Evaluation

When I performed my monologue to the audition panel I think I used my body gestures and movement well to emphasise my emotions and to to show the audience where I was. By folding my arms and pacing about, looking stage left continuously and pointing in that direction showed the audience that I was angry and jealous, also it showed that I was on my own as I kept pointing to the distance to show I was talking about somebody after they left. This came across in my performance as in my feedback I was told that it was a believable realistic performance.
I also showed my emotions through my voice. Because I knew the translation well. It gave me a better understanding of what each line meant and how she was feeling. So I used this knowledge to show through my vocals that she was jealous and angry.
There is a change in moods towards the end of my monologue and because there is only two mood in this piece I wanted to make sure that it was noticeable to the audience when the change in mood was. I did this by uncrossing my arms, pacing slightly more around the space to show I was planning. I also stopped looking stage left. To show I was focused on my plan and not them. I showed a more excited expression on my face to show that I was excited for my plan and to show that my character thought it was a good plan.
Overall I think I showed a good understanding of the monologue through my emotions, diction and by using the space around me effectively in my performance. This showed the audience that I knew what I was saying and the right emotions to go along with it.

I then got told I had to perform the monologue again, but this time I had to pretend I was a typical teenage girl in her bedroom. I decided to do my monologue on the floor to show I was sitting on a bed in my bedroom and I was writing in my diary instead of referencing to someone. I also acted out throwing the diary half way through my monologue to show I was a typical teenage girl throwing a tantrum because she didn't get her way. I also made my tone more winey and high pitched to get across that I was a stereotypical teenage girl. I also crossed my arms and legs, showing that I was moody and angry. I also made my movement a lot more sharp to emphasise my anger. I also made sure I didn't move from the bed because I also want to show that she is still quite vulnerable and upset because her 'boyfriend' has just left her for someone else. I also made sure my vocals were projected more making sure I was shouting at some points to show the tantrum of a teenage girl.
I think I showed my emotion well in this performance though my vocal and physical skills. I think I also used different parts of the monologue well to show different states of tension and emotion.

Exercises

Tempo, Emotion and Action: We walked around the room reading our monologue and whenever we got to any type of punctuation we would stop, turn 90 degrees and keep walking until we go to the next bit of punctuation. By doing this it gave us an idea of the pace of the monologue and where the tense bits where in our monologue and where the climatic bits where. For example my monologue starts off with lots of commas and full stops. This implies that my character is angry and jealous, then towards this middle there is less punctuation as my character is reflecting on what love is. By doing this exercise is showed my the tempo my piece could be performed at and the different types of emotions along with it.
We then walked around the room again, but before we walked we read the line in our head, picked out an important word then walked saying the line and did an exaggerated action to this important word. By doing this it gave us an understanding of where the important word where is the monologue and we should pick up on these words and emphasise them in our performance, not as exaggerated though.

Forum Theatre: I performed my monologue to the class and they gave me feedback on what I did well in the performance and what could do with improvement. They said my diction was good and projection, I think this came across well because I made sure I knew how to pronounce each word before I did the performance. An area to improve on was instead of talking to the audience I should also refer to the people i'm talking about. So when I performed it again I kept looking stage left to show the audience that the person who I was talking about was over there. I also got told that I could show a bit more jealousy in my emotion at the beginning of the monologue. When performing it again I crossed my arms showing I was angry at them and jealous and I also raised my voice higher than the previous performance to show my characters mood.

Iambic Pentameter

Usually in Shakespeare's writing he has ten syllables in each line, by stressing every alternative syllable it gives us a better understanding of the text and what should be emphasised in each line. 

E.g duh-DUH duh DUH duh DUH duh DUH duh DUH

How happy some o'er other some can be!

Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.

But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so.

He will not know what all but he do know.

And as he errs, doting on Hermia’s eyes,

So I, admiring of his qualities.

By highlighting these specific words/syllables, it gave me a better understanding of the characters mood in this monologue and her jealousy towards Hermia in this scene.

