As I started to analyse and rehearse this monologue I noticed that this monologue was very appropriate for me.
The first reason why it is appropriate for me is because it is from a play that I am very familiar with. I have studied the play 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' in previous subjects at school. This was a big advantage because it meant that I already had an understanding of both the play and the characters. This is an advantage because it meant that I spent less time researching to try to understand the plot of the ply and the character relationships and more time rehearsing, learning my lines, building my character and applying my movement and vocal skills accordingly.
The second reason why this monologue was suitable for me was because of the passionate personality that the character had. During the monologue she was speaking about her role in the fantasy world and her job to serve the fairy Queen. She was very proud of her job and carried out tasks with enthusiasm. When speaking to Puck, a spirit of a lower status, she spoke of her Queen with passion and pride. I can relate to this as the situation that I was in, performing a piece of drama, I felt very proud and passionate about. This allowed me to portray her specific emotions and characteristics by being the her situation.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Script Analysis
I used two different techniques to analyse the script in order to cut it down to understand both the context and the feelings delivered in each induvidual line of the monologue.
Punctuation Analysis
One of the first techniques I did to analysis the script was walked around the room at a steady pace reading the monologue out loud. Every time I came to a bit of punctuation in the script I did a sharp 90 degree turn. This helped me see what the pace of the monologue was, I found that the more punctuation marks there were the faster the pace. I helped me understand the difference between the statement in the monologue and the bits that explain more. For example in my monologue the first section I found have lots of punctuation and short snappy sentences showing it was a quick pace.
"Over hill, over dale, over park, over pale."
This amount of punctuation reduces throughout the monologue and by the end it has little making the pace more slow.
"Our queen and all our elves come here anon."
No only did this help me to understand the pace of the monologue but how to perform it. I decided that I would use my physical movement to reflect the pace by literally moving around with high energy and at a fast pace and slowly reduced this pace and energy in my movement as the pace of the monologue slowed down.
Iambic Pentameter
Another technique I used to help analyse the script was Iambic Pentameter. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line, in a traditional verse and drama verse. We looked at the rules and tried it out with my script. I noticed that in my script there was not a regular occurance of the typical 10 sylibals. I found this a bit of a hindrance because it made me unsure of which words to enthisise as it didn't follow the usual ABAB patteren. This made me read the script in more detail so I could work out what was beign said and waht was trying to be put across. This allowed me to make a decision for myself of which words would be enthisised. However the last two lines of my monologue did follow the rules of Iambic Pentameter containing 10 sylibals. Every other word was to be enthisised which made it clear to me of which words were trying to be put across which allowed me to add this to my performance. It helped me understand the objectives of the character and what they are working towards.
"Fairwell, thaugh lob of sprit, I'll be gone
Our queen and all our elves come here anon."
Punctuation Analysis
One of the first techniques I did to analysis the script was walked around the room at a steady pace reading the monologue out loud. Every time I came to a bit of punctuation in the script I did a sharp 90 degree turn. This helped me see what the pace of the monologue was, I found that the more punctuation marks there were the faster the pace. I helped me understand the difference between the statement in the monologue and the bits that explain more. For example in my monologue the first section I found have lots of punctuation and short snappy sentences showing it was a quick pace.
"Over hill, over dale, over park, over pale."
This amount of punctuation reduces throughout the monologue and by the end it has little making the pace more slow.
"Our queen and all our elves come here anon."
No only did this help me to understand the pace of the monologue but how to perform it. I decided that I would use my physical movement to reflect the pace by literally moving around with high energy and at a fast pace and slowly reduced this pace and energy in my movement as the pace of the monologue slowed down.
Iambic Pentameter
Another technique I used to help analyse the script was Iambic Pentameter. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line, in a traditional verse and drama verse. We looked at the rules and tried it out with my script. I noticed that in my script there was not a regular occurance of the typical 10 sylibals. I found this a bit of a hindrance because it made me unsure of which words to enthisise as it didn't follow the usual ABAB patteren. This made me read the script in more detail so I could work out what was beign said and waht was trying to be put across. This allowed me to make a decision for myself of which words would be enthisised. However the last two lines of my monologue did follow the rules of Iambic Pentameter containing 10 sylibals. Every other word was to be enthisised which made it clear to me of which words were trying to be put across which allowed me to add this to my performance. It helped me understand the objectives of the character and what they are working towards.
