Doing one monologue was not enough exposure to solo acting, so after Spoon River the students needed to work on something modern. I purchased a class set of modern monologues, with an even number of selections for boys and girls.  Meriwether Publishing has many great ones to choose from. 

Two words of caution, however, in selecting a monologue collection:

1. Be sure to read every piece in the collection. You do not want them to be too serious -- remember that students love angst!

2. Do not give the students’ parents room to complain. I have found some monologue books that my liberal community would have had trouble with.  You just have to be able to justify any piece in whatever book you choose.

Since I’ve already covered my Spoon River character analysis in detail, below I’ve provided brief descriptions of each day of the new assignment with links to my Spoon River blogs so that  you may refer to them for more assistance. This way, I don’t sound like a broken record typing the same information again.

Day One: As these were modern day situations, not much time was spent on a discussion of the pieces. See February 19 blog.

Day Two: Everyone had made their selections and written their paraphrase. They started the memorization process and began working in their Monologue Analysis Work Sheet. See February 19 and March 3 blogs. 

Day Three: The students read their piece as well as their paraphrase. The rest of class time was spent working on memorization. See March 3 blog.

Day Four: This was the memorization day — remember the exercises from March 3.  I then selected half of the list of tasks and people (combining the two for a one day assignment).  I made sure that the students did not get the same activities. See March 3 and March 19 blogs.

Day Five: Everyone presented their piece with a task or as a person. Again do not forget the exercises.

Day Six: Today they presented their piece as one of the three things they answered in their analysis work sheet—color, object, animal--and turned in the analysis. See March 19 blog.

Day Seven: Today we did the final presentation with costumes and props.

Monologue Analysis (35 pts.) 

Name_______________________

Character__________________________

Be very specific with your answers, tell me why.  All answers must be in first person, as if your character were answering the questions

Greatest fear, tangible or intangible (3)

Happiest moment (3)

Saddest moment (3)

What is your long range goal (3)

Most treasured possession (3)

What is your character's secret? (Having a secret always adds a sense of mystery to a character.) (6)

What color do you associate with your character?  Why?  For example, you might associate a jealous character with green. (3)

What object do you associate with your character? Why? For example, you might associate a pocket watch with a character who is a time-controlled person. (3)

What animal do you associate with your character? For example, you might associate a sly character with a fox. (3)

Tell me five things about your family. (5)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Day Eight: The next activity was a being activity. I again went around the room and quietly assigned each student a specific person or type of person listed below. I did not want the others in the class to hear me. First, I explained that the person would not generally fit their character but that their job was to make being the person the primary goal and the lines secondary. Obviously, not everyone can sing/dance but I told them to do the very best they could.  They would be graded on how well they portrayed that person saying the lines from Spoon River. (I had another call from a parent not wanting her child to have anything satanic, like a vampire or ghost, so be aware that there are those folks out there.) We as the audience should be able to guess correctly whom the student was portraying when the performance was done. I told them they could bring any props and costumes that would help. I collected their analysis sheets and gave them ten minutes to get ready.

People:

-Bag lady

-Drill sergeant

-Western singer

-Opera star

-Hard rock star

-Lawyer

-Ghost

-An Insane person

-Nerd

-Airhead

-Coach

-Farmer

-A person with an IQ 185

-A person with an IQ -5

-Beauty queen

-Dracula

-Viking

-Person from outer space

-Sherriff

-Super man

-A 4-year-old

-A 90-year-old

-Pirate

-Ninja Turtle

-Rapper

-Gangster

-Professional wrestler

-Mad scientist

-Hippie

-Any storybook character

-Robin Hood

-Guru

-Exercise trainer

-Ballerina

-Indiana Jones

Day Nine: This again was a being activity. They were to divide their piece in half and pick two of the following based on their analysis — color, food, inanimate object, car, shoe, animal — and do their piece as what they thought the objects/animal would sound like. They could tell us what two things they were going to portray, such as a color or food, but couldn’t tell us the specifics.  After each performance was done the audience was asked what the student was portraying and most of the time we got it right.  They then had to justify why they chose their specific items. This was a difficult assignment, but so worthwhile.  The students had to really think about their characters and what they represented.  After their performances, a discussion ensued about why we had done the last three assignments. The students had been forced to use their voices and their bodies — as acting is not a static medium — and they began to see all the possibilities for developing a character.  I passed back their analysis sheets.    

Day Ten: This day was the final presentation. They were to be their characters. They could bring in props and costumes if they chose. I gave them about ten minutes to prepare — changing clothes, going over the piece, etc. They were to start their character from the time they got out of their seats until they sat back down so how that character walked became important as well. The change from their first performance until now was amazing.

Before I begin to give specifics, I would like to share several things with you. You have noticed that the students did the pieces more than once — it is very important that whenever possible they get a chance to truly explore their characters. By doing the following assignments they can see their characters in several different lights.  They also will become much more at ease with their memorization and the final product will be something they can be very proud of.  As we all know, acting is so much more than just memorization, and I think we do our students a disservice by having them do a monologue or a scene only once. 

Grading: I started with 10 points for the reading and added 5 points each time they performed. I never failed any student who tried every activity, even if their grades were very low.

