On Monday 9th March, we were put into
groups of three. We had to choose from the options below and do a performance:
- Receiving bad news
- In court
I worked with Henok and Kenroy. We
chose the option “receiving bad news”. Our performance was discovering who my dad is.
Henok played my dad and Kenroy was the investigator. We worked as a team, we
listened to each other’s ideas and that made the story grow.
Our performance was based on me hiring
an investigator to find out where my dad was. Kenroy told me my dad was dying
from cancer. When I go to the hospital to meet him for the first time, I read a
letter that he wrote for me. It was about how sorry he was for leaving me when
I was little and he only did it to protect me. After reading the letter my dad
dies.
Shenagh wanted us to do our
performance again because she wanted me to focus on my character. After
performing for the second time, she said I used my facial expressions very well
and was able to express my characters feelings. Shenagh suggested that I should
be clearer with what emotions I am showing the audience. E.g. after my dad dies,
I could have walked backwards and sat in a chair which conveys how upset and
shocked I was.
Shenaghs suggestions really helped
with my second performance, I thought more about how my character would feel
and act in each scene. For future performances I must think more about who my
character is, make notes with suggestions on who I know that has experienced something
that my character is going through. Thinking about how this situation would
make me feel.
On Thursday 12th March, we got into pairs and read our monologues to each other. I partnered with Albiona. Her monologue is about a girl buying drumsticks as she is learning how to play the drums. When Albiona read her monologue, she was confident, she researched how her character would talk and act. After reading my monologue the TA thought it was good but when saying the line “you’re not like Jessica Alba or Ingrid Bergman” I should use my hands when saying their names and talk in a judged tone. This will convey how my character India is feeling as people cannot be treated equally like successful people.
On Thursday 12th March, we got into pairs and read our monologues to each other. I partnered with Albiona. Her monologue is about a girl buying drumsticks as she is learning how to play the drums. When Albiona read her monologue, she was confident, she researched how her character would talk and act. After reading my monologue the TA thought it was good but when saying the line “you’re not like Jessica Alba or Ingrid Bergman” I should use my hands when saying their names and talk in a judged tone. This will convey how my character India is feeling as people cannot be treated equally like successful people.
Rob mentioned that when saying
our monologues, we should think about:
Who am I?
My character is called India, she is 18 years old.
She wants to be loved, as said in the first line “I fall in love with everyone I ever meet”
She’s a daydreamer. In the line “Sort of like I’m in a movie”
She has mood swings, one minute she’s excited then the next minute she’s sad.
She doesn’t want people to think she’s weird or crazy. In the line “I’m not mental by the way”
She questions herself, “Do you ever feel like that?”
Then reassures herself in the following line “Of course you do” to make herself feel normal.
Where am I?
The scene is in a doctor’s
surgery. My character India’s monologue begins after the doctor asks this question
“So tell me. How do you feel?” At the beginning of the scene I might be sitting
in a chair but as time goes on, I might start to fidget and maybe walk around the
room.