My Dramatic Monologue

http://youtu.be/3iUjJ7bjzHA

Possible Debate Topics

Should there be year round schooling? 

Are video games too violent? 

Should animal testing be banned? 

Should the death penalty be abolished? 

Should parents be required to attend parenting classes before having a child?

"Lights, Camera, Action!" - Dramatic Monologue Performances

Although I have not preformed the final draft of my dramatic monologue just yet,  I think I am getting better at expressing my emotions when I rehersed the monologue.  However,  I think there is still some room for blocking in my preformance.  I am still trying to figure out where to add the handmotions, or what actions would be appropriate at certain parts of the dramatic monologue.  During my dramatic monologue, I plan to be sitting in a chair pretending to talk on the phone.  A good way into the scene, I will get out of my set and start pacing around, like I would do if I was on the phone with a friend in my own home.  Once I get out of the chair,  I feel like there will be more room for blocking and hand gestures.  Sittin the the chair, with a phone in one hand, it is very hard to have any hand movement while preforming my dramatic monologue.

After preforming my dramatic monologue in class, I believe one aspect that I thought could use some work was making more eye contact with the audience and talk louder.  When I preform my dramatic monologue, I hope to make sure to talk loudly like I did in my first monoloue and maybe even make eye contact during the scene (while talking on the phone-- basically looking around to room). 

When watching other stdents in our public speaking class preform their persoanal dramatic monologues, I realized even more than while preforming our regular monologues that it is very important to pronounciate and pace the words you say well.  This allows the audience to have a clear understanding of what you are saying.  With no clear pronunciation of words, it is very difficult to comprehend what exactly the speaker is talking about.  Similarly, with too slow or too fast of pacing of words, it is hard to hear what is being said by the person talking.

One dramatic monologue I particulary liked was Baron's.  Baron was preforming a dramatic monologue from "Fight Club."  I enjoyed watching him preform his monologue because right at the beginning when he slams the door after he walks into the room/into the fight club, he has everyones attention- all eyes are on him.  I like this opening when he shuts the door becuase it sets the tone for the rest of the dramatic monologue.  Also, I never knew that Baron could be loud and get mad, but he sure did when preforming this monologue.  I was shocked at how well his emotion showed when he was simply reciting lines from a movie.  I wasn't expecting his dramatic monologue to be so intense! 

Another students dramatic monologue that I enjoyed watching was Hannah's from the movie "Mean Girls."  I liked listening to her preformance because I have watched the movie Mean Girls multiple times before and was wondering if she would talk like the stereotypical white girl "Regina George." I never saw her preform the final draft of her monologue but every time she rehearsed it in class, she talked loudly and it was easy to uderstand what exactly she was saying.  Even the rehersals were well preformed and executed. 

In Class Writing Assignment- Sept. 21st

The motivation of the character in the dramatic monologue was to make the audience laugh.  The whole concept of what the girl and her best friend wanted to do in their day was meant to be comedic.   The backstory of this dramatic monologue was that a teenage girl was planning out what her and her bestfriend were going to do later in the day.  They always go to the mall but wanted to try something different.  After they thought about what they wanted to do, they decided to go to the mall anyways.  The setting of the story is at a girls home (the girl is talking on the phone to her friend). Lastly, there is little room for blocking in this monologue since it is just a telephone conversation to a friend. 

"Boredom" - Dramatic Monologue

I am so bored! Aren't you bored? What do you want to do? (Beat.)

Believe it or not, I'm sick of going to the mall.  Although I really do need to get a new pair of shoes to go with those pants I bought last week.  But I'm sick of the same old thing, the same old stores, the same old food at the food court, and the same old stupid guys making the same old dumb comments when we walk by.  We need to come up with somethings more exciting then just going to the mall or going to the movies. (Beat.) 

Maybe we should start training to become athletes.  Triathletes.  Ya know, swim, run, bike? if we did that, we would be in fantastic shape, we'd win money and prizes, maybe even scholarships to college, and we would be so busy training all the time, we'd never be bored again! (Pause.) 

Of course, training like that taakes serious commitment, years of work, and total discipline.  We'd never have time to do anything else,  We'd never see our friends or be able to eat when we wanted or go to parties.  it woul dbe a constant drag... our whole life would be reduced to swimming, running, and biking. 

(Pauses as she reflects what life would be like as a triathlete.) 

