Theatre Monologues: Developing Characters for Performance

I've been teaching theatre since 1996 and have produced countless shows with cast after cast. There are a few basic lessons that every new actor must learn before they are ready to audition for a play and receive a script. This class will cover those basic lessons. 

In this class students will learn the basics of creating a character for stage. They will experiment with finding character voices, body movements and consider stories and emotions behind character motivations. It is a first step to performing on a stage.

Class #1: Variety in Voice
This class is all about using the voice to find a character. Experimenting with high/slow, fast/slow and accent is a good way to start. All exercises are with teacher modeling and mimic so students will feel comfortable (basically, I'm so silly that no one worries about looking silly themselves!). Each student will choose a monologue from the ones listed in "Materials" to perform on Day #3 or Day #4. Their assignment this day will be to find a voice for the character.

Class #2: Body Consciousness
Mostly this class will be learning to use one's body to convey a character. How does this person walk? What do they do with their hands? How would they stand/sit/move, etc? I also will talk some about body consciousness on stage and basic stage manners like cheating out, not upstaging and how to always be seen.  The assignment on this day will be to choose body movements and a walk for their character

Class #3: Emotion and Story in a Character
By this class most students are ready to experiment a bit with creating a character. We'll talk about how we FEEL when we're a particular character and we will add a story to explain who the character is. Half the students will have an opportunity to perform their monologue.

Class #4: Presenting the Monologue with Voice, Body, and Emotion