Monologue Performance

Friday 25th October, 2013

How am I using this class to develop as a practitioner?

In today's workshop we performed our monologues to the class. I think that this was a great way to showcase our skills as practitioners as well as take inspiration from everyone else. In preparation for today I had been practising my monologue every day, whenever and wherever I could. I found that with time and dedication it was easy enough to memorise my lines and get the emotion into it that it needed to make it pack a punch. I also chose a costume to wear- which was some pajamas. Overall, I was quite pleased with my own performance and I'm really glad that it all went smoothly.

Performance Notes:

Annie: Alice; Alice in Wonderless Land by Dario Fo
Showed good movements which were well thought out. Good pronunciation and clear voice. Good use of breathing to emphasise. Varied emotions, excellent confidence.

Yasmin: Julie; Miss Julie by August Strindberg
Great progression of vocal intensity. Good use of space around her. Varied facial expressions.

Tracey: Peony; Hanging Women by Donna Spector
Over-exaggerated and unnecessary hand movements, engaging facial expressions. Lack of an American accent. Inappropriate tone of voice in context to the setting of the monologue.

Liddy: Beverly; The Chocolate Affair by Stephanie Alison Walker
Good use of levels (Lying, sitting, standing). Use of American accent, which worked really well, and soft voice VS. hard voice. Big movements and good expressions.

Verity: Harriet; Bloody Poetry by Howard Brenton
Use of old fashioned London accent and loud vocal projection. Good facial expressions, well thought out, clear changes in character internally. Emotions well conveyed. Clear resolution during the speech.

Abby: Claudia; Nuts by Tom Topor
Very well practised American accent, good movements, good vocal projection and range of emotions. Use of space and props was well thought out.

Cynthia: Sherice; Random
Her initial stillness made an impact. Amazing emotions conveyed through voice and shaking hands. Her voice got stronger as it went on.

Imogen: Rita; Educating Rita by Willy Russel
Really good vocal projection. Standing --> sitting; good use of levels to show emotions. Appropriate use of pauses, and well thought out emotions in her voice.

Jack: John Wilmott; The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys
Good use of accent, plus a clear and well projected voice. Perfect use of his drink as a prop. Good use of facial expressions, movements and positioning.

Ben: Clark; (play title to follow)
Good facial expressions and use of space. His shoes were annoying and shuffly all the way through which detracted a bit from his performance. Fairly realistic, but did he make up half of his lines?

Nicola: Michelle, Debris by Dennis Kelly
Very good introduction. Fluid speech deliverance-- she obviously learned her lines very well. Great use of gestures, eye contact and pace changes.