels him to forget this woman and find another, more beautiful one, but Romeo remains despondent.
Meanwhile, Paris, a kinsman of the Prince, seeks Juliet’s hand in marriage. Her father Capulet, though happy at the match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not yet even fourteen. Capulet dispatches a servant with a list of people to invite to a masquerade and feast he traditionally holds. He invites Paris to the feast, hoping that Paris will begin to win Juliet’s heart.
Romeo and Benvolio, still discussing Rosaline, encounter the Capulet servant bearing the list of invitations. Benvolio suggests that they attend, since that will allow Romeo to compare his beloved to other beautiful women of Verona. Romeo agrees to go with Benvolio to the feast, but only because Rosaline, whose name he reads on the list, will be there.
In Capulet’s household, young Juliet talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse about the possibility of marrying Paris. Juliet has not yet considered marriage, but agrees to look at Paris during the feast to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him.
The feast begins. A melancholy Romeo follows Benvolio and their witty friend Mercutio to Capulet’s house. Once inside, Romeo sees Juliet from a distance and instantly falls in love with her; he forgets about Rosaline completely. As Romeo watches Juliet, entranced, a young Capulet, Tybalt, recognizes him, and is enraged that a Montague would sneak into a Capulet feast. He prepares to attack, but Capulet holds him back. Soon, Romeo speaks to Juliet, and the two experience a profound attraction. They kiss, not even knowing each other’s names. When he finds out from Juliet’s nurse that she is the daughter of Capulet—his family’s enemy—he becomes distraught. When Juliet learns that the young man she has just kissed is the son of Montague, she grows equally upset.
As Mercutio and Benvolio leave the Capulet estate, Romeo leaps over the orchard wall into the garden, unable to leave Juliet behind. From his hiding place, he sees Juliet in a window above the orchard and hears her speak his name. He calls out to her, and they exchange vows of love.
Romeo hurries to see his friend and confessor Friar Lawrence, who, though shocked at the sudden turn of Romeo’s heart, agrees to marry the young lovers in secret since he sees in their love the possibility of ending the age-old feud between Capulet and Montague. The following day, Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Lawrence’s cell and are married. The Nurse, who is privy to the secret, procures a ladder, which Romeo will use to climb into Juliet’s window for their wedding night.
The next day, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt—Juliet’s cousin—who, still enraged that Romeo attended Capulet’s feast, has challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears. Now Tybalt’s kinsman by marriage, Romeo begs the Capulet to hold off the duel until he understands why Romeo does not want to fight. Disgusted with this plea for peace, Mercutio says that he will fight Tybalt himself. The two begin to duel. Romeo tries to stop them by leaping between the combatants. Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm, and Mercutio dies. Romeo, in a rage, kills Tybalt. Romeo flees from the scene. Soon after, the Prince declares him forever banished from Verona for his crime. Friar Lawrence arranges for Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before he has to leave for Mantua the following morning.
In her room, Juliet awaits the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters, and, after some confusion, tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt. Distraught, Juliet suddenly finds herself married to a man who has killed her kinsman. But she resettles herself, and realizes that her duty belongs with her love: to Romeo.
Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room that night, and at last they consummate their marriage and their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other again. Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed—unable to reveal to her parents that she is married to Romeo, but unwilling to marry Paris now that she is Romeo’s wife—Juliet asks her nurse for advice. She counsels Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and to marry Paris, who is a better match anyway. Disgusted with the Nurse’s disloyalty, Juliet disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their parents’ feuding.
Juliet returns home to discover the wedding has been moved ahead one day, and she is to be married tomorrow. That night, Juliet drinks the potion, and the Nurse discovers her, apparently dead, the next morning. The Capulets grieve, and Juliet is entombed according to plan. But Friar Lawrence’s message explaining the plan to Romeo never reaches Mantua. Its bearer, Friar John, gets confined to a quarantined house. Romeo hears only that Juliet is dead.
Romeo learns only of Juliet’s death and decides to kill himself rather than live without her. He buys a vial of poison from a reluctant Apothecary, then speeds back to Verona to take his own life at Juliet’s tomb. Outside the Capulet crypt, Romeo comes upon Paris, who is scattering flowers on Juliet’s grave. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb, sees Juliet’s inanimate body, drinks the poison, and dies by her side. Just then, Friar Lawrence enters and realizes that Romeo has killed Paris and himself. At the same time, Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence hears the coming of the watch. When Juliet refuses to leave with him, he flees alone. Juliet sees her beloved Romeo and realizes he has killed himself with poison. She kisses his poisoned lips, and when that does not kill her, buries his dagger in her chest, falling dead upon his body.
