Rehearsal Exercises

We done various rehearsal exercises to help us become familiar with the new Shakespeare monologues. Initially i was worried about performing my first Shakespearean style monologue as i felt like i wouldn't be able to understand the language and the meaning behind the monologue and how the characters was emotionally attached.

As a group we done exercises to help encourage our learning of Shakespeare this included:

Tension and Relaxation:

This exercise we experienced in the previous assignment and there i felt it was beneficial so we decided to apply it to introducing our Shakespeare monologues.

In this exercise we read throughout the monologues to refresh our memories on theme firstly. Next we walked around the room at a neutral pace. As we begun to read the monologues out loud when we came to any punctuation we turned a whole 90 degrees turn. This physicals the tension in our monologues. Therefor where there is more punctuation the more tension and rising action is apparent in this specific part of the monologue.

When doing this exercise i notices that my monologue features a build up to the highest point of tension which is apparent in the middle of the monologue then then end decreases towards the falling action of emotions in the monologue. In my monologue Ophelia is verging on madness as she has just experienced a unplanned meeting with Hamlet who she had in the previous act agreed to her father she would stop seeing Hamlet! This meeting with Hamlet has allowed Ophelia to see that he is not that man she thought he was and he is not capable of taking on the position of being the role model in her life. Women in this era relied of men to guide them in life. Ophelia's has always been her father but her meeting with Hamlet had in forced her of her fathers opinion of Hamlet of being useless and cynical.

Neutral, Melodramatic, Non Verbal:

Another exercise we we done to develop the ideas around the emotions was the perform the monologues out loud and perform them using extreme form of styles. This included firstly performing the monologues as we currently had them, for example in an appropriate way. Next we were to perform the monologue the an over exaggerated melodramatic way. This included overemotional and over dramatic form. The allowed us to experience the heights of emotion in our monologues. Finally we would perform the monologues in a non verbal way using no speech but only using actions relating to the the words. I feel this helped us become aware of the physical space of what will use when performing our monologues.  Also it helped us physically embody the characters we were playing.

Overall i feel the outcome of this specific exercise was very effect and had a beneficial effect on influencing our final performance. I feel that playing our characters to the extremes can help us work towards the final performance as we can apply subtle hints of the different styles to our final classical performance.

Iambic Pentameter

Iambic Pentameter is meter that Shakespeare neatly always used when writing in verse. Most of his plays were written in the form of Iambic Pentameter, except for lower-class characters who speak in prose (dialogue written in prose appears as a block of text, unlike the strict rhythmic patterns of Shakespeare's verse)

Iambic Pentameter has:

• Ten syllables in each line
• Five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables
• The rhythm in each line sound like:

         ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM

Why is Iambic Pentameter important?

In terms of Shakespeare Iambic Pentameter is highly prominent due to him using to the form to great dexterity.

In my opinion i feel it is highly important in influencing the way the lines are spoken when performing!

It allows the actor to realise which words are specifically stressed and which are unstressed. Therefor the creates a natural emphasis on the words.

Applying this to my monologue:

Applying Iambic Pentameter on my monologue i feel really helped me explore which words needed to be stressed and also it allowed the meaning of the monologue to have clarity.

"He took me by the wrist and held me hard.

Then goes he to the length of all his arm,

And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,

He falls to such perusal of my face

As he would draw it. Long stayed he so.

At last, a little shaking of mine arm

And thrice his head thus waving up and down

He raised a sigh so piteous and profound

As it did seem to shatter all his bulk

And end his being. That done, he lets me go,

And, with his head over his shoulder turned,

He seemed to find his way without his eyes,

For out o'doors he went without their helps,

And to the last bended their light on me."

Introducting Shakespearean Text

Also every actor at some point in there acting career will have to perform a Shakespeare monologue. At first this can seem very daunting as the text of Shakespeare opens up a whole new understanding and meaning but also language of acting. It requires understanding and indeapth research into the era and contextual context in order to portray a successful performance.

To succeed you have to understand whats happening , what your saying and convey that understanding to the audience. In addition you must be able to create a vivid character and dynamic blocking choices. This may appear to be a lot of work for a monologue of 1-2 minutes but the outcome will be appropriate and effective.

The Text

When working on Shakespeare monologues you are going to have to focus on doing some language work. This allows the actor to create an understanding of the text being spoken.

There are some exercises which are effective for enhancing this understanding of the language:

•  Define unfamiliar words- Doing this process allows the actor to understand words in the monologue which initially they may not of understand. The actor needs to identify and define every word in the monologue. Shakespeare uses many words which do not have the same meaning as they do today.
• Translate lines into modern English- Translation is very important when an actor is first introduced to a Shakespearean monologue. This allows you to understand exactly what you are saying and keep the translation in your head as you speak the Shakespearean words! This therefor help you have more of an understanding of the way the words need to be spoken...whether with anger,frustration, sadness, sorrow, joy...

Assignment Scenario

"You are in your second year of Drama School. This term you will be working with a visiting professional director on a classical text, which will either be a Greek or Elizabethan Comedy or Tragedy. You have been asked to prepare an appropriate monologue of no more than two minutes for an audition with the visiting director.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate your performance skills for a challenging text.

You will prepare and rehearse one monologue of now more than two minutes.
You must demonstrate a clear understanding of language and style."