Contemporary Monologue 1, Character Log, Evaluation, Research

Auditions for Actors Unit 18

Contemporary Monologue 1

Seriously? I think you should go now. There’s my phone number so you can call and pop around when I’ve had a chance to tidy up, or maybe when my boyfriend's home. I’d like you to meet him. I think you’d get on. Anyhow, give me a call in a week or so when I’m less busy and we’ll catch up properly. I’d love to talk but I really must get to work, all right? (LIVID) Listen to me, I do not have to put up with your cockeyed view of the world according to Michael Cerwin, so I suggest that you nip any plans that you might have to control my life again in the bud, do you understand me? If you haven’t worked it out by now the reason I left in the first place was because you were a liar and a control freak Michael. If you want me back in even the remotest possible way, you’ll have to work on giving me some indication that’s changed, because if it hasn’t this is going to be a very short reunion. Am I making myself clear?

1) Read & Analysis the monologue like three times max.

2) Don't try to stick with one emotion.

3) Be your character.

4) React to Michael's facial expressions. 

5) Believe you're actually talking to Michael

6) Start off calmly so then you can get angry towards the end.

7) Don't make it seem staged or improvised.

8) Don't fake an emotion.

9) make it colourful.

Title and Author:

The title of the play I chose my monologue from is called B is for black. Courttia Newland is a Black novelist and playwright; he is also an author of the best selling novels, The Scholar (1997) and Society Within (1999).

B is for Black was written by courttia newland. However it was directed by Riggs O’Hara it was first performed on the first of October 2003 at oval house theatre in a production by the post office theatre company.  The play is the final play in the Chamberlain trilogy, continuing from the critically acclaimed and sell-out productions of The Far Side at the Tricycle Theatre and Mothers Day at the Lyric Studio in Hammersmith.

Brief Synopsis -

B is for black, follows the rise and then fall from the grace of Ben Nelson. A Black man whom attended Oxford, Ben eagerly begins his first day at West Chamberlain Arts (WCA), a government funded arts organisation. Ben is determined to show his new colleague, Imani; promoter of a local Pan-African movement, that he isn't just another Uncle Tom. However, when Ben's White middle class wife and father-in-law appear at the WCA office, Imani begins to doubt the validity of his claims. Does Imani want Ben to break his White middle class ties, and will she stop at nothing to achieve this.

Genre and style of B is for black:

When I was picking my monologues, my main focus was their themes: cause I feel that in order for me to accelerate in my monologue performance, I would have to be able to feel a sense of connection with the theme; before trying to get the attention of the audience. The reason why my main priority and focus is on that aspect is because I feel as an actor you should connect with your performance so then the audience could then grasp “truth” and “believability” in your piece. When I was also picking my monologues my main focus was to do as the criteria said; to meet the demands. To meet the demands I was suppose to get a play that had been written since 1964 that are also suitable for my casting; as in I could genuinely play the role because we share a lot of similarities the characters and me.

Character profile: The character I have chosen is called Kate Nelson. Kate Nelson is played by Emma Rand in a theatre production from the Post Office Theatre Company (2003). Kate’s character has a lot of conflict in the play. Her character is often livid(angry),  she is also ‘on the level’ as in she indicates honesty- in the line “if you want me back in your life in even the remotest possible way, you’ll have to work on giving me some indication that’s changed…”. The character I chose has been through a lot of deceit. For instance: there is a line in my monologue that she said “… I left in the first place because you were a liar and a control freak Michael.” To me as a young uprising actress that line proved to me how deceitful her partner was and why she has so much anger in her and some times I believe that some people that watch the play have a tendency of confusing her anger in the play with hatred. Rand’s character as Kate Nelson also showed me how she reacted to certain circumstances in the play this enables me to be able to deeply study my character emotionally.

An appeal about B is for black and my character:

 Just imagine it is a chilly day, now picture tiny rain drops falling on your head as you look up. The rain drops fall on your head like leaves that touch the ground in autumn right? Then all of a sudden you realise its raining but remember you have no umbrella; then the rain falls heavily and you’re absolutely soaking wet. As you walk you can sort of feel the weight of your legs trembling across the side walk. You see that’s how I felt when I was visiting Samuel French and Foyles. I actually chose my contemporary monologue from the way I felt that day; strange is it not? Anyway as I was reading the second monologue I chose I was intrigued by the way the author Courttia Newland pulled the attention of me (the reader) constantly. He used words that the youth of today would often say and as a youth that grabbed my attention even more. It was like I was there watching the performance live. I do not really read plays but I felt with this play I could relate to it, it was just so fascinating and interesting and to develop my character’s characteristics even more I am willing to watch one of their performances of this piece live and see how much more I’m drawn into the actual performance instead of the play. I’m doing this to see how my character Kate Nelson is meant to be portrayed as. This playwright is on the dot ever since I read this play and the two others I chose; I actually love his plays they are unique. They stand out! The reason this play also made me feel like that is the one for me as in that is the monologue I want to do was because of the way he wrote it. He is such a clever author and when we were deciding on which monologues to do in class I was determined to do B is for black because as a black British playwright and novelist he is on the ball. He knows what he is about and as a young uprising actress that is what appeals to me because he knows who he is and what he is about that is why I love this play. Courttia Newland is very talented and I respect his work.

Similarities:  I would have to say Kate Nelson as a character and I have a few similarities we both react to the way we are treated in the same way and I personally think this is an advantage. Although sometimes I can react differently depends on the scenario it’s the same thing with Kate Nelson. We both have also been with people that mean so much to us that act deceitfully towards us.

 

Differences: Kate Nelson has always been bitter because the playwright only slightly reveals her past but does not dwell on it too much in the play.  However I am not as bitter as her. I’m actually really different from her character. Although sometimes I could be bitter depending on the situation I am in.

 

Biggest challenge in playing the role:  Truthfully my biggest challenge in playing the role is actually the fact that I’m rarely angry it just happened to be a coincidence that the way I felt the day I visited the bookshop had a huge impact on my chosen monologues.

What I need to work on vocally, physically and emotionally:  To be honest I feel that physically I should work on quite a lot on my gestures (movements) because I researched more about the play online where I found out more about the author.  I had done further research because the play did not tell me how ex actly my character is like and since my character is mostly livid (FIRM ANGRY) I need to show how she often feels and how the author felt when he was writing the play. If I did not research much further; then my role would look fake and made up sort of like a cartoon even though my main aim is for the audience to see truth in my two min performance. If I was just saying the lines and doing no actions it would not make my performance affective at all it. Instead it makes me look as if I am rehearsing my lines in front of an audience and when I’m actually meant to be performing them. Vocally: I believe I should do vocal warm ups that I have been taught by Jackie and Sean Pol because that will enable me to project my voice on stage and be very clear when my character (Kate Nelson) is saying her monologue.  Emotionally: I personally think I should work on why my character has so much anger in her and when I look at the character Kate Nelson’s background it answered my question. I believe I can play the role because I know where the anger is coming from and how to react to the Michael character that offended my character (Kate Nelson).

Background info I will need to research about:

The background information that I thought I needed to know more about, was the character’s personal life. For instance: where she was from? Where she lived? As in was she poor, middle class or very wealthy. How old she was? If she had family who were they? Why did she act the way she did in the play? Her love life as in who she fell in love with. I would do a little biography based on how her life is like in the play sort of like a character log. I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written.

What impact should the piece B is for black have upon an audience?

To be quite frank the impact the piece should have on an audience is it should make the audience have empathy and sympathy for the Kate’s character because of what she has been through and how she has moved on. It should also make the audience understand why Kate Nelson is an angry person by Kate’s gestures (movements) and body language. For example: her facial expression changes from this ashamed character to a firm angry person. Also the eye contact she makes should let the audience feel the intensity in her eyes and make them see the truth within her eyes. 

 

Research

 

How I am going to play Kate Nelson

 I play the role of Kate Nelson, Kate is the loving wife of Ben Nelson. Throughout most of the play, she realises she still wants her ex Michael Cerwin back in her life. But she does not want to break off the realtionship with Ben because she still loves him. 

