How to Act a Monologue Part 3

Today is the third in our series on acting a monologue. The first parts dealt primarily with understanding the script of the monologue and converting the ideas on the page into action, something that the actor can do, and

When we speak in life, three elements come together:  Our words, our behaviour and our intention.  But the intention drives them all. The word choice and our non-verbal systems come from our intention. The words and non-verbal systems support whatever we are attempting to do psychologically.

When we are acting a monologue, it is very easy to try to simply animate the words. But unless we inhabit a similar psychological intention to that of the character, we are always just acting out the lines.

If we can speak simply from the same psychological intention, we can truthfully inhabit the character – almost without effort. It is a difficult lesson to learn for those brought up on the concepts of performance and transformation into character.

But a professional actor, determined to deliver a captivatingly truthful monologue can see past old fashioned concepts of performer and character, to a different kind of acting. In fact, very little acting is required at all.

The term that I use for a psychological intention is a Task. The Task that we chose for Sonya’s monologue is: to get someone to put their faith in me (in my words).  We also talked about personalising this with our As-If/Daydream – talking to a dear friend or family member after their relationship has ended, getting them to have faith in my words to them.

Now in the Preparation Exercise, we explore that psychological intention (Task). First we must ask ourselves what mindset the Task gives us to the scene/monologue and to the person we are talking to.

To Get Someone To Put Their Faith in Me means that the person needs convincing, they don’t have faith that things will get better. We start the monologue with the mindset that they need us to offer them some kind of support. What would I say?

Hey, you know it’s going to be okay. It hurts now, but it won’t hurt forever. Listen to what I’m saying, please listen to me, it’s all going to be okay, it won’t always feel like this. 

Then we start to tailor the behaviour associated with that mindset by adding in the elements of RESTO

Relationship Type – make sure you are speaking to them like they are a family member.

Environment – speak to them freely because you are alone

Stakes – speak to them like you need them to have faith in you like its really important to you.

Task – go into this with the mindset

Obstacle - they’re not convinced, speak to them like they’re not convinced.

Then, with 10 minutes alone, speak to yourself like you are speaking to that person. You can record yourself if you want to

There’s nothing special to say, there’s no ‘right or wrong’, speak like you would to the person in that situation and get them to put their faith in you.

ME:  Hey… I know things look really bad now, but it’s going to get better. No, it is. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but it will be much better soon. I know it hurts, I know it does, but you know that eventually things will be better. Time heals all wounds, they say that don’t they? Well, it will, it might not feel like it now, but it will. You have to hold onto some hope. Believe me, it will get better, it will. Just have a little faith, it all seems so horrible and painful now, but in a few weeks, a few months or a year, you will know that somehow it was all part of a bigger plan for you. What’s for you won’t go by you. Listen to me, the pain will fade, it always does.  I know your heart is breaking, that you just want to cry and cry forever, but it will stop. In the end, trust me, in the end, it will get better, things will get better, you know they always do.

Practice exploring how you would get that family member to put their faith in you. That way you will be exploring all the different ways that you can represent Sonya’s desire to get her uncle to put her faith in you. And do it like it matters, do it with all your heart, do it like you really have to, her uncle’s heart is breaking, his life seems in tatters, so you speak as if your family member just cannot see a way through it.

Practising the psychological intention for the scene, the tactics that you would use on your family member, it should never be acted out, speak truthfully, like you would if the person were there with you. And when you do this, you will inhabit more of the character and their situation than a thousand silly acting exercises in which you attempt to walk in their shoes or slip under their skin.

Tomorrow, we’ll learn about monologue structure and how to shape your exploration of the psychological intention and mindset into a dramatic performance.