"Fairwell, thaugh lob of sprit, I'll be gone
Our queen and all our elves come here anon."
Monday, 20 May 2013
The Monologue (Modern Translation)
I go over hills and valleys, through bushes and thorns, over parks and fenced-in spaces, through water and fire. I wander everywhere faster than the moon revolves around the Earth. I work for Titania, the Fairy Queen, and organise fairy dances for her in the grass. The cowslip flowers are her bodyguards/ You'll see that their petals have spots on them- those re rubies, fairy gifts. Their sweet smells come from those little freckles. Now I have to go find some drewdrops and hang a pearl earring on every cowslip flower. Goodbye, you dumb old spirit. I've got to go. The Queen and her elves will be here soon.
How It Helped
I found it very helpful to see a modern translation of the monologue as one of the things I was finding difficult about the monologue was trying to understand the classic language that Shakespeare used. By seeing this translation it helped me understand what was being said in the monologue which helped me to understand and create a personality to my character. It also helped me to understand the mood that the character was in which helped me to create the situation that my character is in.
How It Helped
I found it very helpful to see a modern translation of the monologue as one of the things I was finding difficult about the monologue was trying to understand the classic language that Shakespeare used. By seeing this translation it helped me understand what was being said in the monologue which helped me to understand and create a personality to my character. It also helped me to understand the mood that the character was in which helped me to create the situation that my character is in.
Friday, 17 May 2013
The Monologue (Classical Version)
Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over, pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon's sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their favors.
I must go seek some drewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslop's ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I'll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over, pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon's sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their favors.
I must go seek some drewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslop's ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I'll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Research
The classical monologue that I have chosen to perform in my audition is from the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare. The play is set in Athens and it is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596.
Synopsis
The play represents the theme of dark love and portrays the events that surround the marriage of the Duke of Athens. It sees the adventures of four young lovers, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia and Helena, and a group of armature actors. Most of the play is set a forest inhabited by fairies that are controlling the behavioure of these groups through the use of a magical juice called 'love-in-idleness' that makes the victims fall in love with the first person thet see.
Fairy
In the monologue I will be playing the part of one of the fairies that live in the forest. The fairies live to serve the fairy Queen Tatiana. My character is very proud in what she does. She is very hard working and is willing to do all that she can in order to forefill the needs of the Queen. Although there is no specific age or name of my character she is somewhat of a lower status as she is as we would see as a servent who works for the Queen. Fairies are typically known to be very pretty and dainty with soft voices and elegent movement.She is very well spoken and speaks with disire.
My Monologue
In the monologue that I am going to perform in my audition is spoken to Puck, a mischievous fairy. The fairy that I am playing has travilled a long way to this forest where she is incharge of prepairing in order for it to be fit for the Queen Tatiana. She is informing Puck on her journy and what will need to be done in order for prepair for her Queens arivel. The monologue is spoken with a high amount of passion and desire for what her job contains.
Synopsis
The play represents the theme of dark love and portrays the events that surround the marriage of the Duke of Athens. It sees the adventures of four young lovers, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia and Helena, and a group of armature actors. Most of the play is set a forest inhabited by fairies that are controlling the behavioure of these groups through the use of a magical juice called 'love-in-idleness' that makes the victims fall in love with the first person thet see.
Fairy
In the monologue I will be playing the part of one of the fairies that live in the forest. The fairies live to serve the fairy Queen Tatiana. My character is very proud in what she does. She is very hard working and is willing to do all that she can in order to forefill the needs of the Queen. Although there is no specific age or name of my character she is somewhat of a lower status as she is as we would see as a servent who works for the Queen. Fairies are typically known to be very pretty and dainty with soft voices and elegent movement.She is very well spoken and speaks with disire.
My Monologue
In the monologue that I am going to perform in my audition is spoken to Puck, a mischievous fairy. The fairy that I am playing has travilled a long way to this forest where she is incharge of prepairing in order for it to be fit for the Queen Tatiana. She is informing Puck on her journy and what will need to be done in order for prepair for her Queens arivel. The monologue is spoken with a high amount of passion and desire for what her job contains.
