Part 2-Basics of Theatre

Part Two- Basics Of Theatre What is a monologue?: ● A monologue is an uninterrupted dialogue spoken by one character ● Contrasts a dialogue (dialogue is when two or more actors/characters are having a conversation) ● Oftentimes, monologues happen at the peak of a character's emotion ● A character is speaking at people, not with them ● Not a conversation, only one person is talking, though it can happen during a conversation ● Soliloquy: A soliloquy is a monologue where the character is talking to no one rather than another character. Often he/she is thinking out loud and doesn’t address the fact that the audience is there. ● There are a few situations where monologues normally happen: - The character is angry and yelling at or lecturing another character - The character is ranting about something - The character is begging for something - The character is telling a story - The character is excited about something and describing it to another ● A character uses a monologue to express his/her feelings ● There are a few things a monologue must have: Objective, Tactics, Obstacle ● Objective- The characters motivation (what they are trying to get) ● Obstacle- What is in the way of them getting this ● Tactics- The ways the character tries to work around the obstacle to get the objective (the strategies they use) ● Who They Are Talking Too- When performing a monologue, you have to know who your character is talking too ● To make a good monologue, it might also have the following: - High Stakes- your character’s objective should be something important - Hook opening - A good closing- it should be obvious that the monologue is over - Character development- The character might change or realize something during the monologue - Balance past and present action- Not everything should be in the past, the character should be talking about something happening in the moment, or reacting to something ● Monologue Example 1: “Mom! I don’t get it, why can’t we have a puppy? A ton of my friends do. Sarah does. So does Ava. And I feel left out when they talk about their dogs, so I think we definitely need to have a puppy. It’ll be so cute! I know you said no earlier, but I don’t think that’s fair. You say it’s too much work, but I’ll do all of it! I can take it on walks, I can give it baths, I can feed it, I can do everything, all you have to do is let me. And I can even do extra chores. Will you buy me a puppy if I clean the dishes? Or how about I clean the dishes and I even do the laundry? Mom please, please, please, I’m begging you. Come on, please? Ugh, why are you never the fun mom? All my other friends' moms are really fun, but not you. Nope. Would it hurt you to be fun for once in your life? I’m going to my room, and I’m not coming out until there is a puppy waiting for me. ● Objective: Getting a puppy ● Obstacle: Her mom won’t let her ● Who she is talking to: Her mother ● Tactics: 1. Guilt-tripping her mom by saying she feels left out 2. Promising to take care of it 3. Offering to do extra chores 4. Begging 5. Comparing her mom to her friends 6. Going to her room ● Monologue Example #2: Hi Mrs. Smith. Look, I know you said no retakes on the quiz, but I really need one, and you don’t even understand how much I need one. I need one a lot. Like a lot. I promise I studied, I worked for hours! And I still failed it. It brought my grade in this class down to a D, and that just isn’t fair. Can I please retake it? I can study even more, and I can prove to you that I work hard. I’ll study for 3 hours a night. And I can retake it next week, or even this Friday. Or how about I retake it and we average the two grades together? Then I can at least get a B, or a C. Come on, it isn’t fair. Samantha retook the last quiz, and I can’t retake this one? It’s obviously because Samantha’s your favorite, right? And you’d do anything for her, but nothing for me. I bet you just don’t want to have to grade my retake, well guess what, it would take 5 minutes to grade, and if I have a D in this class my parents won’t let me go to my friend’s house this weekend, and I’ve been looking forward to it for so long! I can’t believe it. Please, I’m begging, please, Mrs. Smith please, all I want is to retake this test. ● Objective: retaking the test ● Obstacle: her teacher says no retakes ● Who she is talking to: her teacher, Mrs. Smith ● Tactics: 1. Ask nicely 2. Emphasize how hard she’s worked 3. Promises to study more 4. Attempts to bargain and settle for averaging the two grades together 5. Compares to a classmate named Samantha retaking a quiz 6. Blames her teacher for not wanting to grade more 7. Speaks up about how she won’t get to go to her friend's house 8. Gets angry at the teacher 9. Begs Stage Directions ● Used to direct actors on stage and write down blocking - Blocking is what the actors/characters are doing during scenes, and where they are going during scenes ● Stage directions are from an actor's perspective - Example: Stage Left is the actor’s left while it’s the audience’s right. ● Upstage is away from the audience, downstage is towards the audience ● This is because of original theaters being built on hills, and the audience was at the bottom ● The wings are the entrances from backstage to the stage, where the actors enter from Stage Direction Diagram: USR US SR CS SL DSR DS DSL Audience (House) USL Stage Direction Abbreviations: ★ 2-3 Letters ● C = Center ● S = Stage ● U = Up ● D = Down ● R = Right ● L = Left Ranges of Emotions: ★ There are more emotions than just happiness and sad Some other common ones are: ● Excited ● Anxious ● Scared ● Embarrassed ● Tired ● Bored ● Mad ● Hungry ● Confused Emotions are different than personality traits, here are some examples of traits: ● Optimistic ● Nice ● Caring ● Mean ● Stupid ● Smart ● Hardworking ● Lazy ● Greedy ● Personality traits are part of a character and stay the entire show unless the character changes or it’s part of the character development ● Emotions are temporary ● Often, characters in scenes contrast each other - For example, one character is happy while the other is sad, or one character is lazy while the other is hardworking ● Actors have to understand the intentions behind the character - For example, the villain might not think of him/herself as the villain ● They have to think through the character’s motivation Resumes: ● A list of relevant experience ● In Theatre, they are meant to only be one page long ● Directors and casting directors glance at them when you audition ● Theatre resume include: - Name - Physical Appearance: height, weight, hair color, eye color - Contact Info: phone number, email - Training - Roles you’ve played - Special Skills (dancing, accents, juggling, anything you can think of that might be useful) - Awards - If you are part of an acting union, list it ● Don’t lie on your resume ● Because it is a one-page limit, if you have too much list the experiences most relevant to the job you’re applying for ● Should be neatly formatted Example: Sally Smith ____________________________________________ Height: 5’4 Email: Sallysmith@email.com Eyes: Brown Phone: 123-456-7890 Hair: Blonde, Wavy Acting: ______________________________________________________________________________ Newsies Mary Poppins jr. Shrek jr. Romeo and Juliet The Musicman Matilda Little Women Cats Honk jr. The Sound of Music. Les Miserables Almost Maine A Christmas Carol The Lion King jr. Willy Wonka The Wizard of Oz Crutchie Jane Banks Young Fiona Nurse Ensemble Lavender Amy March Grizabella Mother Ida Ensemble Eponine Hope Ensemble Nala Veruca Salt Dorothy Hometown Theatre St. James High School St. James High School Hometown Theatre George Middle School St. James High School Hometown Theatre St. James High School Hometown Theatre Hometown Theatre Hometown Theatre Hometown Theatre George Middle School George Middle School Hometown Theatre St. James High School Training: ______________________________________________________________________________ Tap I Tap II Jazz I Jazz II Acting I Acting II Lara Dance Studio Lara Dance Studio Lara Dance Studio Lara Dance Studio Hometown Theatre Hometown Theatre Special Skills and Awards: _____________________________________________________________________________ DSM Acting Award British Accent