Translated Monologue

HELENA

It’s amazing how much happier some people are than others! People throughout Athens think I’m as beautiful as Hermia. But so what? Demetrius doesn’t think so, and that’s all that matters. He refuses to admit what everyone else knows. But even though he’s making a mistake by obsessing over Hermia so much, I’m also making a mistake, since I obsess over him. Love can make worthless things beautiful. When we’re in love, we don’t see with our eyes but with our minds. That’s why paintings of Cupid, the god of love, always show him as blind. And love doesn’t have good judgment either—Cupid, has wings and no eyes, so he’s bound to be reckless and hasty. That’s why they say love is a child. because it makes such bad choices. Just as boys like to play games by telling lies, Cupid breaks his promises all the time. Before Demetrius ever saw Hermia, he showered me with promises and swore he’d be mine forever.

My Monologue

HELENA

How happy some o'er other some can be!

Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.

But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so.

He will not know what all but he do know.

And as he errs, doting on Hermia’s eyes,

So I, admiring of his qualities.

Things base and vile, holding no quantity,

Love can transpose to form and dignity.

Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste—

Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.

And therefore is Love said to be a child,

Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.

As waggish boys in game themselves forswear,

So the boy Love is perjured everywhere.

For ere Demetrius looked on Hermia’s eyne,

He hailed down oaths that he was only mine.

Character Profile

Helena

• From Athens 
• 17 Years Old
• Best Friends with Hermia 
• Jealous because all the men go after Hermia
• In love with Demetrius 
• The character nobody loves 

Shakespeare Monologue

Evaluation

When I performed my monologue to the audition panel I think I used my body gestures and movement well to emphasise my emotions and to to show the audience where I was. By folding my arms and pacing about, looking stage left continuously and pointing in that direction showed the audience that I was angry and jealous, also it showed that I was on my own as I kept pointing to the distance to show I was talking about somebody after they left. This came across in my performance as in my feedback I was told that it was a believable realistic performance.
I also showed my emotions through my voice. Because I knew the translation well. It gave me a better understanding of what each line meant and how she was feeling. So I used this knowledge to show through my vocals that she was jealous and angry.
There is a change in moods towards the end of my monologue and because there is only two mood in this piece I wanted to make sure that it was noticeable to the audience when the change in mood was. I did this by uncrossing my arms, pacing slightly more around the space to show I was planning. I also stopped looking stage left. To show I was focused on my plan and not them. I showed a more excited expression on my face to show that I was excited for my plan and to show that my character thought it was a good plan.
Overall I think I showed a good understanding of the monologue through my emotions, diction and by using the space around me effectively in my performance. This showed the audience that I knew what I was saying and the right emotions to go along with it.

I then got told I had to perform the monologue again, but this time I had to pretend I was a typical teenage girl in her bedroom. I decided to do my monologue on the floor to show I was sitting on a bed in my bedroom and I was writing in my diary instead of referencing to someone. I also acted out throwing the diary half way through my monologue to show I was a typical teenage girl throwing a tantrum because she didn't get her way. I also made my tone more winey and high pitched to get across that I was a stereotypical teenage girl. I also crossed my arms and legs, showing that I was moody and angry. I also made my movement a lot more sharp to emphasise my anger. I also made sure I didn't move from the bed because I also want to show that she is still quite vulnerable and upset because her 'boyfriend' has just left her for someone else. I also made sure my vocals were projected more making sure I was shouting at some points to show the tantrum of a teenage girl.
I think I showed my emotion well in this performance though my vocal and physical skills. I think I also used different parts of the monologue well to show different states of tension and emotion.

Evaluation

When I performed my monologue to the audition panel I think I used my body gestures and movement well to emphasise my emotions and to to show the audience where I was. By folding my arms and pacing about, looking stage left continuously and pointing in that direction showed the audience that I was angry and jealous, also it showed that I was on my own as I kept pointing to the distance to show I was talking about somebody after they left. This came across in my performance as in my feedback I was told that it was a believable realistic performance.
I also showed my emotions through my voice. Because I knew the translation well. It gave me a better understanding of what each line meant and how she was feeling. So I used this knowledge to show through my vocals that she was jealous and angry.
There is a change in moods towards the end of my monologue and because there is only two mood in this piece I wanted to make sure that it was noticeable to the audience when the change in mood was. I did this by uncrossing my arms, pacing slightly more around the space to show I was planning. I also stopped looking stage left. To show I was focused on my plan and not them. I showed a more excited expression on my face to show that I was excited for my plan and to show that my character thought it was a good plan.
Overall I think I showed a good understanding of the monologue through my emotions, diction and by using the space around me effectively in my performance. This showed the audience that I knew what I was saying and the right emotions to go along with it.