Brief Bio

Kate Nelson was born on April 10, 1992 ; and she was raised near Walthamstow in London. She is sixteen and not in education. She is black British. She has two other siblings called Keyshia(16) and Antwan (21) her mother is called Diana Lewis. Her mother is often referred to as Dee.

Winns Primary School- Kate went to and completed Winns. She was a bright student, very enthusiastic. Her father left her and her family when she was three, leaving her mother dee  as a single mum. That is also part of the reason why she feels she still has to keep Michael Cerwin in her life because she does not want him to feel as hurt as her, when her father left her and her mother for another woman. This did not have much of an impact on Kate Nelson because she didn't really have a bond with her father.

Hillyfield secondary school

She was very smart and a loud. She had a competitive side that was drilled in her in her early stages by her mother this would often make her compete in spellings bee and she felt that if she came first place all the time that she would make her mother proud of her. Unfortunately in year 10 her Mother passed away and she lived with her Grand parents. But her Nan couldn't bare the thought of losing her child and had a stroke. Her grandfather was the one who walked her down the isle and as he was walking her down the isle he said. Your mother would have been so proud of how far you have come. So smile and enjoy it will it lasts because things don't last forever. 

Waltham Forest College 

College life: She attended Waltham Forest; in college she still had the same mentality she had and was very often on top of things; always the top student. Until she met Michael Cerwin, the college's worst student and top player. He was actually smart kid. However, he took days off; during college  and half terms that he was meant to come in for rehearsals for a college play. But when he met Kate, he began to change his ways to impress her, but as a girl she done her homework and realised what sort of person she attracted and tried to put a stop to it, unfortunately she couldn't because she ended up falling for him.  This led to their relationship. But then he cheated on her with her best friend and she wasn't having it; so they decided to end the relationship.

Oxford University

Her life in university was going great until she met Michael Cerwin again, surprised she then said to him to keep his distance but he would often wait for her classes to end and stalk her to her dorm just to apologise. Then one day she said to him "you need to move on, you and me are no longer together. Ben Nelson, the best friend of Michael Cerwin, was then passing their little conversation and started to pay more attention to her; in university, as a result, he then started to develop feelings for her and he ended up telling her, how he felt. Kate then had to make a hudge decision between the two of them and chose Ben Nelson but still kept Michael Cerwin as a friend. Michael does not like the fact that Ben still won her over.

Background Research

The only family she has are just her mother and her sister and brother. Kate acted the way she did in the play because she is very close to both Michael and Ben. Her current boyfriend is Ben Nelson.  I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written. So I looked into the playwrights previous work and his remarks about B is for Black.  I thought of the idea of making a docmentary a short clip of what the other characters mean to me.

What makes an engaging or compelling characer is their charm and charsima. I created a character by using your imagination to create a new life; history for a character then turn them into a real life uman being so you can play that character. To make the people that I have pictured in my mind come to life; I need to write stuff about them down, like the way I picture them speaking; re-acting and communicating with others. The two main purposes for these development exercises were 1) to help solidify my characterization by imaging my character in a variety of situations; and 2) to work with the information I have. Knowing my character as I do, I have to write about her in a way which makes use of the knowledge I have. The image often used here is an iceberg: most of what I know about my character will never be seen (or, stated) directly. Much of it will never be used at all. However, it is good for me - the writer - to know everything so that I can be confident about playing my character and how she will react in any given circumstance. 1st development exercise: writing in the third person, I had to my character in an environment familiar to him/her, carrying out some habitual action (work, eating, sleeping, domestic chores, driving, shaving,), whilst in the grip of some intense emotion. She sleeps in a fairly decent old fashioned styled home. She wears ripped jeans so her pockets have a lot of patches in them from needles; she use to like to sow but she grew out of it. She has a really nice old pauls boutique purse her mother gave to her as a present.  My characters physical appearance matters a lot to her but she does not show it. Deep inside she is really frightened of how others perceive her. My character is 158.5 (5'2) athletic build and dark chocolate. Kate got given the nick name kai by her boyfriend; Her voice is Low and Husky. Her hand gestures are really sharp and always directed in two ways either side ways or to the front. She loves her Kitchen because she loves to cook and she is a cook. Her Kitchen is quite old fashioned

Her least favourite is parent's room because it makes her remincise about how happy the family was; how her father and mother made her feel, she always felt special and wanted but now is like she feels rejeted. Although she lives with Ben at his house she still has a room for herself for when she has to study. Picture this her door is painted red with recipe's of food all over it and a sign that says please don't enter unless you can cook; but enter anyway she is rarely in her room and it has no lock. Then turn the latch clock wise and walk into the room and as soon as you enter Kate's bedroom has Burgandy wall paper and her favourite inspiration Jaime Oliver. She has a king size bed that is on the left of her room because her father brought it for her before he passed and it has remained there ever since. Her bed sheets are pure white showing her purity and has  a cream rose pattern on it. In the middle of the her room she has a tinted white window and has three lemon scented candles next to the window on a tray and a desk.She puts the bag in the same part of her room for when she has to study which is right next to her wardrobe on the right side of her computer. She has a black bagpackwith white stones and thorns on the outside of it that says Kerrie Rocks that's her nick name that her boyfriend gave to her. The desk is black; it is sort of like a wooden sqaure without the bottom line. That is where she keeps her dell computer; her over due library books and then as for her bag she lives it underneath her stuy desk. On the right she has a wardrobe that she made in one of her construction classes that is fairly big it starts from one side of the room and ends at the other side. Her wardrobe is painted red with cook recipes on her wardrobe like her door. She wears a lot of biker jackets; she even has it in every colour except from Green and Pink just like ripped jeans and vest tops. She loved to give to charity she sort of lost some of her Mc'Donalds toys she used to get and her barbies. She sometimes wears her red and black silk Pj's. She is middle class and black british. In secndary school she liked a boy called Michael Cerwin. She believes in sex after marriage and she doesn't want to have sex with just anyone she wants it to be with someone she loves and someone who feels the same way. This shouldn't be a surprise but she is a virgin. She is self employed and owns her own company. Her favourite smell is the scent of roses. Kerrie Anne has a lot of hobbies, she likes to read, sing and listen to her rock music as I mentioned before. She likes to wear shoe's like timbalands, vans and furry slippers. rebook trainers. All her shoes are either black or red or caribbean blue. They are always fitted not too tight but not too loose either so it's just right. Her favourite clothes are any vest tops except from navy blue. The worst thing that could happen to her is loosing Ben. My character owns a  car. She often makes journeys like going for a walk in the forest to get wood to make a fire place. Her most treasured possession is the braclet her parents gave to her in primary and she has never taken it off. Her philosophies she lives by are firstly "life's too short to live the same day twice"; her other philosophy is "Never say never". She also lives by the philosophy "love is all matter's it matter's after all". Which sums up everything that's happens in life. She is an atheist but she used to be a christian but when her father passed away she began to question the works of God. Especially when she cried for help but no one answered and her father was left to die. She feels guilty that her mistake she had ever made was letting her mother know its okay to continue by making her heroin a daily chore. Kerrie Anne wants her old life back, she wants her dad back and for everyone in her family to get along like the way they used to. I don't blame her I would have wanted the same thing. Her deepest desire I would have to say is becoming a FBI; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU). She loves Opera (Franz Schubert, Maria Callas) and Classical Music.

Character's Observations

I decided to take a trip to a public place where sitting and watching people could occur. So I thought some good places for this are: local landmarks. For example, the london eye; a museum. or any place where people move around as a natural part of their dailu schedule. I started off picking a specific movement trait to observe how fast or slow people walk or how different people gesture with their hands when they talk. It was helpful to write down quick notes; to draw sketches of the traits I observed. Later, I got with one of my partners that I perform my monologue to in any empty room available, to try and duplicate the observed movements. As I started to duplicate the movement,   I realised it was hard to remember them so I then tried to imagine the type of person I watched at westfield in white city and I also came to a conclusion to why they moved the way they did using my imagiantion. I studied individuals as they feel different emotions. I had done this in a public place where I watched people without being noticed. Then I heard people arguing; laughing, I watched how their body language had changed and their gestures become faster or slower. When a person looked sad to me, I thought of why exactly the person had done to make me think they were unhappy. I was observing the effects of emotion on the outward appearance of a person. This is important in character study considering that very few characters go through a play without feeling any emotion. I took many notes on the various elements of the visual display of emotion.

