Bringing Words to Life

Performing an effective monologue can be a daunting task for a new actor. It takes much more than memorization to do the job properly. Acting is both a psychological and emotional task that requires a lot of work and preparation. One of the most important things you can do when faced with performing a monologue is to get into the character's head by writing up a psychological profile.

Write up a bio for the character, tackling several different questions. What is the character trying to accomplish in the monologue? What events in the past led the character to this particular moment? Are they intelligent? Kind? What kind of family did the character come from? If you do not have all the answers to these questions in the source material, make it up. It's the perfect way to connect with the person you are supposed to be portraying.

Once all that is done, you have a better understanding of how to approach the material in terms of vocal delivery. Knowing the character's objectives and what led them to this can help you determine the tone of voice to take on or whether you want to emphasize certain words in the text. It also lets you realize your goal: convincing the audience you are the character you're portraying. It's not always an easy task, so you will want all the help you can get in doing so.

Once you have gotten the character straight in your head, you can try to personalize it to help you further connect with the material. In what ways are you like the character? In what ways are you different? Have you ever been in a situation similar to what the character is going through (or know someone who has)? If so, how did you feel about it? What did you do? If you haven't, try and put yourself in the situation and imagine how you would react.

Again, performing a monologue (or any piece) is just like any other task: it takes work, preparation and commitment to do it right. By trying to intimately connect with the material you are delivering, you are able to touch the audience and entertainment them in a way that would not be possible if you were to just memorize the material and call it a day. And isn't that the whole point of putting on the show to begin with?