Acting 1- Delving into a monologue

After our first assignment, I began to fully realize my excitement for this class. I truly love performing so much and, despite my nervousness each time I have to share a bit of myself to be critiqued in front of everyone, I look forward to it every day.

For my first monologue, we were told to choose a piece that was contemporary-realism. I chose a piece from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. I had never read the play before so I sat down one night and dove in. I read the script and then watched it on YouTube just for good measure. As much as I loved the story, I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to find a 1-2 min. monologue within it that really spoke to me. There were a few that were OK, but I wasn't overly excited about them. That is until I reached the last page. The very end of the show is a scene that made me cry just reading it. It was the most emotional part I could think of and I love doing emotion!

Performing my monologue in front of the class was nerve-racking but exciting at the same time. It seems a lot easier to be vulnerable as someone else than it is to be vulnerable as myself. However, after my performance, I had the opportunity to hear critique from my teacher and fellow classmates. This is always the difficult part of performing. What if they didn't like it? What if my choices weren't strong enough or good enough? However, I know that these fears are normal. It's not easy to get up in front of people and know that you are going to be judged. As a music major and a performer, I know this feeling well and it is not easy to conquer. Something we talked about in class addressed this concern. We talked about how it was important to know that you are your greatest critic and that you need to set the stakes and improve on your own terms. Other people don't know you. they don't know the struggle that you have gone through and the improvement you have made. They are only comparing what they saw of your performance with what they have seen in the past or what they perceive as excellence. It is important to learn what is constructive criticism and what is destructive. No matter what, you always judge each performance with how you felt you did and how you personally improved.