I made a lot of observations to help me play with my character's physicality and I found three people that stood out to me in Sports Direct. I wonder why, I mean notice that they all had different traits. For instance; this woman had a bounce while walking and I instantly thought she was in a happy mood but when I looked at her mood again alongside her facial expressions I thought to myself why do I think she’s happy, is it because she’s moving in a certain way; so I checked again then I realised she was actually upset/ tired, I remember what she wore as well. But the only reaosn why she had a bounce was because she was listening to a catchy caribbean song that she really liked. The song was so loud that even I could hear it and I recall it being Mavado House Top- Roof top. She wore the Hollister attire for employees and then I figured that it had to be stress from work that also played a part in how her body language was. Humans are quick to judge people by; just looking at them one, physicality they may have. For example: You may look at a teenage girl and say she’s got attitude because of how her body language and facial expression is. But that may not be the case; they may be thinking of something that makes them feel and react in that way. The other person that stood out was this quirky short fat guy. He actually looked a bit strange. He got on my train. The first thing I noticed was whenever he sat down he looked at the seat before sitting. I do that as well just to make sure if there is nothing dirty on the seat especially if I'm wearing white, red or caribbean blue.  He moved seats like five times as well. That's what I found strange. When speaking a lot of people do/say different things. Some people tend to move their hands gracefully others, well, others move their heads in an awkward way. Imagine a quirky person moving their neck from side to side that’s how this woman looked when she started speaking to me asking for directions.

Ideas about how I am going to play Kate Nelson.

* Find someone I have a strong connection with.
* Use the Meisner Technique and fuse it with the Method Acting.
* Work on my posture, she studies at Oxford  and she's the sort of person that loves to fit in so she would always be upright.
*
Evaluation & Feedback

You have achieved a Merit for this process. You are hard working generally and produce excellent practical work however you need to spend much more time on this part of the process in the future. An actor needs to really research every play and role in fine detail if they are to truly accomplish a complete and rounded performance. I know that many of you find the written aspects of the course a challenge but you will not be able to achieve higher grades overall unless you give this part of the process equal attention. We will discuss this in detail before you start exploring your next monologue.

Pass: You did very well for your first audition and I could see you were understandably nervous which did affect your performance and interview. Remember the panel want to meet you and the more you can be yourself and open up to them the better you will do. You particularly need to open up to redirection and be more creative in your response to that. If you focus on these elements then you will do much better next time and will improve your grade.

Contemporary 2- Preparation & Research & Evaluation & Feedback

Contemporary 2

Name: Kerri-Anne Bentley

Age:17-

Dob: April 30 1995

Ethnicity: Black British

Title and Author:

My monologue was chosen from BlackBerry Trout Face by Laurence Wilson. Laurence's first professional work as a writer was a trilogy of short plays. One of his plays is Surf's Up, produced at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, 2002 and Contact Theatre in Manchester 2003; it was nominated for two Manchester Evening News Awards; Best New Play and Best Production. Mezz'ed Up was a Liverpool Lunchtime Theatre commission for the Unity Theatre in 2002. He then wrote Drug Runner's for the Bravo Channel, which was the channels first commissioned original drama. Laurence's first full length play Urban Legend, was produced at the Liverpool Everyman in 2004 and was published in the same year by Oberon Modern Plays, and was written during the attachment to the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse theatre. Urban Legend won the Liverpool Daily Post Best Play of the Year. Laurence became the prestigious Pearson Writer in Residence at Liverpool Everyman Theatre in 2005  2006, and received a full commission to write a new stage play. Dark Tale, a twenty minute short play commissioned by Menagerie Theatre; for a short run at The Junction Theatre Cambridge for the Hotbed New Writing Festival, 2006. 2008 saw a collaboration with the NCH and Wells Bourne Primary School in Norris Green, which culminated in a short play about local issues called, When Worlds Collide. For radio Tin Man aired on BBC Radio 3 The Wire, January 2007 and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band aired June 2007 on Radio 4. Laurence has recently been commissioned by 20 Stories High Theatre Company to write a new play for a 2009 School tour and is currently under commission by The Liverpool, Everyman Theatre.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS

Kerrie Anne sets about her daily task of preparing her Mother’s heroin. . . Jakey has just about had enough of life in a gang. . . Cameron is just too scared to step outside the front door. One morning, the three teenagers discover a note in the Frosties cereal. The note  was that their Mum Sherrel abandoned them: they were left home alone with no money and the only thing they could survive on is trout . 

Blackberry Trout Face is a bold, gritty and funny play, which explores universal themes such as family, loyalty and ambition. With sharply-drawn characters, crackling dialogue, and plenty of humour, we follow three young people as they struggle to cope in an exceptional circumstance. 

Genre and style of BlackBerry Trout Face: When I was picking my monologues, my main focus was their themes: cause I feel that in order for me to accelerate in my monologue performance; I would have to be able to feel a sense of connection with the theme; before trying to get the attention of the audience. The reason why my main priority and focus is on that aspect is because I feel as an actor you should connect with your performance so then the audience could then grasp “truth” and “believability” in your piece. This is very essential; when I was also picking my monologues my main focus was to do as the criteria said; to meet the demands. To meet the demands I was supposed to get a play that had been written since 1964 that are also suitable for my casting; as in I could genuinely play the role of Kerrie Anne Bentley.

Character profile: The character I have chosen is called Kerri Anne Bentley  is played by Nicola Bentley in a Theatre production for Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. Kerrie’s character has a lot of conflict in the play.The character I chose has been through a lot of pain; especially when her father passed away; she was very close to him her mother would often say she was a daddy's girl; in contrast to this when Kerrie's father had passed her mother her mother started to take heroin and would ask Kerrie to make her heroin as a chore. To me as a young actress her history is painful

BlackBerry Trout Face& Kerri Anne Appeals: He used words and phrases that my generation would often use; say and as a youth that grabbed my attention even more. It was like I was there witnessing their struggle in a forum of an invisible ghost. When I read the play over and over again it’s like the play is on rewind mode in my head. I’m starting to get deep images in my head. Ever since I started reading plays I've started to enjoy reading the  plays and reading in general. But I felt with this play is I could actually make some of the things I do personal; to get a connection, I know her mum is in rehab and all but she acts like a tomboy I can do that so that's my starting point. It is fascinating and interesting to develop a character’s characteristics; that's my favourite part in playing a character is developing it's characteristics. I want to watch the piece live to get a feel of how my character physicality can be performed like. This playwright is really unique the way he writes his scripts is phenomenal; I actually love his plays because of the dramatic styles he uses. They stand out! He is such a clever playwright and when we were deciding on which monologues to do in class I was determined to do BlackBerry Trout Face despite what others felt best suited me because, BlackBerry Trout Face I felt would make the panel see a different character than what they have seen, I want to bring the tomboy in her even more to symbolise her male influence. I respect him and his work; I mean if you can write intriguing plays like this and get it published in my books you've made it. Per say, you are very successful.

Similarities:  I would have to say Kerrie Anne and I have a few similarities we both react to the way we are treated in the same way and I personally think this is an advantage. Although sometimes I can react differently depends on the scenario it’s the same thing with Kerrie. We both have also been with people that mean so much to us that act deceitfully towards us. Another similarity we both share is our fashion style. I mean like jumpers and ripped jeans with Air forces and so does she. We both have the same taste in music. She loves Rap and RNB and so do I.  Kerrie Anne has always been a mature teen in a small girls body because the playwright often refers to the fact that she is meant to do house chores, cook and clean for her little brother Cameron when Jakey the eighteen year old is not at home when he was the one that was left in charge by his mum the rehab run away.  We both speak softly and use a lot of gestures. Our facial expressions are similar in a way

Difference:  I'm really different from Kerrie-Anne. She has a strong passion for rock music. The only rock songs I know is we will rock you and hearts; what about love. She owns a CD with a whole play list of Rock songs. Whereas for me I don't listen to yet alone have/ own any rock CDs. I love traditional food and Chinese whereas with Kerrie she eats foods that I wouldn't dream of eating. Like, For instance; best believe she loves Sushi and Cod. Kerrie also eats fruits like Oranges and Tangerines; these are stuff I wouldn't eat at all because I don't have the same taste buds as her. I eat fruits like Apples, Pineapple's and I love grapes and strawberries.