Performance Breif
We were given our breif of what the audition was. We were in our second year of Drama school and they school is doing a classical performance. We have to attend the audition with a prepaired Shakespeare monolgoue showing our understanding and knowlage of both the traditional play and the monologue. Because of this I was keen to choose a monologue from a Shakespeare play that I was fermiliiar with already. This is how I came to the decision to choose one from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' I known this play well from studying it in lower school and I also feel exited by this play as it has a comic story line and has obscure characters.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Evaluation Angela'a Monologue
When I performed Angela's monologue from the play 'Like a Virgin' I feel I made a very believable character through the uses of my vocal skills. I showed this by putting on a Northern accent to represent that I the character was from Middlesbrough which is where the character is from. This showed that I have versatility in my vocal skills which is very important for an audition for a drama school because it is showing you could play a variety of characters. I also feel I used my vocal skills to reflect the mood of that character. There are points in the monologue where she is expressing her anger though provocative language. I reflected by really emphasizing these words and phrases by using a harsh and deep voice. I also use my body language to show my anger by standing up bold to come across as quite intimidating to Maxine, who I am meant to be talking to in the monologue.
I feel that this monologue was a great example of showing how I can control myself both physically and vocally. There is a point in the monologue where in a split second Angela goes from angry and high tempered to calm and understanding. The lines are 'They can all just fuck off. Sometime I feel like I should have some dignity...' To make my change from boisterous and aggressive to calm and collective I used a softer tone to my voice. I also backed away from where Maxine was positioned to show I was backing down. I also took the tension out of my my shoulders and relaxed my facial expression from frowning in my forehead to almost neutral.
I feel that this monologue was a great example of showing how I can control myself both physically and vocally. There is a point in the monologue where in a split second Angela goes from angry and high tempered to calm and understanding. The lines are 'They can all just fuck off. Sometime I feel like I should have some dignity...' To make my change from boisterous and aggressive to calm and collective I used a softer tone to my voice. I also backed away from where Maxine was positioned to show I was backing down. I also took the tension out of my my shoulders and relaxed my facial expression from frowning in my forehead to almost neutral.
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Evaluation Rosie's Monologue
When I performed Rosie's monologue from 'My Mother Said I Never Should' I feel I portraied many aspect of it very well. I feel I protraid the age of Rosie very well even though I found it challenging. I tried to make my physical appreance more like an eight year old by tying my hair up in bunchies. This was approreate for an audition because it was a simple appearence and took little time to change but made it very effective to my performance because I looked younger so my character was more beleiveable. Not only did I use appearance to show my age, I also used my vocial skills to help show my age. I didn't pronounce my words as well as I natually do for example already. I didn't pronounce the 'D' in the word. I also used a stroppy tone to my voice which not only showed the age of the character but it also reflected the mood she was in. She was unhappy because her birthday wasn't going well. I feel aswell as my voice, my physical appearence showed both the mood and the age of the character during the monologue. At the start of the monologue I stamped my foot to the floor and through my arm down to show I was in a strop, this is a steriotypical action for an upset child.
During the monologue I was talking to a dolly however I was miming it. I showed that I was talking to a dolly by holding my arms in a position of how a dolly would be held. To help me do this, in some of my reahersals I used a dolly so I could get a feel for how it would be held, thrown and lifted. Doing this helped me a lot because I feel it came across in my performance that I was holding a doll.
I used my physical movement to show my age by sitting on the floor for most of the monologue. This is often a symbol of youth, it also helps show that I was useing different levels as at the begining of the monologue and end I was stood up but during the middle I was on the floor. I also fidgeted and changed positions a lot to show my flexability like young children have. Children are also known for fidgeting.
I feel that I used my physical and vocial movement very effectivly in my performance and i feel that I portraid the age and mood of my character in the way I planned.
During the monologue I was talking to a dolly however I was miming it. I showed that I was talking to a dolly by holding my arms in a position of how a dolly would be held. To help me do this, in some of my reahersals I used a dolly so I could get a feel for how it would be held, thrown and lifted. Doing this helped me a lot because I feel it came across in my performance that I was holding a doll.
I used my physical movement to show my age by sitting on the floor for most of the monologue. This is often a symbol of youth, it also helps show that I was useing different levels as at the begining of the monologue and end I was stood up but during the middle I was on the floor. I also fidgeted and changed positions a lot to show my flexability like young children have. Children are also known for fidgeting.
I feel that I used my physical and vocial movement very effectivly in my performance and i feel that I portraid the age and mood of my character in the way I planned.
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Like a Virgin:
The second monologue that I am going to perform is from the play 'Like a Virgin' by Gorden Steel.
the play was inspired by Modonna's hit 'Like a Virgin' and sees the lives of two 16 year old girls from Middlesbrough who are obsessed with being famous like so many other teens in the 80's.