The watch arrives, followed closely by the Prince, the Capulets, and Montague. Montague declares that Lady Montague has died of grief over Romeo’s exile. Seeing their children’s bodies, Capulet and Montague agree to end their long-standing feud and to raise gold statues of their children side-by-side in a newly peaceful Verona.
3. How did you prepare for your audition? What did you do to interpret the speech and respond to the style of the audition text?
2. Write a synopsis of the play of which your speech comes from
In the streets of Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the feuding noble families of Capulet and Montague. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but is himself embroiled when the rash Capulet, Tybalt, arrives on the scene. After citizens outraged by the constant violence beat back the warring factions, Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by decreeing death for any individual who disturbs the peace in the future.
Romeo, the son of Montague, runs into his cousin Benvolio, who had earlier seen Romeo moping in a grove of sycamores. After some prodding by Benvolio, Romeo confides that he is in love with Rosaline, a woman who does not return his affections. Benvolio counsels him to forget this woman and find another, more beautiful one, but Romeo remains despondent.
Meanwhile, Paris, a kinsman of the Prince, seeks Juliet’s hand in marriage. Her father Capulet, though happy at the match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not yet even fourteen. Capulet dispatches a servant with a list of people to invite to a masquerade and feast he traditionally holds. He invites Paris to the feast, hoping that Paris will begin to win Juliet’s heart.
Romeo and Benvolio, still discussing Rosaline, encounter the Capulet servant bearing the list of invitations. Benvolio suggests that they attend, since that will allow Romeo to compare his beloved to other beautiful women of Verona. Romeo agrees to go with Benvolio to the feast, but only because Rosaline, whose name he reads on the list, will be there.
In Capulet’s household, young Juliet talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse about the possibility of marrying Paris. Juliet has not yet considered marriage, but agrees to look at Paris during the feast to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him.
The feast begins. A melancholy Romeo follows Benvolio and their witty friend Mercutio to Capulet’s house. Once inside, Romeo sees Juliet from a distance and instantly falls in love with her; he forgets about Rosaline completely. As Romeo watches Juliet, entranced, a young Capulet, Tybalt, recognizes him, and is enraged that a Montague would sneak into a Capulet feast. He prepares to attack, but Capulet holds him back. Soon, Romeo speaks to Juliet, and the two experience a profound attraction. They kiss, not even knowing each other’s names. When he finds out from Juliet’s nurse that she is the daughter of Capulet—his family’s enemy—he becomes distraught. When Juliet learns that the young man she has just kissed is the son of Montague, she grows equally upset.
As Mercutio and Benvolio leave the Capulet estate, Romeo leaps over the orchard wall into the garden, unable to leave Juliet behind. From his hiding place, he sees Juliet in a window above the orchard and hears her speak his name. He calls out to her, and they exchange vows of love.
Romeo hurries to see his friend and confessor Friar Lawrence, who, though shocked at the sudden turn of Romeo’s heart, agrees to marry the young lovers in secret since he sees in their love the possibility of ending the age-old feud between Capulet and Montague. The following day, Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Lawrence’s cell and are married. The Nurse, who is privy to the secret, procures a ladder, which Romeo will use to climb into Juliet’s window for their wedding night.
The next day, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt—Juliet’s cousin—who, still enraged that Romeo attended Capulet’s feast, has challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears. Now Tybalt’s kinsman by marriage, Romeo begs the Capulet to hold off the duel until he understands why Romeo does not want to fight. Disgusted with this plea for peace, Mercutio says that he will fight Tybalt himself. The two begin to duel. Romeo tries to stop them by leaping between the combatants. Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm, and Mercutio dies. Romeo, in a rage, kills Tybalt. Romeo flees from the scene. Soon after, the Prince declares him forever banished from Verona for his crime. Friar Lawrence arranges for Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before he has to leave for Mantua the following morning.
In her room, Juliet awaits the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters, and, after some confusion, tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt. Distraught, Juliet suddenly finds herself married to a man who has killed her kinsman. But she resettles herself, and realizes that her duty belongs with her love: to Romeo.
Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room that night, and at last they consummate their marriage and their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other again. Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed—unable to reveal to her parents that she is married to Romeo, but unwilling to marry Paris now that she is Romeo’s wife—Juliet asks her nurse for advice. She counsels Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and to marry Paris, who is a better match anyway. Disgusted with the Nurse’s disloyalty, Juliet disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their parents’ feuding.
Juliet returns home to discover the wedding has been moved ahead one day, and she is to be married tomorrow. That night, Juliet drinks the potion, and the Nurse discovers her, apparently dead, the next morning. The Capulets grieve, and Juliet is entombed according to plan. But Friar Lawrence’s message explaining the plan to Romeo never reaches Mantua. Its bearer, Friar John, gets confined to a quarantined house. Romeo hears only that Juliet is dead.
Romeo learns only of Juliet’s death and decides to kill himself rather than live without her. He buys a vial of poison from a reluctant Apothecary, then speeds back to Verona to take his own life at Juliet’s tomb. Outside the Capulet crypt, Romeo comes upon Paris, who is scattering flowers on Juliet’s grave. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb, sees Juliet’s inanimate body, drinks the poison, and dies by her side. Just then, Friar Lawrence enters and realizes that Romeo has killed Paris and himself. At the same time, Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence hears the coming of the watch. When Juliet refuses to leave with him, he flees alone. Juliet sees her beloved Romeo and realizes he has killed himself with poison. She kisses his poisoned lips, and when that does not kill her, buries his dagger in her chest, falling dead upon his body.
The watch arrives, followed closely by the Prince, the Capulets, and Montague. Montague declares that Lady Montague has died of grief over Romeo’s exile. Seeing their children’s bodies, Capulet and Montague agree to end their long-standing feud and to raise gold statues of their children side-by-side in a newly peaceful Verona.
3. How did you prepare for your audition? What did you do to interpret the speech and respond to the style of the audition text?
To prepare for this audition with this monologue I read through the whole script and to get an understanding of Romeo and his relationship with Juliet. I also watched the Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli film adapted versions. I think it benefited me watching the film adaptations because I was able to see two different Romeo's on how they delivered the monologue. They both played them how I expected, with anger and fury. One thing which I took away from the films was how both Romeo's acted really childish once they had been banished.
Another way I prepared for this was getting into the physical state that Romeo was in, once he had just been banished. To do this Ella got me to go to the bottom of the stairs then put myself in Romeo's shoes and run up the stairs as fast I can in anger and burst into the room the deliver my monologue. This helped me because it gave me an idea of how furious Romeo was and it got my adrenaline going by running up the stairs then bursting into the class room.
Another way I interpreted the speech was by getting a friend to tell me that I would never see someone again. Then I would throw a tantrum at them, while using my monologue as a template. So i would say sentences from my monologue, but I'd modernise it and add my own words in; words in which I felt were necessary.
4. How do you feel that you have demonstrated effective and confident vocal and physical technique in an audition situation? Give examples, in reference to your text if possible?
With my voice, whenever I performed it too the class or Ella or Olga I'd always put on a slight classical voice. When I got asked why I done this I replied "Im not quite sure, because its shakespeare?' I got told that I should just do it in my normal voice and that way the I'll be able to play with the lines more and it will sound more natural. I had a strong and powerful voice with a fast pace. I chose this as I felt it was best for the Ella and Olga to feel my pain and anger. But when I spoke about Juliet, ('They My seize on the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, and steal immortal blessing for her lips, who evening pure and vestal modesty still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin') I would soften my voice slightly and slow my pace down to show my passion and love for her. Originally I wasn't playing Romeo childish but Ella said that if I watch other versions he is very childish, so after watching them I placed it into my speech and played Romeo more childish, which I believe showed his age more. I also decided to do more emphasised arm gestures especially at the moments when I had named three things which we call the rule of 3. Where after each one you get louder and emphasise it more or you go the opposite way and more quite an less emphasised. For example I got louder and made sharp movements with my arms where I was saying 'More validity, more honourable state, courtship lives'. I felt that this was effective as it reflected my anger and emotions.
