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For your next step, we’re going to talk about what makes the most dynamic monologues. What makes the best monologues so great? How do I learn about and deconstruct monologues in order to learn how to write my own?
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Speaker
We, as an audience, become invested in the speaker
Questions:
Did you care about the speaker in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
Why or why not?
- The person talking in a monologue is called the speaker
- It’s important that we care about the speaker’s life, problem, and story
Questions:
Did you care about the speaker in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
Why or why not?
Listener
We are clear, at least by the end, whom the speaker is speaking to
Could you identify the listener in each of these example monologues?
Who was the listener in In My Dreams? Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you know who the listener was?
- It’s important that you think about whom your speaker is speaking to: this person is called the listener.
Could you identify the listener in each of these example monologues?
Who was the listener in In My Dreams? Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you know who the listener was?
- The listener is who the audience becomes as they listen to your work
Urgency
There is urgency in the monologue - these words must be spoken, and they must be spoken in this very moment
Questions:
Did you feel the urgency in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
Why or why not?
- Urgency in your speaker’s problem is what makes an audience feel the tension that makes them invest in your speaker very quickly
- We have to want the speaker to succeed, overcome obstacles, make a choice in their life, solve their problem, etc.
Questions:
Did you feel the urgency in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
Why or why not?
Problem
There is a problem in the monologue. It is not necessarily solved by the end of the speech, but it must be explored
Questions:
What was the problem in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you know what the problem was?
- The problem is what makes an audience feel hooked into your speaker’s story. Hoping for them to solve the problem is what keeps an audience engaged for the 3-6 minutes it takes for your speaker to speak it
Questions:
What was the problem in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you know what the problem was?
Turn
The most dynamic monologues have a turn, which changes things dramatically from the beginning of the speech through the end of it
Questions:
Was there a turn in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
Why or why not?
If so, what was the turn in each one?
- This turn is otherwise known in fiction as a twist. Something changes, usually late in the monologue, that helps us understand the whole thing differently. It might help us understand the whole piece in a new way
Questions:
Was there a turn in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
Why or why not?
If so, what was the turn in each one?
Doing
What is the speaker DOING:
If you don’t want any action, that’s okay. A monologue in which the speaker just says the words while facing the audience is often referred to as a Stand and Deliver monologue. These can be very good too.
Questions:
What was the speaker doing in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you know what they were doing?
- Often, but not always, a speaker is physically doing something while speaking. It helps give the actor something to do while speaking
- This action should be related to the monologue in some way
If you don’t want any action, that’s okay. A monologue in which the speaker just says the words while facing the audience is often referred to as a Stand and Deliver monologue. These can be very good too.
Questions:
What was the speaker doing in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you know what they were doing?
Want
In many great monologues, the speaker wants something, and there is usually at least one thing stopping them from getting what they want
What did the speaker want in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you discover what the speaker wants in each of these monologues?
- Wanting something we can’t have is a universal human crisis
- Have you ever wanted something you couldn’t have? Remember how it felt? That sense of unfulfilled desire is the key to many great monologues
What did the speaker want in In My Dreams? What about Turning Point? What I Will Tell You?
How did you discover what the speaker wants in each of these monologues?
Now that you know what great monologues all have in common, and how to identify each of the characteristics of a great monologue, it’s time for you to practice writing some monologues for yourself, to try to practice what you’ve learned!