Helpful Exercises 

As soon as class started and roll was taken, I had the students take out their piece at their desks and practice it quietly. Then they were to move to various corners of the room and speak their piece out loud while talking to the wall, floor, etc. Next, I called out various emotions/characters and had them say their piece however I said: mad, happy, sad, as a little child, old people who are deaf, sexy, stupid, scared, etc.  Yes, the room was very, very noisy but no one was put on the spot and they were rehearsing. When they were working specifically on memorization, I added working with a partner for about 5 minutes.    

10-Second Rule: I never called on my students. They were to volunteer.  I gave them 10 seconds to get up and perform – any more time and I felt class time was wasted. They had to make up their own minds about doing or not doing the assignment.  If no one got up, then whoever had not gotten up would receive a 0.  Yes, to answer your question, there were classes who tested me and yes, they received a 0. But interestingly, the next day they did perform!  

Pick a Number: If the 10-Second Rule seems too extreme, another option is to have a cup filled with the numbers 1-30 written on individual pieces of paper. In advance, you have given each student a number — maybe it is the number in the grade book or a random number.  You could even have each student draw his or her number from the cup. Do what is easiest for you. 

I always found there were one or two people who always volunteered.  After they had performed and no one volunteers, the student who presented last picks a number from the cup. That person can choose to go up or take a 0 and another number is drawn and so on.  The students always did the number selecting.

Days Four through Seven

Day Four: I started with the exercises mentioned above. Then, the students presented their characters for the first time by reading their piece.  They needed to work vocally. They should have practiced it enough so that they did not stumble and had all the words pronounced correctly.  Peoria was one that was difficult. I never corrected them while they were reading. I tried to do it after they had finished. A discussion then ensued over paraphrase. I would take one of the pieces the students were not presenting and we, as a class, created the paraphrase.

Day Five: The students read their paraphrase to the class. The students would explained if there were any questions from the class. Often they referred back to the original piece. You could combine the reading and the paraphrase. Then you could spend day 5 on the analysis and some memorization.

I also passed out the Spoon River Analysis sheet. This took a great deal of time explaining.  It would be best to help them fill out the first two questions as a class by going around the room giving a bit of individualized instruction.  You will also need to state that there are no wrong answers, provided they have truly understood their piece.  The analysis was due on Day 8. 

Day Six: After doing our exercises, it was time to perform. Each performer could give their piece to another student to prompt them.  I explained before we started about prompting and they would be allowed two prompts and not have their grade reduced.

I gave them as much time as they needed to begin their piece, but once they started they had to continue. I stressed that they could not do over.  This is the example I used: In basketball, if a player tries to make a basket and doesn’t, he/she can’t go up to the referee and ask to do it over. 

Day Seven: Now came the time to do the monologue with a variety of activities.  The first was a doing activity.  I went around the room and assigned each student a task, listed below. First, I explained that the task would not generally fit their character but that their job was to make the task the primary goal and the lines secondary. Obviously, not everyone can juggle or knit, but I told them to do the very best they could.  They would be graded on how well they did the activity rather than perfect memorization. I told them they could bring any props that would help them complete the task. They could again give their piece to another student for prompting; however, I emphasized concentrating on the activity if they were having trouble with their lines, and generally the lines would come. Of course, sometimes they didn’t!    

Tasks:

-5 different walks

-Angry

-Chewing gum

-Crying

-Drawing a picture

-Drinking  (Of course non-alcoholic. I had a foreign exchange student come in to class with a can of beer — yes, really!)

-Dusting

-Dying

-Eating

-Itching

-Juggling

-Jumping

-Keeping cool

-Keeping warm

-Knitting

-Laughing

-Looking for their missing $100

-Making paper airplanes

-Playing with a ball

-Pounding nails

-Problem with wallet/purse

-Putting on makeup

-Re-arranging room

-Scared

-Sleeping

-Smelling something and taking care of it

-Stealing something

-Teaching a dance

-Touching everything in the room

-Trying to swat fly/mosquito

-Using at least 8 hand gestures

-Whining

-Wide awake

Character Analysis for Spoon River Anthology

Keep in mind that these people lived close to one hundred and fifty years ago. This is worth 55 points. Remember to justify all your answers.

YOUR NAME___________________________________

CHARACTER NAME________________________________

1. How old is your character and why? (Remember he/she is the age he/she was when he/she died.)

2. Is your character married, single, have children? If so, their names and ages?

3. Describe your character's home. Be specific.

4.  Ideally, how would your character look physically? Include costume, hair, beard, etc. You may draw a picture or cut one out of a magazine.

5. What personal characteristics make this person different from all the others in this play?

6.  What one prop would the character have and why?

7.  How does your character feel about the other people in Spoon River?

8. How does he/she feel about life? (Remember, a great deal of this has to do with their environment.)

9. Answer the following about your character—these are abstract. List and give specific reasons. Feel free to add cut outs, swatches, or anything else that may help your answers (10 pts.)

COLOR (I.e. Someone who is sad might be the color blue.)

FOOD (I.e. Someone who is very active might be pop corn.)

INANIMATE OBJECT (I.e. Someone who is very strict might be an Elm tree.)

CAR (I.e. Someone who thinks they are “hot” might have a sport’s car.)

SHOES (I.e. Someone who is poor might have holes in very old, run-down shoes.)

ANIMAL (I.e. Someone who is sneaky might be a snake.)

11.  What is your character’s secret?