Biggest challenge in playing the role of Kerri Anne Bentley: 

Truthfully my biggest challenge in playing the role is the fact that I'm not the daughter of a heroin addict. I haven’t really been in her position because my mum has never been in rehab and plus I'm the middle child but my mother don’t depend on me for things as much so I would not know how to go about playing her character as the rough, emotional tomboy. But firstly in order to  start playing more I would search for relevant plays that are made into films that I can watch. So I can at least get inspiration from the way the actress are playing the role of Kerrie; But I know I can begin with the tomboy act and the fact that tomboys are mostly girls with a lot of insecurities and that is why they dress like boys and talk to boys like they’re boys because that’s how they would fit in and if they’re talking to guys the girly girls will start to question why the boys accept them into their mini cliques (group). I'm not saying I am a tomboy but after studying them and the way they are I know how to portray them. Also, the other challenge is that in the monologue her thoughts have very different dynamics. At one point she thinks of her mother for quite some time then her thoughts change and she starts to think of her brother Jakey and Cameron.

What I need to work on vocally, physically and emotionally:  To be honest I feel that physically I should work on quite a lot on my gestures (movements) because as I mentioned before I researched more about the play by reading it and then I went on to find the background story of why it was written on-line where I found out more about the author. I had done further research and decided to create a background history of my character using what the author gave me to information simply because, the play did not tell me about my character in depth. I need to show how she often feels necessarily how the author felt when he was writing the play. If I did not research much further; then my role would look fake and made up sort of like a cartoon even though my main aim is for the audience to see truth in my two min performance. If I was just saying the lines and doing no actions it would not make my performance effective at all it. Instead it makes me look as if I am rehearsing my lines in front of the panel when I’m actually meant to be performing my monologue to them. Vocally: I believe I should do vocal warm ups that I have been taught by Jackie and Sean Pol because that will enable me to project my voice on stage and be very clear when my character (Kerri Anne) is saying her monologue. I need to have the correct tone of voice for this; so I should explore the different ways in which I can say different lines and make all of my: phrases, sentences .. etc more truthful. So it doesn't seem like I have just picked out a monologue because I was told to but instead I should make it feel real; it should actually also show compassion and how much I love performing not only the monologue but in general. Sixteen year old Kerri Anne Bentley ( Kerrie) is from the United Kingdom she lives in London; She lives in the borough of Hackney near Hackney Central- Kingshold Estate. September 25 1995. She is a tom boy and often dresses like Amanda Bynes character in the image on the right. She isn't rich nor is she middle class. She lived in an old fashion house near a small forest area. Ever since her father passed her mother went on a limb; and stopped going to work and paying the bills so therefore they're no longer middle class they are absolutely poor. Kerrie -Anne is now 16 she has a late birthday; so she is the youngest in her year. Kerrie has an older cousin the age of eighteen who is called Brandy Bromfield that despised her family because of family rivalry over her deceased father's property. The family feud started during the burial. Brandy was born on April 30 1994 in Homerton hospital just like Kerrie Anne in Hackney, London. In primary school Kerrie Anne was very bright, enthusiastic and funny. However, during her secondary school days Kerrie  started growing up and she had  a lot of feelings for her secondary school crush on the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on; his name was Guyston. Her best friend Keyana realised this when she was having a sleepover at Kerrie's house and found her diary which had written evidence that she did like Guyston Daniel. However the feeling wasn't mutual because he was with someone else whom he liked very much. During secondary school Kerrie found out that her father had passed away while on a mission her father was a police officer. Before her father's death her family was very happy and everyone loved each other; to them Blood was thicker than water, until her father Jack Bentley passed away.

Emotionally: I should  generally work on getting in touch with my characters' inner teen emotions and how all of - what is happening to her with her mum and all and being forced to grow up is effecting her. Emotionally I need to explore different ways in which I can deliver the monologue and not just stick to one emotion. I want to use different emotions to make the performance more appealing to watch.

Impact of Blackberry Trout Face should have on an audience?

To be quite frank the impact the piece should have on the panel is, it should make the audience have  sympathy for the character I am playing Kerrie Anne because of what she has been through and how she has moved on. It should also make the panel understand why Kerrie-Anne is how she is by her nature. Through her speech and Kerrie Anne's gestures (movements) and body language. For example, her facial expression changes from this out going character into some emotional character. Also the eye contact connection she has should let the audience feel how she feels and should make her story more truthful.

What makes an engaging or compelling character is their charm and charisma  I created a character by using your imagination to create a new life; history for a character then turn them into a real life human being so you can play that character. To make the people that I have pictured in my mind come to life; I need to write stuff about them down, like the way I picture them speaking; re-acting and communicating with others. The two main purposes for these development exercises were 1) to help solidify my characterization by imaging my character in a variety of situations; and 2) to work with the information I have. Knowing my character as I do, I have to write about her in a way which makes use of the knowledge I have. The image often used here is an iceberg: most of what I know about my character will never be seen (or, stated) directly. Much of it will never be used at all. However, it is good for me - the writer - to know everything so that I can be confident about playing my character and how she will react in any given circumstance. 1st development exercise: writing in the third person, I had to my character in an environment familiar to him/her, carrying out some habitual action (work, eating, sleeping, domestic chores, driving, shaving,), whilst in the grip of some intense emotion. She sleeps in a fairly decent old fashioned styled home. She wears ripped jeans so her pockets have a lot of patches in them from needles; she use to like to sow but she grew out of it. She has a really nice old pauls boutique  purse her mother gave to her as a present.    

