Everything is dark. The light and the attention of everyone in the room are now on you. The atmosphere is so tense that you can feel the slightest movement, such as each drop of sweat running along your spine when the light is heating up your body...
That is probably how most people feel when they have their first act on the stage, especially if it is a monologue scene. Remembering a script and the emotions that go with it is challenging enough, yet when you step onto that stage, things just go on a whole new level of difficulty. This week, my public speaking class has nailed the intimidating mission of delivering a monologue in front of the class.
The first brave "tribute" was Drew, with his funny monologue about how to fake out parents. Drew clearly remembered his speech well and had very engaging emotions and illustrative gestures that draw the audience in. However, sometimes his hand gestures were a bit irrelevant and unnecessary. He could add a little more emphasis on some part of the monologue to achieve better effect for his monologue.
The second person stepped up was Caroline. She played Bella in Twilight when Edward left her. Caroline did a good job in portraying a wondering, deep-in-thought, emotional and lonely girl. She may want to add a bit of emotion there and then, but generally, she was amazing with that monologue.
Next is me. My speech was not very long, so memorization was not a big challenge and I did well on it. What was really difficult for me at first was to get into the character and then to convey the unusual personalities of the woman I was pretending to be. I found the speech to be quite funny, considering the context. However, the character was furious and crazy; therefore, I had to be mad and acted mad. Through the weeks and with the help from my peers and teacher, I was able to express the madness better. Another challenge for me was not make unnecessary movements unconsciously due to anxiety. This, along with the issues of clear pronunciation, is something that I need to work more on.
One of the most sentimental monologues was that of Sophia. She portrayed a very emotional speech that was quite hard for her since it was originally spoken by a man. However, Sophia managed to defeat the obstacle and deliver a great monologue. She could work more on pronunciation and memorization.
Brandon's monologue was a funny one. His tone was engaging and he did a good job in playing the role of a cool guy. However, he could slow down a little bit and perhaps add more actions to make the monologue more compelling.
Christina, despite her concussion, has done well in memorizing the speech. She also tried hard to pronounce the words clearly and get into the character. The one thing she may want to add to her speech is some hand gestures and body language.
The next person was Nadya with her critical speech from a famous cartoon: "Ratatouille". She did indulge herself into the picky, hard-to-pleased critic that was suddenly enlightened by a spectacular meal. She looked confident and delivered the speech at a low yet appropriate tone. However, Nadya could work more on emphasis.
Donavan chose a very strong and moving monologue to present on the stage. His tone, emotions, emphasis and some hand gestures draws the audience in . However, the hand gestures could be stronger and be used more effectively. In addition, his style could be a bit less casual by, for example, not putting the hand in his pocket.
Just saying, you guys all rocked the mission!!!!
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