Creating Your Own Monologue

by Glenn Alterman

Overview

In the second edition of this popular guide, actors learn to use their skills to write monologues, performance art pieces, and one-person plays. Updated to include exclusive interviews and tips on marketing, this guide helps actors create their own exciting performance opportunities and follow in the footsteps of Elaine Stritch, Billy Crystal, John Leguizamo, and other stunningly successful writer-performers of one-person shows. The author, an award-winning actor, breaks down the writing process into simple steps, coaching the reader through each stage of the creative journey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621531067
Publisher:	Allworth
Publication date:	09/01/2005
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	860 KB

About the Author

Glenn Alterman, a playwright, screenwriter, author, and actor, is also one of the country’s foremost monologue and audition coaches. He has written several books, including Promoting Your Acting Career. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xv
	Introduction to the Second Edition	xvii
	Introduction	xix
	Six Ways to Get the Most Out of This Book	xxiii
Part I	The monologue: writing, rehearsing, performing
1	A Definition of Terms	3
	What Is a Monologue?	3
	Types of Monologues	4
	What Is Performance Art?	6
2	A Brief History of the One-Person Show	8
	Samuel Foote (1721-1777) Creates the One-Person Show	8
	George Alexander Stevens, the Father of the Monologue	8
	Charles Mathews	9
	Ruth Draper Perfects the Monologue	9
	Cornelia Otis Skinner	10
	Historical Monologues	10
	The Solo Show Today	10
3	A Preliminary Look	12
	Questions to Ask Yourself before Starting Work on a Solo Show	12
	The Similarities/Differences between Being an Actor and Working as a Writer	13
	As an Actor, Do I Have the Necessary Skills to Create My Own Material?	14
	Pluses and Minuses, Assessing Specifically Where You Are Now	14
	Your Sense of Truth	15
4	Ways to Work, Selecting Your Tools	16
	Writing	16
	What Is Creative Writing?	17
	Fear of Writing	17
	Journal Writing	18
	Using a Tape Recorder	18
	Improvising: "Are Your Talkin' to Me?"	19
	Working Orally: In Front of an Audience	19
	Working Orally: Developing Your Stories Throughout the Day	20
5	Preparing	21
	For Those Actors Who Know Which Type (Style) of Monologue They Want to Create	21
	For Those Actors Who Don't Know What Type of Solo Material They Want to Create	22
	Perking with an Idea	23
	Exercises to Help You with Your Solo Show	23
	Deciding When to Begin	24
6	Guidelines for Creating Short or Audition Monologues	25
7	Fundamentals of All Good Monologues	28
	To Whom Is the Character Speaking?	30
	Questions Every Monologue Must Answer	30
	About Autobiographical Monologues	31
	Another Way to Approach Autobiographical Material	33
	Storytelling Monologues	34
	Narrative and Dramatic Style	34
	Your Personal Style: Your Voice	35
	Examples of Different Voices and Styles	36
	From An Evening with Quentin Crisp	36
	Winfred from Monster	37
	Craig from Two Minutes and Under, Volume 3	38
	From An Evening with Shelly Mars	39
	From Gray's Anatomy	39
	Cudjoe from The Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky	40
	From Safe	41
	Sam from Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop	42
	From Time on Fire	43
	From Comedy You Can Dance To	43
	From Full Gallop	44
	From I'm Breathing the Water Now	45
	From The Finger Hole	46
	From A Kiss to Build a Dream On	47
8	Using Your Acting Technique to Create Character Monologues	48
	Working from the Outside in, as an Actor and Writer	48
	Working Internally as an Actor and Writer	49
9	Starting to Write	52
	Two Scenarios	52
	Understanding Writer's Block	53
	Techniques for Dealing with Writer's Block	54
	Nothing, a Whole Lot of Nothing	54
	Writing about Painful Events	55
	Free-Writing: An Invaluable Exercise	55
	Clustering (or Webbing): Finding the Initial Core of Your Work	58
	Sal from Street Talk: Character Monologues for Actors	59
10	Creating Your Monologue: Structure and Process	61
	How We'll Be Working from Now On	62
	Comparing the Actor's and the Writer's Processes of Starting Out	62
	The Importance of the Narrator	63
	Your Opening Section: The First Paragraphs	63
	From Charlotte (from True Stories)	64
	Bernice from Two Minutes and Under, Volume 2	64
	From Swimming to Cambodia	65
	From Pretty Fire	65
	Blanka from Some People	66
	Jo from Eternal Pyramid	66
	Master of the Stale from the play The Dark String	67
11	Developing Your Monologue	68
	Developing Your Role (as an Actor)	68
	Developing Your Monologue (as a Writer)	68
	The Ongoing Day-to-Day Work	69
	Working on Performance Art Pieces	70
	A Word about Songs, Music, and Dance in Monologue Plays	70
	Mixed Media	70
	That Old Devil, the Self-Censor	71
	Taking Mini-Breaks, Breathers	71
	Looking Over What You've Written So Far	72
	After the Break: Two Scenarios	72
	Working Till the End of the First Draft	72
12	Developing Your Monologue II (The Ongoing Work)	73
	The "Who Wrote This Monologue, and What's It About?" Exercise	73
	Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading through Your Script	74
	At What Point Should You Have Someone Else Read What You've Written?	74
	Selecting the Right Person to Read Your Monologue	75
	Performing the First Draft for a Director	75
	Performing the First Draft as a "Work in Progress" for an Audience	76
	Making Repairs: Rewriting	76
	Revising and Reshaping	76
	The Three Golden Rules of Revising	76
	The Subconscious and Rewrites	79
13	Completing Work on Your Monologue	80
	Things to Keep in Mind in Your Closing	80
	Knowing When the Monologue Is Ready to Be Performed	81
	A Checklist to Decide Whether Your Monologue Is Ready to Be Performed	81
14	Preparing to Perform	83
	Selecting a Director	83
	Working with the Director in Rehearsal	84
	Rehearsing the Audition Monologue	85
	Performing the Piece	86
15	Marketing Your Solo Show	87
	Preparing Your Marketing Package	87
	Management/Booking Agencies That Handle Solo Artists	89
Part II	Interviews with monologue writers and performers
16	Lanie Robertson	93
17	Sarah Jones	99
18	Spalding Gray	103
19	Mary Louise Wilson	107
20	Charlayne Woodard	111
21	Tim Miller	115
22	Danny Hoch	119
23	Dael Orlandersmith	124
24	Quentin Crisp	128
25	Marilyn Sokol	131
26	Evan Handler	134
27	Shelly Mars	141
28	Brian Dykstra	145
29	Penny Arcade	151
30	Kate Clinton	156
31	Ann Randolph	160
Part III	Interviews with directors of one-person shows
32	Peter Askin	167
33	Jo Bonney	172
34	Christopher Ashley	177
35	Marcia Jean Kurtz	183
36	David Bar Katz	186
	Appendixes
A	Artist Colonies Where You Can Develop Your Solo Show	191
B	Theaters That Accept Solo Material	195
C	Publishers of Solo Material	202
D	Playwriting Competitions That Accept Solo Material	207
E	Applying for Grants	212
F	Literary Agents	215
G	Recommended Books	222
H	Internet Resources	223
	Permissions	225
	About the Author	227
	Index	229

Editorial Reviews

A guide for actors to creating monologues for use in auditions for one-person shows. Tips on character development, dialogue, rewrites, editing, rehearsing and performing, and marketing and promotion are included by playwright and screenwriter, Alterman. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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