My characters physical appearance matters a lot to her but she does not show it. Deep inside she is really frightened of how others perceive her. My character is 158.5 (5'2) athletic build and dark chocolate. Kerrie Anne got given the nick name Kerrie by her boyfriend Trey; Her voice is low husky; her voice is quite  airy. Her hand gestures are really sharp and always directed in two ways either side ways or to the front. She loves her garden because that is where she goes and just think it's like whenever she's stressed out or angry she goes there to cool off.   Her garden is full of rose petals and other flowers. Her favourite part of her garden is the empty swimming pool; it's a bit dirty now but she loves to sit around it; reminiscing about her childhood and how happy she was. Her least favourite is parent's room because it makes her reminisce about how happy the family was; how her father and mother made her feel, she always felt special and wanted but now is like she feels rejected and unwanted. Picture this her bedroom door is painted red with music notes all over it and a sign that says please don't enter; but enter anyway she is rarely in her room and it has no lock. Then turn the latch clock wise and walk into the room and as soon as you enter Kerrie Anne's bedroom has Caribbean blue wall paper and her favourite Michael Jackson and Brandy Norwood the famous singer's posters on her walls. She has a king size bed that is on the left of her room because her father brought it for her before he passed and it has remained there ever since. Her bed sheets are pure white showing her purity and has Toy story 3 characters and Michael Jackson on them. In the middle she has a tinted white window and has three lemon scented candles next to the window on a tray and a desk.She puts the bag in the same part of her room for when she has to study which is right next to her wardrobe on the right side of her computer. She has a black bag-pack with white stones and thorns on the outside of it that says Kerrie Rocks that's her nick name that her boyfriend gave to her. The desk is black; it is sort of like a wooden square without the bottom line. That is where she keeps her dell computer; her over due library books and then as for her bag she lives it underneath her study desk. On the right she has a wardrobe that she made in one of her construction classes that is fairly big it starts from one side of the room and ends at the other side. Her wardrobe is painted red with music notes on her wardrobe like her door. She wears a lot of biker jackets; she even has it in every colour except from Green and Pink just like ripped jeans and vest tops. She loved to give to charity she sort of lost some of her McDonald's toys she used to get and her barbies; but she has thrown them away because she grew out of it. She sometimes wears shorts and a vest top but then she also wears her black mickey mouse pj's. My character dreams of achieving her goals and pursing them and getting out of her current situation of being left alone with no adult supervision and no one to talk to since she pushed her friends and their families away. She is middle class and Black British  In secondary school she liked a boy called Guyston Jester Daniels people call him Guyston or Jester. But they never got together cause the feeling wasn't mutual. However right before she was about to get in college she really likes a boy called Trey( Tremaine) later on they became a couple but then they broke up a few weeks after her mother ran away from home; Kerrie Anne broke up with him because she was really stressed and she didn't want him to feel neglected because she stopped spending a lot of time with him. Kerrie Anne is really old school; she believes in sex after marriage and she doesn't want to have sex with just anyone she wants it to be with someone she loves and someone who feels the same way. This shouldn't be a surprise but she is a virgin. My character doesn't do anything but take care of her siblings. She is unemployed and the only thing she can do is provide trout but her brother Jakey wants to show the family that he is a man that can provide for his family. Kerrie Anne has a lot of fears but the one thing she is afraid of the most is loosing the only person she really cares and loves; her mother. There is one thing she would change if she was born is the way she approached her mother's drug life situation. Her favourite scent;smell are roses. Kerrie Anne has a lot of hobbies, she likes to read, sing and listen to her rock music as I mentioned before. She likes to wear shoe's like timbalands, vans and furry slippers. rebook trainers. All her shoes are either black or red or Caribbean blue. They are always fitted not too tight but not too loose either so it's just right. Her favourite clothes are any coloured ripped Jeans and vest tops except from Green and Pink. The worst thing that could happen to her is loosing her mother; I believe she would then break down emotionally and commit suicide or take drugs to ease away the pain. My character does not own any cars but she does owns a: skateboard, bike and a scouter. She protects them like they're babies. She doesn't let anyone borrow or use them at all. She actually gets angry and hurts anyone that even touches them. She often makes journeys like going for a walk inn the forest to get wood to make a fire place. Her most treasured possession is the bracelet her parents gave to her in primary and she has never taken it off. Her philosophies she lives by are firstly "life's too short to live the same day twice" her other philosophy is "Never say never". She also lives by the philosophy "love is all matter's it matter's after all". Which sums up everything that's happens in life. She is an atheist but she used to be a Christian but when her father passed away she began to question the works of God. Especially when she cried for help but no one answered and her father was left to die. She feels guilty that her mistake she had ever made was letting her mother know its okay to continue by making her heroin a daily chore. Kerrie Anne wants her old life back, she wants her dad back and for everyone in her family to get along like the way they used to. I don't blame her I would have wanted the same thing. Her deepest desire I would have to say is becoming a poet and using her poetry to create world peace and love between everyone that has arguments or fights. She also wants new blue vans shoes.

Character's Observations

I decided to take a trip to a public place where sitting and watching people could occur. So I thought some good places for this are: a shopping centre, train/ bus station or any place where people move around as a natural part of their day. I picked a movement trait to observe such as how fast or slow people walk or how people gesture with their hands when they talk. It was helpful to write down quick notes; to draw sketches of the traits I observed. Later,on I got with one of my partners that I perform my monologue to in private, to try to duplicate the observed movements myself. As I duplicated the movement,  I also tried to imagine the type of person I watched at Westfield in white city and I also tried to understand why they moved the way they did using my imagination   I studied individuals as they feel different emotions. I had done this in a public place where I watched people without being noticed. Then I heard people arguing; laughing,  I watched how their body language had changed and their gestures become faster or slower. When a person looked sad to me,  I thought of why exactly the person had done to make me think they were unhappy. I was observing the effects of emotion on the outward appearance of a person. This is important in character study considering that very few characters go through a play without feeling any emotion. I took many notes on the various elements of the visual display of emotion.   I made a lot of observations to help me play with my character's physicality and I found three people that stood out to me in Sports Direct. I wonder why, I mean notice that they all had different traits.  For instance; this woman had a bounce while walking and I instantly thought she was in a happy mood but when I analysed; looked at her mood again alongside her facial expressions I thought to myself why do I think she’s happy because she’s moving in a certain way; so I checked again then I realised she was actually upset/ tired, I remember what she wore as well. She wore the TK MAX attire for employees and then I figured that it had to be stress from work. Humans are quick to judge people by; just looking at them one, physicality they may have. For example: You may look at a teenage girl and say she’s got attitude because of how her body language and facial expression is. But that may not be the case. The other person that stood out was this quirky tall guy. He was very tall and slim in build. He actually looked cool; there was something about his quirkiness that made me think I like the piercings and tattoo’s he had; it made him stand out as a different person instead of going with the normal trend he had his on trend type of thing going on; what surprised me was the fact he was not a goth. He got on my bus, so I went to sit behind him and look at his movements and how he acted. The first thing I saw was his tattoos they were actually, meaningful and about his family members that had passed away.  The human instinct is to judge a book by its cover and that’s what I had done. But this time, he done something that made me change, my thoughts about what sort of person he is. And that make me this, I When speaking a lot of people do/say different things. Some people tend to move their hands gracefully others, well, others move their heads in an awkward way.  Imagine a quirky person   moving their neck from side to side that’s how this woman looked when she started speaking to me asking for directions.

Background Research

The only family she has are just her mother(Drug addict) and her two brothers; Cameron(Camz) and Jakey(J.B.). Her other family member is their cousin Sherrel Anne Bentley as mentioned before. Kerrie Anne acted the way she did in the play because she is very close to her family especially her mother and brothers; she really has a lot of love for them. Her current boyfriend is a guy called Trey(Tremaine). I done a little biography based on how her life its like a character log. I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written. So I looked into the playwrights previous work and his remarks about BlackBerry Trout Face.  I thought of the idea of making a documentary for my characters that I have to play. To make them more believable and real instead of just making up a character. So I decided to ask my fellow class mates and a few friends. Penny Dobson, Claudia Dos Santos and Tracy Lomanga to help me out to make the documentary of Kerrie Anne. Penny plays the role of Sherrel; Kerrie Anne's mother in the documentary.Tracy Lomanga plays the role of Kerrie Anne's cousin in the documentary. Claudia Dos Santos is Kerrie Anne's best friend and she's known her since primary they went to the same school and college. They were practically brought up together. In the documentary Kerrie Anne tells the interviewer a secret.

BRIEF BIO

Kerrie Anne Bentley is a female was born in Homerton Hospital; and she was raised in hackney in London. She is sixteen and not in education. She is black British. She has two other siblings called Cameron (15) and Jakey (19) her mother is called Sherrel Anne Catherine-Bentley. Her mother is often referred to Sherrel in the documentary.

Manor Primary School- Kerrie Anne (Kerrie) went to and completed Manor. She was a bright child, very adventurous and enthusiastic. Her father was determined to make her become the next big lawyer and that is what she wanted to be. However Kerrie Anne remained the way she was until she reached Hackney Free.

Hackney Free secondary school

She was very smart and a loud eccentric character. She had a competitive side that was drilled in her in her early stages by her deceased father this would often make her compete in spellings bee and she felt that if she came first place all the time she would be feel her father would be at peace in heaven. Unfortunately in year 10 her father passed away and her mother and her found it hard to cope with their loss. Her mother began to do drugs which led her into her current rehab run away situation, Despite, being very active and positive at school when she went home she was a complete different person she would often be so quiet and very distant from her family members because of the hardships she witnessed her mother going through because of her father's death. She started to become this absurd character, she turned out to be a bit of a rebel that acted rude, less ambitious and fearful towards her peers and family.

College life: She attended B-SIX but she got kicked out in her first year for skipping her lessons on a regular basis. It wasn't entirely her fault it was because she had huge responsibilities that she found hard to cope with when her mother ran away from her home to the south coast with her friends.

How am I going to go about playing the role of Kerrie Anne?