The character that I am playing is Angela and during the play she descovered that she has Lukeamia and she is going to die from it.
Leading up to the monologue her best friend, Maxine, had just confronted her with a question asking her if she wanted to go out a group of boys.
Angela is a troubled teen not only having to deal with her terminal illness but also has to deal with the horrific break up of her parents.
the play was inspired by Modonna's hit 'Like a Virgin' and sees the lives of two 16 year old girls from Middlesbrough who are obsessed with being famous like so many other teens in the 80's.
The character that I am playing is Angela and during the play she descovered that she has Lukeamia and she is going to die from it.
Leading up to the monologue her best friend, Maxine, had just confronted her with a question asking her if she wanted to go out a group of boys.
Angela is a troubled teen not only having to deal with her terminal illness but also has to deal with the horrific break up of her parents.
My Mother Said I Never Should:
The first monologue I am going to be performing is from the play 'My Mother Said I Never Should' by Charlotte Keatly, written in 1985.
The play see four generations of women addressing the issues of relationships, motherhood and teenage pregnancy. The character that I am playing is Rosie and in the monologue it is her 8th birthday. To the eye Rosie is the daughter of 48 year old Margret. However the rest of the play reveiles that Rosie was taken off of her true monther Jackie when at 19 years of age she descovered she was too young to care for a baby.
The play skips between the different generations showing different stages in the womens lives. Just before my monologue is a scene between Margret and her mother Doris when Rosie is a baby.
The play see four generations of women addressing the issues of relationships, motherhood and teenage pregnancy. The character that I am playing is Rosie and in the monologue it is her 8th birthday. To the eye Rosie is the daughter of 48 year old Margret. However the rest of the play reveiles that Rosie was taken off of her true monther Jackie when at 19 years of age she descovered she was too young to care for a baby.
The play skips between the different generations showing different stages in the womens lives. Just before my monologue is a scene between Margret and her mother Doris when Rosie is a baby.
Audition Preperation
To prepare for our auditon we did a series of things involving what would happen on thre day of the audition. This partly links in with prepareing for improvisaion. When the audition starts you are expected to give an introduction to your two monologues and talk about, the writer, time period, basic synopsis, your character and a lead up to the monologue. No only dos this show that you are confident but it also shows the audition panal that you are well prepard and you have put the effort in to take time to read and research the play. This will give a good impression from the start.
We spent some time writing and preareing an opening to intorduce our two monologues. We wrote a short paragraph displaying our research and our knowlage of the play. This made me feel confident that I was able to do an intoduction before I went into the monologues because I knew that this would help settle my nerves, control my breathing and feel comfortable in the unusual surroundings before starting my monologues.
We spent some time writing and preareing an opening to intorduce our two monologues. We wrote a short paragraph displaying our research and our knowlage of the play. This made me feel confident that I was able to do an intoduction before I went into the monologues because I knew that this would help settle my nerves, control my breathing and feel comfortable in the unusual surroundings before starting my monologues.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Improvisation
From research and from being informed by our teacher that in auditions often it is required to do a bit of improvisation after the monologues have been performed. We had to make sure that we were prepared for this in case we were required to do a piece of improvisation in our auditions.
How it Works
In the audition after you have performed your monologues, a member of the panel will usually say that they want to see an expansion on one of the monologues. Then they will give you a time, place and situation. Then another member of the audition panel will appear on stage with you where you have 1 minuet to set up your improvised piece that matches the location and situation given to you. You and the member of the audition panel will then have 1-3 minutes to improvise a scene.
How we Prepared
How we Prepared
To prepare and practice this we got into pairs in our class. One member from the pair gave a character to the other explaining the situation, place and time of the scene in 1 minute. The pair then had to improvise the scene, after giving feedback to one another on how well the other did.
For example, I was paired up with Emily. We improvised a piece from her play 'Star Spangled Girl' where she was trying to leave to run away from a guy who was in love with her. I was playing the part of another man who was in the play to try to convince her to stay as I truly loved her.
This helped us practice simple improvisation techniques such as open questioning and avoiding blocking. It also gave us confidence in knowing that we are capable of improvising. It also allowed us to get a feel for how it might be in the audition making it not so scary when being faced with it.
