Expert: John T. Aney - 11/22/2006

Question
Hello, John -

I will soon be auditioning for a production of Servant of Two Masters.  The director has asked for a monologue - classical comedy with movement.  I have been through book after book after book for hours - Shakespeare, Restoration comedies, Moliere, etc etc etc, but have been unable to find anything that seems to be a good bet for the "with movement" part.  

I'm 26 years old, with a BA in Theater, and quite a bit of experience.  I can take a difficult piece, no problem.  I have experience with both comedic and dramatic roles.  I just need to overcome the hurdle of finding something that will work.  I took a look at Viola's "ring" monologue from 12th Night and Phebe's "I don't really like him" monologue from As You Like It, but am not sure how successful I would be in injecting movement.  It seems to be a rather difficult undertaking considering the choices in women's monologues out there.  Found plenty that would work on the "men" sides of the books!

Thanks for any help you can give.  I hope the details I supplied give you an idea of who I am and what I might be able to take on.

Melissa

Answer
I'm not sure how well I can answer your question, but I'll try.

I think one problem you might have is that may be expecting the "movement" to be written in the speech.  Shakespeare in particular has virtually no stage directions, so you have to look for a speech that you feel needs physicalization.  For instance - try the ring monologue from 12th Night and impose a circumstance on yourself - like maybe you have to keep moving or you will faint, or that you are afraid someone might be behind each tree or bush and you have to look for them.  Physical movement always has to come from a need generated by the circumstance, and with a Shakespeare monologue it is up to the actor to determine the circumstances.  Try this and see if it works.

jta