* Re- read the play:It seems obvious, but the first place to get insight into my  character is by reading the play. Before making any decisions or judgements about my character, I read the whole play three times. The first read was a "pleasure read". I Just read the play as a whole purely for enjoyment purposes, paying no particular attention to my character. I Read the play a second time, this time recording everything that is said about my character, and every detail I can possibly find about the environment and people surrounding my character. Also I recorded everything that the other characters do to affect my character. The third time through, noticed everything my character thinks about he rest of the characters and every change my character makes to the world around them. I then had a good framework to start from.
*Making it real:Using my imagination to make a documentary to build a relationship between the main people that affect Kerrie-Anne to tap into any hidden emotions; that are not in the text, I could use to play Kerrie. One thing I do when I am playing the role of any character is to make the situation my character is in as real to myself as possible. In this case the characters are supposed to be my brothers my blood and I am meant to love them unconditionally. I use what the text gives me as the information I need to make a reason to lure Jakey into  wanting to stay and then I'd act how I normally would if I was in that situation but as Kerrie- Anne. I love spending time creating a background for my characters; researching certain qualities that my character may obtain; how to portray those qualities to my audience, in this case the panel. If it is not already supplied of course. After all, if I believe that I am Kerrie-Anne and that I am in the situation she is in, then the audience will connect with my monologue and will believe my piece. Also I am working on being confident in myself while performing or speaking to the panel. I have noticed that nobody wants to see somebody who is too shy to even say a lie, they want to see somebody who is having fun up there and is taking risks despite what they feel inside. I have  learnt to make the work personal because there's Yvonne the performer and the other Yvonne who is still trying to figure out who she is.* Developing my character:When I develop any character I play he role of, the main thing I discover is my Motivation in the scene. I then remind myself of the 5 w's. What just happened in the previous scene, why am I here?, when did I get here?, where am I?, who am I?*Character DevelopmentDon't make yourself the character but the character yourself.

Documentary

The documentary I had done was purely based on the people I thought had the most impact on Kerrie Anne Bentley. In Kerrie Anne's life which is her mother; cousin and best friend. To try and get an inner connection with my character to enable me to play the role of Kerrie Anne to my strength I decided to get a few of my peers together and make a documentary. I made the documentary using my camera and it was filmed in my fellow class mate's house(Tracy Lomanga). The documentary consist of the  two of the main characters and an extra, Kerrie Anne's Mother, Brandy that is her family member and  her best friend(Keyana). 

Here is the documentary about Kerrie Anne Bentley background story. That I have filmed. Here is a link to Brandy's documentary.

 

Evaluation & Feedback

Strengths
Weakness
Improve.

First Shakespeare - Character Log Questions

Author& Title of the play

William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Humming’s and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by history. There is no doubt that Shakespeare is the greatest writer of modern English to date – his plays have been made into movies, his sonnets have appeared in books and music, and his works translated in to hundreds of different languages. His contribution to the English language is probably larger than that of anyone else. The title of the play I chose my monologue from is called Love’s Labours lost.  Shakespeare is also the author of the most best selling plays. Listed below:
 

Hamlet

Written between 1599 and 1601, this play is set in Denmark and recounts how Prince Hamlet vengeance on his uncle Claudius, who murdered the King, takes the throne and marries Hamlet’s mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness from overwhelming grief to seething rage and explores themes of revenge, incest and moral corruption. “Hamlet” is Shakespeare’s longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language. During his lifetime the play was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works and it still ranks high among his most-performed, topping, for example, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s list since 1879. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch and has been described as “the world’s most filmed story after ‘Cinderella.’” The title role was almost certainly created for Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare’s time. It is arguably the greatest drama ever written and in the four hundred years since, it has been played by the greatest actors and sometimes actresses, of each successive age.

2) Romeo and Juliet

This play is an early tragedy (and likely Shakespeare’s first) about two teenage “star-crossed lovers” whose “untimely deaths” ultimately unite their feuding households. The play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic effect. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with “Hamlet” is one of his most frequently performed plays. Its influence is still seen today, with the two main characters being widely represented as archetypal young lovers. This is the singularly greatest romance ever written and has been continuously adapted to each generation in musicals, cinema and the theatre.

  Henry V

 

Believed to be written in 1599, it’s based on the life of King Henry V of England and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Year’s War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by “Richard II,” “Henry IV, Part 1″ and “Henry IV, Part 2.” The original audiences would thus have already been familiar with the title character, which was depicted in the “Henry IV” plays as a wild, undisciplined lad known as “Prince Hal.” In “Henry V,” the young prince has become a mature man and embarks on an attempted conquest of France.

Midsummer Night’s Dream

This romantic comedy was written sometime in the 1590′s and portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers; a group of amateur actors; their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta; and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.

Macebth: This is among the best-known of Shakespeare’s plays and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606. It is frequently performed at both amateur and professional levels and has been adapted for opera, film, books, stage and screen. Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends. For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on the historical account of “King Macbeth of Scotland” by Raphael Holinshed and that by the Scottish philosopher Hector Boece. There are many superstitions centered on the belief the play is somehow cursed” and many actors will not mention the name of the play aloud, referring to it instead as “The Scottish Play.”
 

Richard III

 

The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England and is believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is sometimes classified as a tragedy (as in the earliest quarto); but it more correctly belongs to the histories, as classified in the First Folio. It picks up the story from Henry VI, Part III and concludes the historical series that stretches back to Richard II. After Hamlet it is Shakespeare’s second longest play and is the longest of the First Folio, whose version of Hamlet is shorter than the Quarto version. The length is generally seen as a drawback, for which reason it is rarely performed unabridged. It is often shortened by cutting peripheral character.

Julius Caesar This tragedy is believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name, his assassination and its aftermath. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include “Coriolanus” and “Anthony and Cleopatra.” Although the title of the play is “Julius Caesar,” Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism and friendship. The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth, a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome might break out after her death.

                                                                                      Twelfth Night

This play is named after the Twelfth Night holiday of the Christmas season. It was written around 1601 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. Like many of Shakespeare’s comedies, this one centre's on mistaken identity. The leading character, Viola, is shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria during the opening scenes. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes dead. Posing as a man and masquerading as a young page under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the bereaved Lady Olivia, whose brother has recently died and decides to use “Cesario” as an intermediary. Olivia, believing Viola to be a man, falls in love with this handsome and eloquent messenger. Viola, in turn, has fallen in love with the Duke, who also believes Viola is a man and who regards her as his confident.

The Taming of the Shrew

 

This comedy is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device in which a drunkard is deceived into thinking he is a nobleman who then watches the “play” itself, which depicts a nobleman, Petruchio, who marries an outspoken, intelligent and bad-tempered shrew named Katherine. Petruchio manipulates and “tames” her until she is obedient to his will. The main subplot features the courting of Katherine’s more conventional sister Bianca by numerous suitors. The content has become the subject of considerable controversy. The play has been adapted numerous times for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre.

Othello the Moor of Venice

This tragedy is believed to have been written in approximately 1603. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and his trusted advisor Iago. Attesting to its enduring popularity, the play appeared in seven editions between 1622 and 1705. Because of its varied themes - racism, love, jealousy and betrayal- it remains relevant to the present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film and literary adaptations.

Brief Synopsis

Love's Labour's Lost the play by William Shakespeare

Love’s labour’s lost believed to have been written in the mid-1590s. However Love’s Labour’s lost was believed to have been first printed and published in 1598. Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published; details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance. The setting for Love's Labour's Lost is Navarre, a province in northern Spain bordered by France. Originally, a region in northern Spain and southern France (department of Basses-Pyrénées) at one time, Navarre was a kingdom. In 1515, Spain annexed most of Navarre; in 1589, France annexed the rest of the kingdom. The capital of present-day Navarre is Pamplona, on the Arga River, founded by the ancient Roman general Pompey the Great. The area was later occupied by Visigoths and Moors. Pamplona is famous for the Festival of St. Fermin (July 6-14), in which a chief attraction is running of bulls each morning through the streets of the city.