Contrasting Monologue - Unbearable Hotness
Looking for a contrasting monologue was tricky but I finally decided on doing one from a play called 'Unbearable Hotness' written by Gabriel Davis. Gabriel Davis is an American writer but this play has been performed in the England. The only thing I was unsure about was having to do an American accent but I was told that I didn't have to do one. So I read the script and decided to try Andrew's monologue, called 'Killing Chuck'
Synopsis-
Andrew has thrown a house party in hopes that the girl of his dreams, Marisa, will attend. Once he learns she is somewhere in his home, he becomes set on winning her heart. Matters are complicated when Chuck arrives bent on the same goal, followed by Jill who reveals her ex boyfriend is pursuing Marisa. Beatrice (aka "Benny"), a tom-boy, watches on amused as her peers become more and more frenzied over the unbearably hot object of their affections. When Marisa finally enters, passions run high and Chuck is almost killed! In the end, an unexpected twist unites Marisa with her true love.
I like this script because its comical but serious as the same time as Andrew has just killed someone. it features comedy and rather weird moments. For example when you find out that Chuck has always liked his cousin and tries to get with her. I also like this script because its not too long and you can play around with it of how you deliver different. I've picked to do this one over the others because I believe its more suitable for me. This is because I like Chucks characteristics such as innocent, nervous and his humour he has for example he tells the girl he loves the she reminds him of Sandra Bullock.
Contrasting Monologue - After The End
I found a monologue from a play called 'After The End' by Dennis Kelly and decided to read the script and give it a go.
Synopsis-
Synopsis-
After his recent arrest, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was described as a man who had "a difficulty in controlling his impulses". Whatever the outcome of this particular court case, it is a story that gives Dennis Kelly's After the End an unsettling topicality.
The claustrophobic two-hander is about Louise, a popular young office worker, who wakes to find herself in an underground nuclear fallout shelter. Mark, a colleague from the reprographic department, explains he has rescued her from the carnage created by a suitcase bomb. Luckily, he never got rid of the old shelter in his garden. Luckily, he kept it stocked with food.
It could be an episode of The Survivors were it not for Mark using the situation to exert his control. Free of the social pecking order that defined him as the workplace misfit and her as the alpha female, he tries to strong-arm Louise into showing him respect. Throw in his sexual urges, and we are in the dark territory of John Fowles's The Collector. Kelly seems to suggest that, given a bit of power, a man will cut out the complexity of a two-way relationship and assert his own desires.
Within this monologue, Mark is telling Louise how he carried her back and how he got lost because everything was destroyed. Marks in his late 20's and ha sexual urges towards Louise. I didn't feel comfortable reading this script as I didn't really understand it towards the end when he speaks about the patterned paving on the floor. However I did like the character of Mark and thought he was interesting how he had all this shelter planned out with food already stocked inside it. I could imagine myself playing Mark but I was also bit unsure of this because of his age. When I performed this one too the class they gave me the following feedback
- We didn't feel the emotion from you
- We need to see your anger when you say about not being able to find the junction
- We need to believe that your speaking to someone else (louise)
- Dont rush through it. Slow down. Play every line with intention
Saturday 16 January 2016
Classical Monologue - Romeo and Juliet
I've read the story of Romeo and Juliet many times and watched film adapted versions e.g Baz Luhrmann's and Franco Zefferelli's, which I have enjoyed.Brief Synopsis-
A boy (Romeo) and a girl (Juliet) fall in love. But they come from families which hate each other, and know they will not be allowed to marry. They are so much in love they marry in secret instead. However, before their wedding night Romeo kills Juliet's cousin in a duel, and in the morning he is forced to leave her. If he ever returns to the city, he will be put to death.
Juliet is then told she must marry Paris, who has been chosen by her parents, who do not know she is already married. She refuses - then agrees because she plans to fake her death and escape to be with Romeo.
She takes a sleeping potion and appears to be dead, so her parents lay her in a tomb. However, Romeo does not know about the plan, visits her grave, finds her 'dead', and kills himself. Juliet finally wakes up, finds Romeo dead, and then kills herself.
