Today in workshop I got the chance to see other people perform their monologues. First they would read their monologue all the way through and then they would put the monologue down and perform their version of the subtext. Joy had us sit facing a partner so that we could feed off of their reactions just like we would if we were in the play. When they re-read their monologue for a second time it was amazing. For everyone it became a little more real, more organic. By taking away the script they were allowed to perform a little more freely, and though they did not stray from the story they each added a little more umph-for lack of a better word. I remember Nicole's character was at a loss for words and her mouth twitched because she really became overwhelmed with what the character was saying. I think this happened because she wasn’t concerned with getting the monologue done right.
Joy said something that really stuck with me, she simply said to not try to get the audience to feel for you. That is what I was doing. I tried to make an emotional connection and the monologue was not working. I was and still am a bit frustrated. I'm not doing it the way I want to, but I'm figuring out what I'm doing wrong. See, I kept trying to bring up sad and depressed emotions because I have a more calm and depressed monologue but that isn’t the point at all. It’s like imp practically screaming, "look at how sad and pathetic this character is!" instead of just performing the damn thing. Last workshop Joy said "maybe she isn't sad" and my mouth opened. Of course she isn’t sad. Why did I think she was? Next time it my turn to read my piece, I won’t care about getting the audience on board.
She is duplicating a lot of what I think we did in acting last year - which is really good. You cannot control your own emotions, let alone someone else's. Youhave to surprise yourself. Think of your emotions in the movie yesterday - you feel because you are involved and you LOOSE as sense of yourself, not because you are trying to connect to the film or trying to feel. The more you try to feel the less you actually will feel. Look at your own life and you'll see this is true.
ReplyDeleteOne of the hardest things about acting is realizing that you generally get to your goals by walking away from what you want only to wind up there.