zozo's monologue and scene

Memorization session 1

I just got back from CHI and didn't exactly have time or space to practice my monologue over the past week. So I got Matthew's e-mail about memorizing the monologue too late to act on it. But I did get to do my first session.

Objective: Memorize with beat objectives in mind.

So I've been just running through the monologue, mostly standing still in front of my script. It's a little long, and so I'm going to need to start cutting out some lines before long. And some of them are just unnecessary details.

One question I'm left with, since I have no idea how to stage this, is how and when do I relate specifically to Elaine? Am I staring at her the whole time? One idea:

(My beat: explanation) I wanted to know what it was like with another woman. Would I be successful, would she like me, would I like the touch of her?

I think the beats are really helpful for memorizing the "gist" of the story, even if I don't remember the exact words. The precise plot is:

Stop her from leaving. Shame, self deprecation. Retell a past experience about the hooker. Lament the boredom of an easy life. Confusion. Confess a fear of death. Muse on how meaningless my "nice" life is. Propose that life should be exciting to have meaning. Explain why I indulged myself. Address the morality of an affair. Explain what I hoped to get out of it.

See, that's all there is to it. Right.

posted by Zozo @ 9:52 AM