So.. do you want to go to the mall? 

Experience is Everything

My "Who am I" monologue- 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=zxYVHo8EZzE 

(me playing field hockey- one of my favorite sports- talked about in "Who am I" monologue) 

After watching my “Who am I” Monologue, I recognized some aspects of my monologue that I thought were great and other that I thought could use a little work/ that I can improve on. Some of the strengths of my monologue were that I wasn’t fidgeting or swaying when I talked. Another important aspect of my monologue that I though I did well with was projecting my voice and having a steady pace. For the most part, my voice was loud during the duration of the time I was talking for. Additionally, my speech was only two seconds over a minute long. I feel like when I talked, I had a steady pacing of words throughout my whole speech. Yet, I still had some weaknesses. Even though I didn’t fidget while giving my monologue, I felt like I could have been a little less stiff and a little more relaxed when I was talking. Plus, I was a little hesitant at one point when talking about what I was going to say. I should have worked on memorizing that part of my monologue more. Lastly, I could have looked around at the audience more. For the most part, I was looking at the camera of my ipad. Occasionally, I would look left or right at the members of my audience. 

(A women making eye contact while giving a presentation to a buisness) 

In my next monologue, I will work on making more eye contact with my audience. I will also try and be more relaxed when I talk instead of just standing still like a statue. I feel like I can be more relaxed when I talk if I am confident about what I am saying. Furthermore, the better I memorize my speech, the more confident I will be when I present the next monologue and the more relaxed I will apear when giving my monologue. 

Lastly, from watching my peers give their “Who am I” monologues in class, I learned that you need to project your voice a lot when speaking. When one of my classmates was talking, the window blinds were clashing against each other. On top of this sound, you could also hear the lawnmower cutting grass outside. All together, it was very difficult to hear and understand what the speaker was saying. Words were muffled by the sounds in the environment. Therefore, a very loud and projected voice is needed when publicly speaking, otherwise it can be hard for an audience to hear what you are saying. Also, even if there are no lawnmower sounds or rustling window blinds, if a speaker is not talking loud enough, it is challenging to comprehend what they are saying. 

(person projecting their voice) 

Overall, this “Who am I” monologue assignment opened my eyes to what parts of public speaking I am good at and which parts could use some work. I have to admit, this assignment challenged me. I didn’t think it would be possible for me to memorize this speech and then be able to perform it in front of an audience (my public speaking class). I definitely underestimated how difficult it was to memorize a speech and then perform it. However, I feel like I am getting more comfortable with public speaking and I hope by the end of this course, I will develop skills to help me become better at memorizing speeches.

Monologue about ME ("Who am I" Monologue)

http://youtu.be/zxYVHo8EZzE

Live, Love Public Speaking!

Speaking in front of people may be nerve racking at first.  However, it is always very important that when speaking in public, it is necessary for you to project your voice, make eye contact, and avoid movement while speaking.  

First off, it is crucial to project your voice.  When you aren't loud, people will have a tough time trying to understand you.  When you project you voice, everyone will have a clear understanding of what you are saying to them.  Second, making eye contact with the audience is  important.  When you make eye contact with the crowd, it shows you have prepared well for the presentation you are giving.  Additionally, it shows your audience that you are confident about what you are saying. Lastly, it is essential to avoid movement while speaking.  A force of habit for many people when they are speaking in front of other is swaying from side to side.  This is a result of being nervous of publicly speaking.  Another common example is hand gestures.  Lots of people have a nervous habit of moving their hands while giving a speech.  From the audiences point of view, when seeing the speaker move, it could make the person giving the speech seem unprepared.  Also, it distracts the audience. Overall, there are many tips to give to be a good public speaker, but these are the three most important.

Working on all three of these elements would be my goal and/or the specific things I could work on over the course of this public speaking class.  After giving my food speech and introduction to my monologue, my classmates agreed that the volume of my voice could have been a little bit louder.  Hearing myself talk, I, too, noticed that as I continued to read my monologue, my voice got quieter.  After these two short presentations, my classmates also thought that I could make more eye contact.  Most of the time I was reading what I had wrote on my iPad.  I hope by the end of this class, I will develop strategies to help me make more eye contact whether it be memorizing my lines or being able to read ahead.  Finally, moving wasn't much of an issue for me in these presentations.  Yet, I was holding my iPad in my hands when giving the last two quick speeches.  I fear that when I don't have my iPad in my hands, I will have a habit to move them.  

