Geva Young Playwrights Submission

Link:
http://www.gevatheatre.org/play-submission/#3

The Monologue

AGENDA:

Read aloud Mrs. Sorken

College Board/Atlantic Essay Contest:

https://www.collegeboard.org/writing-prize

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+write+a+dramatic+monologue&view=detail&mid=A2ED1B0F5F2C76364589A2ED1B0F5F2C76364589&FORM=VIRE2&adlt=strict

http://www.monologuegenie.com/monologue-writing-101.html

Exercise: The Monologue

ONE: Dealing with the Past

It is a common practice with monologues that a character relates a past story in order to illuminate something that is currently happening the plot of the play.

The problem with these types of monologues is when a character says, "I remember." "I remember" creates an insular experience; it's something that only happened to the character and it's difficult for the audience to share in the event. The audience doesn't remember.

Another problem with past monologues is the use of the past tense. When something has happened in the past, it's over, it's done. Using the present tense is much more alive and active.

EXERCISE

1. Write a monologue where the first line is 'I remember when...' and uses the past tense. Have a character talk about a childhood memory that has significant impact on how they are today.
2. Re-write the monologue, taking out all mentions of 'remembering.' Just tell the story.
3. Re-write the monologue in the present tense.
4. Read aloud the first version and then the third. Discuss the differences.

TWO: Making the Story Count

If a character tells a story in a monologue - "I went to the grocery store and THIS JUST HAPPENED," there has to be something besides the base story going on for the audience. There has to be more. The story has to show something: a character flaw, a plot point we didn't know, a lie, a romance, and so on.

EXERCISE

1. Write a monologue where the character tells a story about going to a parade.
2. Re-write the monologue so that by telling the story, the audience sees the character is a liar.
3. Re-write the monologue so that by telling the story, the audience sees the character is heartbroken.
4. Re-write the monologue so that by telling the story, the audience sees the character is in love.

THREE: The Need to Speak

In every monologue a character must 'need to speak.' Otherwise, why is the monologue there? In every monologue you write, you must determine the need for the character to speak. What drives the character? Is there anything that stands in the way of the character's need to speak? The character doesn't necessarily have to succeed with what they need. Maybe they're too afraid, or they change their mind, or there's something stopping them. Obstacles are good! But start with the need and then see what happens.

EXERCISE

Choose one of the following needs. What kind of character would have that need? Give them a name, an age, and a physical appearance. Who are they talking to? Who is the listener? What is the relationship? Decide if your character will succeed or fail with their need. Now write the monologue.

1. The character needs to reveal a secret to the listener.
2. The character needs to prove something to the listener.
3. The character needs to reveal they love the listener.
4. The character needs to reveal they hate the listener.
5. The character needs to stand up to the listener.

The Glass Menagerie/For Whom the Southern Bell Tolls

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play, and its action is drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom is a character in the play, which is set in St. Louis in 1937. He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr. Wingfield, Tom and Laura’s father, ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard from since.

Amanda, originally from a genteel Southern family, regales her children frequently with tales of her idyllic youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her. She is disappointed that Laura, who wears a brace on her leg and is painfully shy, does not attract any gentlemen callers. She enrolls Laura in a business college, hoping that she will make her own and the family’s fortune through a business career. Weeks later, however, Amanda discovers that Laura’s crippling shyness has led her to drop out of the class secretly and spend her days wandering the city alone. Amanda then decides that Laura’s last hope must lie in marriage and begins selling magazine subscriptions to earn the extra money she believes will help to attract suitors for Laura. Meanwhile, Tom, who loathes his warehouse job, finds escape in liquor, movies, and literature, much to his mother’s chagrin. During one of the frequent arguments between mother and son, Tom accidentally breaks several of the glass animal figurines that are Laura’s most prized possessions.

Amanda and Tom discuss Laura’s prospects, and Amanda asks Tom to keep an eye out for potential suitors at the warehouse. Tom selects Jim O’Connor, a casual friend, and invites him to dinner. Amanda quizzes Tom about Jim and is delighted to learn that he is a driven young man with his mind set on career advancement. She prepares an elaborate dinner and insists that Laura wear a new dress. At the last minute, Laura learns the name of her caller; as it turns out, she had a devastating crush on Jim in high school. When Jim arrives, Laura answers the door, on Amanda’s orders, and then quickly disappears, leaving Tom and Jim alone. Tom confides to Jim that he has used the money for his family’s electric bill to join the merchant marine and plans to leave his job and family in search of adventure. Laura refuses to eat dinner with the others, feigning illness. Amanda, wearing an ostentatious dress from her glamorous youth, talks vivaciously with Jim throughout the meal.

As dinner is ending, the lights go out as a consequence of the unpaid electric bill. The characters light candles, and Amanda encourages Jim to entertain Laura in the living room while she and Tom clean up. Laura is at first paralyzed by Jim’s presence, but his warm and open behavior soon draws her out of her shell. She confesses that she knew and liked him in high school but was too shy to approach him. They continue talking, and Laura reminds him of the nickname he had given her: “Blue Roses,” an accidental corruption of pleurosis, an illness Laura had in high school. He reproaches her for her shyness and low self-esteem but praises her uniqueness. Laura then ventures to show him her favorite glass animal, a unicorn. Jim dances with her, but in the process, he accidentally knocks over the unicorn, breaking off its horn. Laura is forgiving, noting that now the unicorn is a normal horse. Jim then kisses her, but he quickly draws back and apologizes, explaining that he was carried away by the moment and that he actually has a serious girlfriend. Resigned, Laura offers him the broken unicorn as a souvenir.

Amanda enters the living room, full of good cheer. Jim hastily explains that he must leave because of an appointment with his fiancée. Amanda sees him off warmly but, after he is gone, turns on Tom, who had not known that Jim was engaged. Amanda accuses Tom of being an inattentive, selfish dreamer and then throws herself into comforting Laura. From the fire escape outside of their apartment, Tom watches the two women and explains that, not long after Jim’s visit, he gets fired from his job and leaves Amanda and Laura behind. Years later, though he travels far, he finds that he is unable to leave behind guilty memories of Laura.

Playwriting 101

AGENDA:

Go to:

http://www.playwriting101.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcNO03za3Ec

Read Ch. 1-4

Playwriting Exercise

For the next 10 days, write one scene a day. The scene should be one page long. The scene should only have two characters who are in one room, in one location. Go down the list and for each day use the provided first line as the first line of your scene.

1. Well, aren’t you going to congratulate me?
2. What do you mean “I have to give the ring back?”
3. This is most definitely the result of a curse.
4. Dude, Lara Croft is not your girlfriend.
5. I can fix this, I am determined to fix this.
6. I have something important to tell you.
7. Why are you hiding in the bathroom?
8. Sir, you dropped your wallet.
9. I would do anything for a peanut butter dipped chocolate bar right now.
10. First day of school, first day of hell.