Goals

Students will prepare for the monologue performance by analyzing the character (specifically in this scene) and creating production notes (how to perform the scene).

 

Details

Duration: 90 minutes

Assessments: Student writing, Performance/presentation (i.e. speech, play)

 

Description

Students choose a pivotal part in the act, a part that reveals an important character trait and an essential point in the story. Students must choose a monologue that the character they analyzed in Benchmark 1A (CHARACTER ANALYSIS RESOURCE) delivered. Students can cut the monologue it if it is more than 15 lines, but it cannot be less than 15 lines. Students must complete two tasks before they can perform, the (a) monologue character analysis and (b) Production Notes.

Student Instructions:

a. Monologue Character Analysis- Students answer the specific questions for the monologue in bullet form. Be as detailed as possible. (1-2 sentences will not suffice.) SEE RESOURCES

b. Production Notes – Students create production notes for the monologue on the script. They must include:
o Blocking – Where am I on stage? Why?
o Pace – How quickly/slowly am I speaking? Why?
o Stress – What words/phrases/ideas do I need to emphasize? Why?
o Body Language/Gestures/ Movement – What am I doing on stage? Why?

Monologue Character Analysis
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Author Reflections

Last year all students completed "The Immigrant's Song" exhibition (also in the Project Exchange library) so they understood the importance of preparing for the role by becoming as closely connected to your character as possible. They also had already been exposed to memorization techniques, so we didn't need to teach that again. Also, while we read Othello as a class, students were often asked to create production notes before "low-stakes" class performances, so they were already familiar with this task.