Theatre I WRITING A MONOLOGUE

 Who is your character talking to?  Who is this other character? What is their relationship? This changes both the story and how it is told. You speak differently to your mother than you do to a stranger than you do to a child. Knowing who this other person is in your monologist’s life will decide how much your character opens up to them, how familiar they already are and what kind of language they use.  If your character is talking to him or herself it’s a soliloquy. Is this an internal monologue the audience is privy to or are they rehearsing a speech for later? There’s a difference. SPEECH, SOLILOQUY AND STORY

 Who is doing the talking?  What does this person looks like. How are they dressed? How do they move? How do they speak?  When people open their mouths they tell us so much more than simply what they’re saying. Just by listening we can tell things like their gender, their nationality and their age.  Do they speak plainly or with a silver tongue? Do they present clearly or repeat themselves often? Do they speak bluntly or seek reassurance with a lots of questions? What vernacular they speak in might hint at their background; what jargon they use might give away their occupation. WHO IS THIS GUY?

 Your monologue must have high stakes – meaning that whatever the topic is, it must be important to your character  When brainstorming ideas for a monologue, think about…  A major life event for your character  A decision that has to be made  A problem that your character is having  Something frustrating, confusing, or exciting  A breakthrough for your character  A funny or incredible thing that’s happen to your character TOPICS

 In theatre as in life, characters only open their mouths if they want something. Speech without an intention is just bad exposition.  What does your character want?  Forgiveness? Help? Directions? Why are they telling us their dog died now? Are they trying to warn us about something? Are they consoling us by sharing their own private grief? Or are they buttering us up before they ask to borrow another hundred dollars? Each of these motives is different and each will affect the way the story is told. MOTIVE

 Beats within a monologue mean a shift in tactic  For example, if your intention is that you are trying to persuade your mother to let you go to the movies, do you do this by…  Being sweet & trying to charm her?  Making a deal?  Begging/pleading?  Threatening?  Lying?  Trying to reason with her? BEATS

 If it's a story, it needs to have an arc. If it's a rant, it needs to change into something else. If it's a plea, it needs to up the ante over the course of its pleading.  The beginning of a good monologue will hook the audience and the other characters. The beginning should signal that something important is happening. Like any good dialogue, it shouldn't sputter or waste space with "Hellos" and "How are yous." Cut to the chase.  In the middle, the monologue should climax. Build it to its maximum height and then bring it back down to lower the tension. This is where the specific details, the drama, and the tangents in the monologue will occur.  The ending should bring the speech or the story back around. The tension of the monologue is relieved and the scene ends on that note of finality. BEGINNING, MIDDLE, & END

 Sometimes a pause can be just as powerful as good dialogue.  Don’t be afraid to write in a break in your piece.  This can communicate thinking, a shift in thought or topic, or simply serve as a dramatic pause to emphasize what’s just been said or what’s about to be said. USING SILENCE

 Less is more. If you enjoy writing detailed stage directions write a novel.  Choose your battles. Decide which stage directions are vital and remove all the others.  Remember, you can always add or tweak blocking once you’re up & performing your piece. STAGE DIRECTIONS

 Good writing raises questions and then rewards us with a partial answer. This in turn raises another question which will only be rewarded by continuing to watch. It keeps the audience intrigued and absorbed.  Bad writing over-explains with an info dump. The writer doesn’t trust his audience to figure the story out so he telegraphs the plot in skywriting overhead. Your audience isn’t dumb. Trust them. ADD A LITTLE MYSTERY