The climax of a play or another narrative work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of Love's Labour's Lost occurs, according to both definitions, in Act V, Scene II, when the four women reject the love suits of the four men. Up to this moment, the women have regarded the antics of the king and his comrades as amusing flirtations and the king's realm as almost a chimerical world, although the men may have thought otherwise. Then Mercadé's announcement that the father of the princess has died jolt's everyone back to reality. When the princess decides to leave immediately for France and the men importune her and the other ladies to remain, pledging their love, the princess recites the climactic passage:

We have received your letters full of love;
Your favours, the ambassadors of love;
And, in our maiden council, rated them
At courtship, pleasant jest and courtesy,
As bombast and as lining to the time:
But more devout2than this in our respects
Have we not been; and therefore met your loves
In their own fashion, like a merriment. (5. 2. 761-794)
That she would call their letters and their favours "bombast" and their wooing mere "merriment" sobers the men, who have been acting with the immaturity of college students on a spring break, and prepares them for the year-long test they must do.  Love of learning cannot vie with love of a man for a woman. King Ferdinand and his compatriots decide to isolate themselves for three years to study great books and great ideas, vowing that they will keep no company with women during this period. However, when beautiful women arrive on a diplomatic mission, the men immediately forswear their oaths. True love must be tested in the crucible of time

The princess and her company of ladies find their wooers entertaining, but they do not commit to a relationship with them immediately. Wisely, they realize that true love does not strike like lightning but instead develops over time, like a rose growing from seed to full bloom. At the end of the play, they tell the men that they must wait and undergo tests to prove that their love is not mere infatuation. In this respect, these ladies contrast with other Shakespeare heroines, such as Rosalind (As You like It), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and Hero (Much Ado about Nothing), who all fall in love at first sight and never doubt their feelings or the intentions of their lovers.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

 This paraphrase from the Bible (Matthew 26: 40-41) aptly sums up the state of mind of the king and his three compatriots. For a moment, they become idealistic scholars who renounce the world and its pleasures. But the princess and her companions bring them down from the rarefied clime of academe to the sensual world of perfume and feminine beauty. William Shakespeare's main source of Inspiration was probably taken from renaissance literature.

Genre, themes and writing style of the play

The play is categorised as a Comedy playful, Poetic, Language-obsessed.

Language is almost like another character in this play. Seriously, the plot just seems like an excuse for Shakespeare to indulge his taste and talent for putting words together. Have you ever seen so many letters read aloud in a play?
Language in Shakespeare can be difficult and the language of Love's Labour's Lost is certainly no exception. Here are some conventions to watch for:

The Pun or Quibble: These are the kind of groan-worthy jokes that might seem a little cheesy. A pun plays on the word: either two different meanings of the same word, or on the sound or meaning of two different words. When Rosaline finds out Berowne has written her a love letter, Boyet asks, "Who is the shooter?" (4.1.37). He's referring to the hunt they're involved in, but also making a joke about Rosaline's suitor.

Rhyme: You are probably already familiar with this one. Love's Labour's Lost is full of rhymes – like the scene with the boys in trees. Rhyme is playful, melodious and funny, as in this except (the puns and sexual innuendo as well)

MARIA: Come, come, you talk greasily; your lips grow foul.
COSTARD: She's too hard for you at pricks, sir; challenge her to bowl.
BOYET: I fear too much rubbing; good-night, my good owl. (4.2.58-60)
Take a look at "Character Clues" for more about when Shakespeare uses verse and when he uses prose.

Sonnets: This play has five of them. A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines that rhyme according to particular rules, and often taking up the subject of love and romance. Shakespeare is the most famous English sonnet-writer – he wrote about 150 around the same time as he was composing Love's Labour's lost. Here is one by Longaville:

Did not the heavenly rhetoric of thine eye,
'Gainst whom the world cannot hold argument,
persuade my heart to this false perjury?
Vows for thee broke deserve not punishment.
A woman I forswore; but I will prove,
Thou being a goddess, I forswore not thee:
My vow was earthly, thou a heavenly love;
Thy grace being gain'd cures all disgrace in me.
Vows are but breath, and breath a vapour is;
Then thou, fair sun, which on my earth dost shine,
Exhal'st this vapour-vow; in thee it is.
If broken, then it is no fault of mine;
If by me broke, what fool is not so wise
to lose an oath to win a paradise? (4.13.14)

The sonnets aren't just an actor's chance to show off in Love's Labour's lost. They are also important to the plot. It's Costard's mix-up in delivering the sonnets that causes Berowne to be outed as a lover, moving the story forward. If you are interested in Sonnets be sure to check out Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Stichomythia: It's a long word for the one-liner. Think of a television comedy – the characters banter, the pace is fast, the energy is high. Long sections of stichomythia make up the "sets of wit" that are all over the play. Like this one in which Boyet tortures Longaville:

LONGAVILLE: I beseech you a word: what is she in the white?
BOYET: A woman sometimes, a you saw her in the light.
LONGAVILLE: Perchance light in the light. I desire her name.
BOYET: She hath but one for herself; to desire that was a shame.
LONGAVILLE: Pray you, sir, whose daughter?
BOYET: Her mother's, I have heard.
LONGAVILLE: God's blessing on your beard! (2.1.76)

The character I have chosen

Rosaline is a variant of Rosalind, a name from Old French. Its origin: (Lin = "soft, tender"). When it was imported into English it was thought to be from the Latin name Rosalinda ("lovely rose"). The character I have chosen is Rosaline.

 

Monologue Analysis

Character Analysis

Rosaline is the Princess's wingman (just like Berowne is the King's wingman). Rosaline is one of the play's protagonists. Like Berowne, she is sort of a truth-teller, and she is also smart, funny, and has a dark side.
In fact many scholars believe Rosaline is to be a reflection of the "dark lady" addressed by the speaker of Shakespeare's Sonnets 127 to 152, and this "dark lady" is thought to have been Shakespeare's mistress (check out the "In a Nutshell" section of Sonnet 18 for more information on the Sonnets). If we think of Berowne as a reflection of Shakespeare himself, and if we think of Rosaline as a version of Shakespeare's mistress, then we have an interesting relationship on our hands. Even though the King of Navarre and the Princess of France are the rulers and tone-setters, we can't help but focus more of our attention on the romance that develops between Berowne and Rosaline. In an attempt to get to know Rosaline as a character, I’ll consider several key aspects of her personality.

In the first place, Rosaline has the rare linguistic ability to give Berowne a run for his money in the arena of witty banter. In fact, she is as enthusiastic and talented at wordplay as any of the men. Take a look at this interaction between Berowne and Rosaline as the ladies tell the gentlemen about a band of "Muscovites" who have just passed through.

BEROWNE: I am a fool, and full of poverty.
ROSALINE: But that you take what doth to you belong,
it were a fault to snatch words from my tongue.
BEROWNE: O, I am yours, and all that I possess.
ROSALINE: All the fool mine?
(5.2.397-401)

Notice how she drives home the point that Berowne is a fool, even after he affectionately professes his love for her. Words and wordplay are important to Rosaline and Berowne's relationship, and she can bend his words and expose his weaknesses with a great deal of skill. We feel she's distrustful of Berowne and of love, and we also know that the two have a somewhat mysterious past together. Take a look at this revealing banter between the two lovers:

BEROWNE: Did not I dance with you in Brabant once?
ROSALINE: Did not I dance with you in Brabant once?
BEROWNE: I know you did.
ROSALINE: How needless was it then to ask the question!
(2.1.603-606)

Wow, Rosaline really makes a fool out of Berowne. Attempting to flirt with this pretty girl only reminds Berowne of how smart and saucy she is – she's not willing to play the role of a demure, flirtatious girl. She's ready to use her intelligence and her wit. What do you make of her demand that Berowne spend a year playing clown for sick people at the end of the play? Do you see Rosaline and Berowne living happily ever after?