I decided to take a look at and try Romeos 'Tis Torture' monologue. Within this monologue Romeo is moaning and whining to Friar Lawrence about how he has been banished but everyone else can still see Juliet. Friar lawrence is telling Romeo to think himself lucky as he only got banished and hasn't been executed. Romeo is acting childish in this speech and is moaning as a typical 17/18 year old teenager would. Thats one reason I chose this audition speech amongst others. I can relate to it more and its the right age for me to play. For example this would be a better choice to do than Egeus' speech as Romeo is my age and I believe has some similar characteristics to me, whereas Egeus is much older and has a daughter therefore his speech wouldn't really suit me and its out of my playing age. I also prefer this monologue to the other classical ones I picked because within this one Romeo's feelings and emotions are full of rage and anger. He is devastated that he will never see the love of his life again. Whereas in other speeches such as Petruchio from 'The Taming Of The Shrew'. This monologue features comedy and cheek and mischief, which I believe would've suited me well but I favour Romeos monologue because I'd prefer to play an angry raging teenager, who has just been banished and will never be able to see his true love again.
Classical Monologue- A Midsummer Nights Dream
I looked at Egeus' monologue from A Midsummer Nights Dream. Written by William Shakespeare.
Synopsis-
Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, with a four-day festival of pomp and entertainment. He commissions his Master of the Revels, Philostrate, to find suitable amusements for the occasion. Egeus, an Athenian nobleman, marches into Theseus’s court with his daughter, Hermia, and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius (who loves Hermia), but Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to comply. Egeus asks for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia’s head if she flouts her father’s will. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father’s wishes could result in her being sent to a convent or even executed. Nonetheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander’s aunt, some seven leagues distant from the city. They make their intentions known to Hermia’s friend Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius and still loves him even though he jilted her after meeting Hermia. Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned. At the appointed time, Demetrius stalks into the woods after his intended bride and her lover; Helena follows behind him.
In these same woods are two very different groups of characters. The first is a band of fairies, including Oberon, the fairy king, and Titania, his queen, who has recently returned from India to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. The second is a band of Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play that they hope to perform for the duke and his bride. Oberon and Titania are at odds over a young Indian prince given to Titania by the prince’s mother; the boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses. Seeking revenge, Oberon sends his merry servant, Puck, to acquire a magical flower, the juice of which can be spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids to make that person fall in love with the first thing he or she sees upon waking. Puck obtains the flower, and Oberon tells him of his plan to spread its juice on the sleeping Titania’s eyelids. Having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, he orders Puck to spread some of the juice on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Puck encounters Lysander and Hermia; thinking that Lysander is the Athenian of whom Oberon spoke, Puck afflicts him with the love potion. Lysander happens to see Helena upon awaking and falls deeply in love with her, abandoning Hermia. As the night progresses and Puck attempts to undo his mistake, both Lysander and Demetrius end up in love with Helena, who believes that they are mocking her. Hermia becomes so jealous that she tries to challenge Helena to a fight. Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over Helena’s love, but Puck confuses them by mimicking their voices, leading them apart until they are lost separately in the forest.
When Titania wakes, the first creature she sees is Bottom, the most ridiculous of the Athenian craftsmen, whose head Puck has mockingly transformed into that of an ass. Titania passes a ludicrous interlude doting on the ass-headed weaver. Eventually, Oberon obtains the Indian boy, Puck spreads the love potion on Lysander’s eyelids, and by morning all is well. Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleeping lovers in the forest and take them back to Athens to be married—Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander now loves Hermia. After the group wedding, the lovers watch Bottom and his fellow craftsmen perform their play, a fumbling, hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. When the play is completed, the lovers go to bed; the fairies briefly emerge to bless the sleeping couples with a protective charm and then disappear. Only Puck remains, to ask the audience for its forgiveness and approval and to urge it to remember the play as though it had all been a dream.
Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, with a four-day festival of pomp and entertainment. He commissions his Master of the Revels, Philostrate, to find suitable amusements for the occasion. Egeus, an Athenian nobleman, marches into Theseus’s court with his daughter, Hermia, and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius (who loves Hermia), but Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to comply. Egeus asks for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia’s head if she flouts her father’s will. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father’s wishes could result in her being sent to a convent or even executed. Nonetheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander’s aunt, some seven leagues distant from the city. They make their intentions known to Hermia’s friend Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius and still loves him even though he jilted her after meeting Hermia. Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned. At the appointed time, Demetrius stalks into the woods after his intended bride and her lover; Helena follows behind him.
