The Good, The Bad, And The Monolouges

Okay, I'll admit it: I sorta lied in the title....

There were no bad monologues. Everybody did great! That being said, there are always some points to remark on. Overall, I think the more dramatic monolouges, the serious ones, were slightly better on the emotion side of things. Comedic performances that involve emotion are difficult to do, because how can you demonstrate sadness when you are trying to make an audience laugh? Those who performed a comedic monolouge did great, because it was funny, and it was lighthearted yet serious at once, but not as much emotion was demonstrated compared to the more serious, dramatic monolouges done by others.

Dramatic monouloges are easier to perform. for some. The emotion can be pure, and the purpose is not to make somebody smile. 

In all of them, the movements were working. Everything was done with a purpose. People didn't just randomly move about, or fidget. However, there were parts where people could have slowed down their talking. Words were often rushed, especially in the beginning. I think a lot of this was due to nervousness, because they were in front of an audience and being videotaped and graded all at once. Honestly, that can be somewhat stressful. 

As somebody watching, I enjoyed the character put into them. Each actress had her own way of making it their own, whether it be the occasional, meaningful glance at the audience or the sassy walk away from an ex boyfriend. The more personal somebody makes it, (without losing the essence of character) the better it is... Usually. Depends on the play. In this circumstance, it was better when it was personal. 

For myself, I need to work on a lot of things. Mainly, the whole "movement with a purpose" thing. I was lucky, because I was able to sit down and have movements given to me by the script. But I'm afraid if I did a monolouge standing up, I might fidget or be randomly walking around during the performance. 

I am glad, though, that I learned to work on my diction and speed. I know I talk fast, I always have. It's always a problem when on stage. Countless directors have told me "slow down!" or "Sam, I can't understand you." I get yelled at for speaking to fast at the dinner table all to often. I think I delivered the monolouge at a reletively understandable speed, with my "t's" and "d's" said clearly. 

It was difficult for me to be able to express a lot of emotion. When I think of Charlie Brown, I think nervous... not much else. I'm sure I could have done it with more emotion, not just showing the anxiety aspect of it. I think anxiety and nervousness was shown well, but not longing or pain because there were parts where Charlie did feel that way. Like when he was depressed because he thought everybody would laugh at him, or when he thought the little girl didn't like him. 

Overall, everybody did pretty well. There are always things to be improved, always ways to get better. There is always something to learn from it.