I then got told I had to perform the monologue again, but this time I had to pretend I was a typical teenage girl in her bedroom. I decided to do my monologue on the floor to show I was sitting on a bed in my bedroom and I was writing in my diary instead of referencing to someone. I also acted out throwing the diary half way through my monologue to show I was a typical teenage girl throwing a tantrum because she didn't get her way. I also made my tone more winey and high pitched to get across that I was a stereotypical teenage girl. I also crossed my arms and legs, showing that I was moody and angry. I also made my movement a lot more sharp to emphasise my anger. I also made sure I didn't move from the bed because I also want to show that she is still quite vulnerable and upset because her 'boyfriend' has just left her for someone else. I also made sure my vocals were projected more making sure I was shouting at some points to show the tantrum of a teenage girl.
I think I showed my emotion well in this performance though my vocal and physical skills. I think I also used different parts of the monologue well to show different states of tension and emotion.

Evaluation

When I performed my monologue to the audition panel I think I used my body gestures and movement well to emphasise my emotions and to to show the audience where I was. By folding my arms and pacing about, looking stage left continuously and pointing in that direction showed the audience that I was angry and jealous, also it showed that I was on my own as I kept pointing to the distance to show I was talking about somebody after they left. This came across in my performance as in my feedback I was told that it was a believable realistic performance.
I also showed my emotions through my voice. Because I knew the translation well. It gave me a better understanding of what each line meant and how she was feeling. So I used this knowledge to show through my vocals that she was jealous and angry.
There is a change in moods towards the end of my monologue and because there is only two mood in this piece I wanted to make sure that it was noticeable to the audience when the change in mood was. I did this by uncrossing my arms, pacing slightly more around the space to show I was planning. I also stopped looking stage left. To show I was focused on my plan and not them. I showed a more excited expression on my face to show that I was excited for my plan and to show that my character thought it was a good plan.
Overall I think I showed a good understanding of the monologue through my emotions, diction and by using the space around me effectively in my performance. This showed the audience that I knew what I was saying and the right emotions to go along with it.

I then got told I had to perform the monologue again, but this time I had to pretend I was a typical teenage girl in her bedroom. I decided to do my monologue on the floor to show I was sitting on a bed in my bedroom and I was writing in my diary instead of referencing to someone. I also acted out throwing the diary half way through my monologue to show I was a typical teenage girl throwing a tantrum because she didn't get her way. I also made my tone more winey and high pitched to get across that I was a stereotypical teenage girl. I also crossed my arms and legs, showing that I was moody and angry. I also made my movement a lot more sharp to emphasise my anger. I also made sure I didn't move from the bed because I also want to show that she is still quite vulnerable and upset because her 'boyfriend' has just left her for someone else. I also made sure my vocals were projected more making sure I was shouting at some points to show the tantrum of a teenage girl.
I think I showed my emotion well in this performance though my vocal and physical skills. I think I also used different parts of the monologue well to show different states of tension and emotion.

Evaluation

When I performed my monologue to the audition panel I think I used my body gestures and movement well to emphasise my emotions and to to show the audience where I was. By folding my arms and pacing about, looking stage left continuously and pointing in that direction showed the audience that I was angry and jealous, also it showed that I was on my own as I kept pointing to the distance to show I was talking about somebody after they left. This came across in my performance as in my feedback I was told that it was a believable realistic performance.
I also showed my emotions through my voice. Because I knew the translation well. It gave me a better understanding of what each line meant and how she was feeling. So I used this knowledge to show through my vocals that she was jealous and angry.
There is a change in moods towards the end of my monologue and because there is only two mood in this piece I wanted to make sure that it was noticeable to the audience when the change in mood was. I did this by uncrossing my arms, pacing slightly more around the space to show I was planning. I also stopped looking stage left. To show I was focused on my plan and not them. I showed a more excited expression on my face to show that I was excited for my plan and to show that my character thought it was a good plan.
Overall I think I showed a good understanding of the monologue through my emotions, diction and by using the space around me effectively in my performance. This showed the audience that I knew what I was saying and the right emotions to go along with it.