In these same woods are two very different groups of characters. The first is a band of fairies, including Oberon, the fairy king, and Titania, his queen, who has recently returned from India to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. The second is a band of Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play that they hope to perform for the duke and his bride. Oberon and Titania are at odds over a young Indian prince given to Titania by the prince’s mother; the boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses. Seeking revenge, Oberon sends his merry servant, Puck, to acquire a magical flower, the juice of which can be spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids to make that person fall in love with the first thing he or she sees upon waking. Puck obtains the flower, and Oberon tells him of his plan to spread its juice on the sleeping Titania’s eyelids. Having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, he orders Puck to spread some of the juice on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Puck encounters Lysander and Hermia; thinking that Lysander is the Athenian of whom Oberon spoke, Puck afflicts him with the love potion. Lysander happens to see Helena upon awaking and falls deeply in love with her, abandoning Hermia. As the night progresses and Puck attempts to undo his mistake, both Lysander and Demetrius end up in love with Helena, who believes that they are mocking her. Hermia becomes so jealous that she tries to challenge Helena to a fight. Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over Helena’s love, but Puck confuses them by mimicking their voices, leading them apart until they are lost separately in the forest.When Titania wakes, the first creature she sees is Bottom, the most ridiculous of the Athenian craftsmen, whose head Puck has mockingly transformed into that of an ass. Titania passes a ludicrous interlude doting on the ass-headed weaver. Eventually, Oberon obtains the Indian boy, Puck spreads the love potion on Lysander’s eyelids, and by morning all is well. Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleeping lovers in the forest and take them back to Athens to be married—Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander now loves Hermia. After the group wedding, the lovers watch Bottom and his fellow craftsmen perform their play, a fumbling, hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. When the play is completed, the lovers go to bed; the fairies briefly emerge to bless the sleeping couples with a protective charm and then disappear. Only Puck remains, to ask the audience for its forgiveness and approval and to urge it to remember the play as though it had all been a dream.
I looked at Egeus' monologue in act 1 scene 1. Here he is expressing his anger towards Lysander, who he believes has cast a spell over his daughter to not fall in love with Demetrius.
I wasn't that greatly into this monologue because one main reason being that Egeus is a older gentleman and has a family and children. I would find it hard to get the viewer of my audition to believe that I'm much older than I already am and have a family. Another reason I didn't like this monologue was because Egeus its a very long monologue and I find that after I've read more than half way it becomes boring. I think this is because I need to find another way through my actions and vocals to achieve my goal in this monologue and that is for Lysander to be punished and for his daughter (katherina) and Demitrius to get married.
Classical Monologue- Taming Of The Shrew
I read the play 'The Taming Of The Shrew' by William Shakespeare and looked at Petruchio's monologue in Act 2 scene 1.
The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship, but Petruchio tempers her with various psychological torments—the "taming"—until she becomes a compliant and obedient bride. The subplotfeatures a competition between the suitors of Katherina's more desirable sister, Bianca. The play's apparent misogynistic elements have become the subject of considerable controversy, particularly among modern scholars, audiences and readers.
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592.
The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Christopher Slyinto believing he is actually a nobleman himself. The nobleman then has the play performed for Sly's diversion.
The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship, but Petruchio tempers her with various psychological torments—the "taming"—until she becomes a compliant and obedient bride. The subplotfeatures a competition between the suitors of Katherina's more desirable sister, Bianca. The play's apparent misogynistic elements have become the subject of considerable controversy, particularly among modern scholars, audiences and readers.
Taming has been adapted numerous times for stage, screen, opera, ballet, and musical theatre; perhaps the most famous adaptations being Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate and the 1967 film of the play, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The 1999 high school comedy film 10 Things I Hate About You is also loosely based on the play.
I'd be looking to play Petruchio. A wealthy gentleman from Verona. Loud, boisterous, eccentric, and quick-witted, Petruchio comes to Padua to increase his fortune by marrying rich. All he wants is a bride with an enormous dowry, and Katherine fits the bill. Though everyone else warns him against trying to marry Katherine, he sets out to tame her by pitting his own violent temper against hers.
I liked this monologue to start with as I found it humorous and Petruchio is cheeky and quick witted which reminds me of myself.
Within this monologue he is telling Katherina's father how he will woo her. Within the monologue he is saying that every negative point she makes he'll twist it into a positive point.