Overall, projecting your voice, making eye contact, and avoiding movement when speaking will make for a very successful performance.  Before I began taking this class, I was never a great public speaker.  I despised class powerpoint presentations.  I didn't even like reading aloud a section of text during a class read aloud.  Still, I am grasping onto the idea and concept of public speaking.  It is very difficult to change the way you talk to other.  But, by the end of this class, I hope to become a better speaker in general, but also hope to become better at these specific aspects of public speaking. 

"A script is obliviously lless than a play, while a production is more." - from How to Read a Play

For me, this quote represents that scripts are important even though they are such a little part of the whole "play" or idea.  Without the script, there wouldn't be a "production" since there is nothing to produce/preform.  

I think that this quote is applyable to anything.  For example, it could hrelate to homework.  Homework is less important than a test.  However, homework plays a part in the overall grade in the class. 

This quote relates to me and this class because we started of writing about what our favorite food was.  This small speach is less important than a bigger speach.  But, the food speech helped me to get more comfortable with talking.  In the furture, I will be even more confortable with giving longer speeches. 

"Who Am I?"- Monologue

Who am I?  I would describe myself as a caring and considerate girl.  I love to spend my free time with friends and family.  Other aspects that make me me are my interests, and where I came from. 

I have many interests, including sports.  Sports take up a big part of my life.  I love to play field hockey, tennis, golf, and lacrosse.  Other non-competative sports I enjoy are basketball and skiing.  When I am not playing sports, I can be found at home doing artwork whether it be doodling on a piece of paper or painting on a canvas.  

Lastly, what sets me apart from others is that I am Native American.  Being Native American is very important to me.  My family and I try to visit the indian reservation that we come from each summer.  I enjoy seeing all of my relatives and being connected to my heritage, but it's very hard seeing all of the poverty on the reserve.  It makes me realize how lucky I am for the life I have in the U.S.

Overall, I am a kind, thoughtful person with many interests and a unique background.  There is no one else in the world exactly like me.  I’m one of a kind. 

Who Am I?

I am a caring and considerate girl who always seems to have a smile on her face.  Since I was little, my parents told me that I was their “sunshine” or “sparkle”.  They would say I always filled up a room with my positivity.  In class, I am very studious.  At first, I may come across as a shy girl.  However, I am not shy.  In fact, I am very outgoing and love to participate in many group activities during my spare time. 

In my free time, I love to hang out with my friends and do things like go to the movies.  On the other hand, it is important for me to spend quality time with my family.  I value my family very much.  I do everything possible to make my mom and dad happy.  Yes, we have arguments sometimes, but doesn’t everybody?  I love my family so much.  I would never trade them for anything in the world.  My parents and brother support me in everything I do, and I am fortunate to have such a great relationship with my family members because some kids do not. 

Also in my free time, I like to participate on many sports teams or do art.  My favorite sports now are very different to my favorite sports when I was six or seven years old.  When I was younger, I enjoyed playing soccer and softball.  Now, I love playing field hockey, golf, tennis, and lacrosse.  I have been playing field hockey for two years, and the same goes for lacrosse.  I started golf at the age of nine years old at The First Tee of Connecticut and have continued to grow as a player since.  Lastly, my tennis career began around three years ago.   On leisure weekends, I like to draw and/or paint.  I have been artistic since I was a little girl, always in the art show since the first grade.  Art has always been a passion for me and will likely continue to be. 

Everyone has some sort of ethnicity whether it is Irish, Polish, etc.  Me?  I am fifty percent Native American.  At a glimpse of the eye you would probably never guess that I am a Native American.  My ethnicity is very important to me.  It represents where my family and I originated from.  For the past three summers, I have visited the Indian reservation in Thunder Bay, Ontario in which I belong to.  Seeing the reserve makes me feel sad but happy at the same time.  Looking at all the poverty on the reservation makes me feel sad.  Yet, it also makes me fortunate for the life I have because my grandfather was able to leave the reservation and be successful in the U.S.  Surely, life would have been extremely different if I lived on the reserve.  But, going to the reservation each year is tremendously important to me as it connects me back to my roots. 

Ultimately, each and every person is different.  Everyone has his or her own personalities.  Everyone has his or her own interests.  Everyone is unique.  There is no one else in the world exactly like me.  I’m one of a kind.