For example, I was paired up with Emily. We improvised a piece from her play 'Star Spangled Girl' where she was trying to leave to run away from a guy who was in love with her. I was playing the part of another man who was in the play to try to convince her to stay as I truly loved her.
This helped us practice simple improvisation techniques such as open questioning and avoiding blocking. It also gave us confidence in knowing that we are capable of improvising. It also allowed us to get a feel for how it might be in the audition making it not so scary when being faced with it.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Forum Theatre
Once we had understood our character a bit more we did some forum theatre. This is an old style of theatre where the audience could question the actor which may challenge or suggest improvements. We used this in our rehearsal so that we could learn from each other and gain feedback and improve our performance through other members of the class.
When it was my turn to perform I did Rosie's monologue from the play 'My Mother Said I Never Should.' I did this because it was the one that was finding the most challenging due to the age of the character.
After I performed it I was given a series of praise such as, they liked how I had mapped the space out and was referring behind me when I was talking about my Mother showing where she would be positioned if she was on stage. The main thing I got out of the forum theatre was a challenge from Sophie who said 'I would like to know more about your relationship with your dolly.'
This really got me thinking about how the dolly is actually quite important to in my monologue as I was meant to be talking to it. This piece of reflection inspired me to thing about how I could bring this dolly to life. It made me think about how I could practice to hold it, react to it and speak to it and from this I decided that when I rehearsed this monologue I would use a real dolly so I could get a feel for exactly how it would be held and spoken to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_theatre
When it was my turn to perform I did Rosie's monologue from the play 'My Mother Said I Never Should.' I did this because it was the one that was finding the most challenging due to the age of the character.
After I performed it I was given a series of praise such as, they liked how I had mapped the space out and was referring behind me when I was talking about my Mother showing where she would be positioned if she was on stage. The main thing I got out of the forum theatre was a challenge from Sophie who said 'I would like to know more about your relationship with your dolly.'
This really got me thinking about how the dolly is actually quite important to in my monologue as I was meant to be talking to it. This piece of reflection inspired me to thing about how I could bring this dolly to life. It made me think about how I could practice to hold it, react to it and speak to it and from this I decided that when I rehearsed this monologue I would use a real dolly so I could get a feel for exactly how it would be held and spoken to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_theatre
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Character Building
We did a practical exercise that enabled us to annotate out scrip. the exercise involved us walking around the room with our scripts and doing a sharp 90 degree turn when we came to a bit of punctuation. This helped me to understand the pace of the monologue and how punctuation can show the mood of the character. I did this exercise with Angela's monologue.
From doing this exercise I learnt that Angela is quite snappy at the start of the monologue. There is lots of punctuation showing she is getting to the point. She is also speaking about her dying which may imply that she is trying to get to the point because she doesn't really want to say it and wants to get it out the way before it makes her upset. As the monologue goes on the punctuation decreases rapidly. This is when she is starting to explain to Maxine about how other people react to her and when she speak about wanting to have some dignity. This is less snappy and to the point as it is more explanatory.
This was a really useful exercise because it allows me to understand the character and how she is feeling at different parts of the monologue which is important because naturally our emissions change so often so by understanding how her mood changes and adding this into my performance will allow me to create a more believable character. As I was focusing on the lines one by one, it allowed me to understand what the character was saying and allowed me to appreciate exactly what she was saying which made me connect with her more. Once I had connected with her it meant I could portray the emission better as I understood her personality. I thought how I would feel in her situation and how I would feel in the hope I would make a believable character.
From doing this exercise I learnt that Angela is quite snappy at the start of the monologue. There is lots of punctuation showing she is getting to the point. She is also speaking about her dying which may imply that she is trying to get to the point because she doesn't really want to say it and wants to get it out the way before it makes her upset. As the monologue goes on the punctuation decreases rapidly. This is when she is starting to explain to Maxine about how other people react to her and when she speak about wanting to have some dignity. This is less snappy and to the point as it is more explanatory.
This was a really useful exercise because it allows me to understand the character and how she is feeling at different parts of the monologue which is important because naturally our emissions change so often so by understanding how her mood changes and adding this into my performance will allow me to create a more believable character. As I was focusing on the lines one by one, it allowed me to understand what the character was saying and allowed me to appreciate exactly what she was saying which made me connect with her more. Once I had connected with her it meant I could portray the emission better as I understood her personality. I thought how I would feel in her situation and how I would feel in the hope I would make a believable character.
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