I wasn't very keen on delivering this monologue in my audition because I felt that as if it was just repeating its self for example Benvolio would say something that Katherina would do or say negatively, then the line after he would just say how he would turn it into something positive, and this is repeated throughout the monologue which I wasn't very certain on, as it came across to me as plain dull.
Another reason which I wasn't persuaded to chose this one is because Petruchio's character comes across to me as an older man in his 20's and I'm 17 years old and believe the mid 20's are out of my playing age. I felt that if I was to play Petruchio I may interpret him to be younger and slightly more childish thane already is. For these reasons I decided not to do this monologue.
Contemporary Monologue - Osama The Hero
I got recommended to read through the play of Osama The Hero by an ex student. I enjoyed the script and found it interested what Dennis Kelly done with it.
Synopsis-
Synopsis-
The play is about a naïve young boy who believes everyone is tolerant and mature enough to understand that people have different opinions. However when he shares his views at school by doing a presentation on Osama bin Laden, saying that he is a hero in his opinion. He then realises that not everyone shares the same outlook as him. Conseqeuently Gary then gets bombarded with violence from young 'thugs' for being different and becomes victim to numerous arson attacks which he is blamed for.
I liked this monologue because I feel as if I could play the character well. Within it he's talking about how he killed a dog and it gets gruesome and I like that so I read it through a few times.
I liked this script also because of the dramatic pauses Dennis Kelly has used for example; 'on her upper arm, you ask her, blood...blood... takes her up the hospital' I feel as if it creates suspense and in a way emphasises it.
Contemporary Monologue- After Juliet
Another monologue which I looked into was the character of Benvolio Montague from the book by Sharman Macdonald - After Juliet. Play Synopsis-
The play centres on Rosaline, Juliet's cousin and Romeo's ex-flame. Ironically, Rosaline had been in love with Romeo, but was playing "hard to get". Tortured by the loss of her love, Rosaline has become a sullen, venomous woman. She actively seeks to be elected the 'Princess of Cats' and run the Capulet family.
Meanwhile, the Capulets and Montagues have obeyed Prince Escalus and called a truce. The treaty quickly descends into a farce as both sides continue to rage against each other. Amid the turmoil more doomed love springs- between Benvolio Montague and Rosaline. Benvolio is warned by Valentine (Mercutio's twin brother) to stay away from her if he knows what's right.
The climax of the play comes during an election to determine whether or not Rosaline or Petruchio (Tybalt's brother) will succeed Tybalt as Prince or Princess of Cats. The election fails to have any results and the fate of the truce is left open ended.
Here's someone else doing the monologue I looked at-
Reasons I didn't like this monologue:
- I didn't like the language
- I feel as if it would be too similar too my classical speech
- Published in 1999 ( looking for something published/written from 2000+)
- Reading the monologue aloud, I didn't feel as if I could make my intention clear
Contemporary Monologue - The Boy On the Swing
In one of our sessions searching for a contemporary monologue, Olga recommended for me to have a read of a play called 'The Boy On The Swing' by Joe Harbot. Published on March 13th 2012.
Synopsis-
Synopsis-
The Boy on the Swing portrays an individual in the throes of a corporation with intimidating authority and an almost inexplicable leverage to trap and injure. Upon finding a mysterious business card labelled 'Talk to God' in the street, protagonist Earl Hunt comes into contact with the Hope and Trust Foundation which offers the chance to meet God - for a price. After submitting credit card details during a bafflingly threatening phone interview, Earl proceeds to a visit to the Hope and Trust office full of unfathomable power games which alternate between geniality and intimidating menace. The promised meeting with 'God' arrives when, in a dingy room, Earl finally comes into contact with an old man of 85. From here on Earl and 'God' have a humorous conversation which has an unusual turn out of them two sharing cake.
*INSERT PICTURE OF MONOLOGUE SCRIPT*
I decided to look atEarls Monologue, where he speaks about his memory of going to a park with his mum where he'd always go on this swing and how one day it was there.
I wasn't certain about doing this monologue for various reasons. I felt slightly awkward when I was reading it because I wasn't really that keen on the whole idea of telling a memory of being younger and talking about a swing as I didn't find it interesting or emotional.
Overall though I enjoyed the play and found it comical and I found it amusing with the fast replies from Earl and Jim in the reception. I felt as if this wasn't my style of play as I felt I needed to play a character which is not as sad and depressed, as I felt these were the characteristics of Earl.
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