I then got told I had to perform the monologue again, but this time I had to pretend I was a typical teenage girl in her bedroom. I decided to do my monologue on the floor to show I was sitting on a bed in my bedroom and I was writing in my diary instead of referencing to someone. I also acted out throwing the diary half way through my monologue to show I was a typical teenage girl throwing a tantrum because she didn't get her way. I also made my tone more winey and high pitched to get across that I was a stereotypical teenage girl. I also crossed my arms and legs, showing that I was moody and angry. I also made my movement a lot more sharp to emphasise my anger. I also made sure I didn't move from the bed because I also want to show that she is still quite vulnerable and upset because her 'boyfriend' has just left her for someone else. I also made sure my vocals were projected more making sure I was shouting at some points to show the tantrum of a teenage girl.
I think I showed my emotion well in this performance though my vocal and physical skills. I think I also used different parts of the monologue well to show different states of tension and emotion.

Evaluation

Like a Virgin- Angela
In this monologue I wanted to show that even though Angela was ill, she was still a typical teenager. I did this by having my arms folded and my posture was slightly hunched this not only showed that Angela is a typical teenager, but she's also quite vulnerable. I also used my voice to show the different emotions that Angela was feeling. For example when I say 'What have I done that's so bloody wrong?' I projected my voice to show that she was angry and upset. Where was when I said 'I don't know why...but I am' I said quietly and turned away from the person I was talking to and looked down. I did this to show she doesn't understand why she's got the illness and she's now come to the realisation that she's going to die.
I use certain words and lines in the speech to show high tension and climatic sections of the monologue, for example when I say 'look at you you're pathetic, just standing their not wanting to say anything incase you hurt my feelings' I said standing close to the girl I was speaking to, whereas when I said, 'no you go I don't feel up to it' I said far away from the girl. I did this to show my different emotions in the monologue and to show different states of tension, when my character was angry I would move close to her and when things were less tense, or when she was talking to herself I would be further away, this represented that she is isolated from her and society because of her illness.
I tried to show the setting of where I was by the way I moved around and when I sat on the chair emphasised the fact that it was in her bedroom. I also sat on the chair to show that my character was reflecting on what she should be doing.
To show Angela was from a middle class family, I made sure my posture was slightly hunched and slightly dragging her feet to reinforce this. I also shortened words to show that she's not from a high class family and that she doesn't properly pronounce her words and shortens them showing that she's middle class and a teenager.
By turning my back quite often to the person who I was speaking to showed that my character is quite moody and doesn't really care about her feelings and that she's the one who is most important in this monologue, even though the person who she is speaking to is her best friend. This shows the audience just how having this illness has effected her.

Star-Spangled Girl- Sophie
I think I made my character believable in my audition. One of the ways I did this was by having an accent. Seeing as Sophie is from Southern America I had a Southern American accent. Which I think worked really well. I made this accent believable by changing words like 'my' to 'mah' which is what a person from Southern American says it like. I also thought it worked well having a chair in my monologue, by doing this it showed the audience that I was talking directly to someone in front of me and showed that we were both in an environment where we would be sitting down.
My character Sophie is quite well mannered. polite and lady like. So to show this I made sure my posture was upright and poised (contrasting with my other characters posture). I also used my facial expressions to show my disgust with the man i'm talking to. But also by not showing many emotions on my face, it makes the piece more comic to watch.
I made sure I knew when the comic bits in my piece were so I could leave some pauses for laughs to add to the comic effect of the piece and also for the audience to hear what i'm saying.