Appeals about my character and the play

Love’s Labour’s Lost remains something of an anomaly among Shakespeare’s plays. Of all his comedies, this one is still often perceived as narrowly aristocratic; an obscure piece of coterie drama never truly intended to appeal to a general audience. This view has been formed by the massive commentary on the play’s references to the Harvey–Nashe controversy; Raleigh’s supposed ‘School of Night’, and other ‘topical puzzles’ still referred to, often in passing or in footnotes, by even the best and most recent scholarship. A re-examination of existing evidence about the probable original audience for Love’s Labour’s Lost casts grave suspicions on the kind of topicality understood only by Renaissance courtiers. Yet topicality itself cannot be altogether dismissed in a play for which the major male characters – the King of Navarre, Boyet, Marcadé, Armado, Moth, Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine – were all named after military leaders then waging a civil war in France. Love’s Labour’s Lost was no more or less’ aristocratic’ in appeal than Shakespeare’s other earlier plays, that what topicality it possesses was available to a wide audience, and that, finally, we need to revise our way of looking at topicality at least in Love’s Labour’s Lost and perhaps in other plays, as well. The most appealing thing about my character Rosaline is her rare linguistic ability to give Berowne a run for his money in the arena of witty banter. What also appeals me about my character is that she is enthusiastic and talented at wordplay as any of the men in Love Labour’s Lost. This intrigues me more and makes me want to play the role of Rosaline because I love playing the role of characters that know how to use their rare linguistic ability.

Similarities &Differences

Rosaline and I have no similarities because I’m not always happy or in love. Rosaline and I have differences, for instance; she has this rare linguistic ability that she uses to her advantage. Especially, when she is speaking to Berowne in Love’s Labour’s lost that I in particular do not have so as a result to this her linguistic ability could actually be one of two challenges I should really face when I am playing the role of Rosaline in Love Labour’s lost to the panel (drama school). I have never fallen in love before. I’m not always happy either. 

Biggest challenge in playing the role:  Truthfully my biggest challenge in playing the role is in actual fact the emotional connection; I need to create some sort of connection with Rosaline to be able to portray her character’s nature and that is when the truth will be seen in my performance. I’m actually not in love or always happy. The other thing I have to do is to rehearse any way in which I rehearse the monologue with a rare linguistic ability.

 

Physically

To be quite frank; I have the impression that I should work on my gestures (movements).  I had done further research because the play did not tell me how exactly my character is like and since my character is mostly full of life always happy then suddenly she is in love. I need to show how she often feels (happy emotions) and how the author felt when he was writing the play. If I did not research much further; then my role would look fake and made up sort of like a cartoon even though my main aim is for the audience to see truth in my two min performance. If I was just saying the lines and doing no actions it would not make my performance affective at all it. Instead it makes me look as if I am rehearsing my lines in front of an audience and when I’m actually meant to be performing.

Vocally

I believe I should do more and more vocal warm ups that I have been taught and will be taught by Sean Pol and Jackie because the voice warm ups will enable me to: project my voice when I’m performing to the drama school panel and be much more clearer then I already am when I perform my monologue as my character as Rosaline. I should also work on how to change the tone of my voice because when I was watching the play the character that was playing the role of Rosaline used different tones in her voice for certain words. I know if I do that for my piece it will make my performance much more interesting to watch and it will intrigue the panel even more despite it being in Shakespearean Language.

Emotionally

Different people define emotions in different ways. Some make a distinction between emotions and feelings saying that a feeling is the response part of the emotion and that an emotion includes the situation or experience, the interpretation, the perception, and the response or feeling related to the experience of a particular situation.

Dr. Maurice Elias says, “Emotions are human beings’ warning systems as to what is really going on around them. Emotions are our most reliable indicators of how things are going on in our lives. Emotions help keep us on the right track by making sure that we are led by more than the mental/ intellectual faculties of thought, perception, reason, and memory.”

Emotions control your thinking, behaviour and actions. Emotions affect your physical bodies as much as your body affects your feelings and thinking. People, who ignore, dismiss, repress or just ventilate their emotions, are setting themselves up for physical illness. Emotions that are not felt and released but buried within the body or in the aura can cause serious illness, including cancer, arthritis, and many types of chronic illnesses. Negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, negativity, frustration and depression cause chemical reactions in your body that are very different from the chemicals released when you feel positive emotions such as happy, content, loved, accepted.

I personally think I should work on why my character is full of life of course looking at her background but not going into her home life, I’m going to deeply research about her social life. For instance I need to have a feel of the sort of guys she dated or if she has any emotional blocks from being rejected or cheated on within a relationship she has had with any man. For this particular monologue I need to know why she is in love with Berowne and why he seems to stand out from the rest of the guys she has dated because she’s really drawn to Berowne’s sense of humour. I need to get an emotional connection and in order for me to do that I need to research in detail about the role of Rosaline and the role of Berowne. I will watch more Shakespearean plays in order for me to get connections that will enable me to perform this piece in a unique stylistic way.

Background research

The background information that I thought I needed to know and research about is the character. Where she was from? Where she lived? As in was she poor, middle class or very wealthy. How old she was? If she had family who were they? Why did she act the way she did in the play? Her love life as in who she fell in love with. I also thought I needed to find out more about the play and why it was written. Most importantly the Historical Context. Love’s Labour’s lost appears to have been written for private performance in court circles perhaps at a private house at Christmas time in 1593, when the regular theatres were closed because of the plague. The evidence suggests that the play was originally a battle in a private war between different aristocratic Factions. Sir Walter Raleigh had gathered an “academy” of scholars, nobles, and poets (including the dramatists Chapman and Marlowe) to study philosophy and the stars. The group was branded by a pamphleteer in 1592 as “Sir Walter Raleigh’s School of Atheism” and in 1594, after Raleigh’s disgrace, was investigated for heresy. This group seems to have been the model for Navarre’s “little academy” and Shakespeare, in mocking the futility of the experiment, appears to be taking the part of his patron the Earl of Southampton (Raleigh’s chief rival at the Court). Uniquely in the Shakespeare canon, the plot of Love’s Labour’s Lost has no known antecedents. But scholars have for two hundred years enjoyed the game of tracing the topical allusions in which the play abounds. As for the setting in Navarre, there was of course a real King of Navarre, who as a protestant was a valuable ally of Queen Elizabeth against Catholic Spain until he himself became a Catholic in 1593. Navarre was a tiny mountain state set between France and Spain, and was described apologetically by its King Henry II who had lost his kingdom to King Ferdinand of Spain and spent his life vainly negotiating with France and Spain to regain it as ‘a flea between two monkeys’.

It has been noted that Berowne and Longaville were members of Navarre’s actual court, and that the name of the Mayenne was constantly linked with that of the King. Shakespeare seems to have made use of these names for Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine; and the names Boyet, Marcadé, and de la Mothe all appear in contemporary court records. There is no known story, from which Shakespeare took his theme, love’s Labour’s lost it shows better than almost any of Shakespeare’s plays his capacity for taking material and shaping it to his needs.

Impact

My character should make the audience first understand the relationship between Berowne (the king’s wingman) and Rosaline (the princess’s wingman). After that the impact my character should make on the audience is to make them feel like she loves him but first she must find out whether he is in love with her or whether it is nothing but lust or a fluke because knowing her past relationships that is the sort of situations she gets stuck in and she wants to know if his love is genuine or not.

 

Character Exercises/ Observations

 

 * Go to the theatre and have a good look at the physicality trait of Rosaline then develop m own using the actors interpretation and mine combined into one.

 How I am going to go about playing the role of Rosaline

 

*First I will find out Rosaline's importance in the play. As in why did Shakespeare write the play with her as the princess's best friend.  

 * Learn the meaning behind some of he Shakespearean phrases and words.
*Find out how Rosaline feels about the other characters.
*Historical Context- How she dressed, so I can get an idea on how her physicality is; also how she spoke, was her gestures really graceful and was she soft-spoken.
*Watched the play three times o get around the Shakespearean poetic language that is used.

Evaluation & Feedback

Merit A really strong audition! You gave an accurate and thoroughly prepared performance. Good energy at times but you must maintain it throughout the performance. Some good use of voice and physical work that was appropriate to the character with some emotional connection. I enjoyed your performance. Keep this up. One thing is that you must always strive to develop high levels of energy and commitment and above all finally conquer the Leyton weakness, clarity of speech. At times you swallowed phrases. But well done!. We will talk in detail at the feedback session.