Speak the Speech!: Shakespeare's Monologues Illuminated - Softcover

Rhona Silverbush; Sami Plotkin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571211224 ISBN 13: 9780571211227

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002

Synopsis

The most comprehensive sourcebook of Shakespeare's monologues ever available in one volume.

A detailed guide to approaching Shakespearean text, Speak the Speech! contains everything an actor needs to select and prepare a Shakespeare monologue for classwork, auditions, or performance.

Included herein are over 150 monologues. Each one is placed in context with a brief introduction, is carefully punctuated in the manner that best illustrates its meaning, and is painstakingly and thoroughly annotated. Each is also accompanied by commentary that will spark the actor's imagination by exploring how the interrelationship of meter and the choice of words and sounds yields clues to character and performance. And throughout the book sidebars relate historical, topical, technical, and other useful and entertaining information relevant to the text. In addition, the authors include an overview of poetic and rhetorical elements, brief synopses of all the plays, and a comprehensive index along with other guidelines that will help readers locate the perfect monologue for their needs.

More than just an actor's toolkit, Speak the Speech! is also an entertaining resource that will help demystify Shakespeare's language for the student and theater lover alike.

About this title

About the Authors

Rhona Silverbush studied theatre and psychology at Brandeis University and holds a law degree from Boston College Law School; she practiced asylum law before returning to her first loves, writing and the theatre. She has acted with regional theatre and Shakespeare companies, was adjunct faculty at Columbia University's Teachers College and currently teaches and coaches privately. She continues to write with Sami Plotkin and on her own and is also co-author with Carol Zeavin of the Terrific Toddlers series of picture books published by Magination Press, the children's book imprint of the American Psychological Association.

She was awarded a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation for Speak the Speech! in 1999.

Sami Plotkin graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a double major in Theatre Arts and English Literature, and honed her stagecraft in London under the tutelage of Royal Shakespeare Company members. She later earned her M.F.A. at Columbia University's School of the Arts. Sami has performed Shakespeare in the United States and on tour in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Since then she has taught Working with Shakespeare’s Text at Michael Howard Studios, drama in New York City public schools, and guest workshops for middle and high school drama productions. She coaches privately and continues to write with Rhona Silverbush and on her own.

She was awarded a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation for Speak the Speech! in 1999.

Reviews

Over 150 of the Bard's monologues are reprinted and explained for the aspiring actor or director in Speak the Speech! Shakespeare's Monologues Illuminated. The knowledgeable and breezy commentary ("Dial Lady M for Murder," reads one section heading) by acting coach Rhona Silverbush and playwright Sami Plotkin offers a brief context for each monologue, explains unfamiliar vocabulary and expressions, examines the relationship between mood and meter and even reminds readers what words to elide or expand. Boxed asides offer historical background and describe literary controversies over various lines and passages. There's also a general discussion of rhetorical elements.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This handbook provides easy access to information needed by actors or students preparing a monolog drawn from Shakespeare. Acting coach Silverbush and actor Plotkin offer synopses of Shakespeare's plays and cover his use of iambic pentameter, poetic and rhetorical elements, and historical and social context. They also include the full, modernized text of 150 monologs, arranged by genre. The monologs are identified by play title, act and scene, name of character speaking, character's gender and age range, and frequency of use in auditions. Brief introductions place the monologs in context, and extensive glosses of unfamiliar vocabulary are followed by an analysis aimed at helping an actor interpret the text. No other volume treating Shakespeare's monologs is as complete as this one. Recommended for public and academic libraries. Shana C. Fair, Ohio Univ. Lib., Zanesville
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Play's the Thing

Actors often approach Shakespeare's plays expecting them to be the most difficult to perform, but once armed with the proper tools they find with delight that his material is actually among the easiest. This is because Shakespeare's text fully supports the actor. In fact, everything you need to know in order to perform your monologue is contained in the text. This book will show you how Shakespeare's language reveals a wealth of information about your character's objectives, characteristics, and present state of mind.

Choosing a Monologue Everyone has his or her own criteria for choosing monologues, but here are a few practical considerations to factor in: first and foremost, if you are going to prepare only one monologue for audition purposes, you should have one piece of verse in your repertoire (we will discuss the difference between verse and prose in "What Is This Stuff?" page xxvii). Auditioners who request classical material usually wish to hear how you handle verse. On the other hand, you may wish to select prose if you are auditioning for a prose play (by Shakespeare or otherwise), or for a role that is written primarily or entirely in prose (for instance, Shakespeare's hilarious clowns or some of Ben Jonson's broadly drawn Londoners). If you do choose prose, be sure to read "Rhetoric -- Poetic and Otherwise' page xli, because the elements discussed there may be found in your monologue.

You may also want to consider the time frame in which the monologue was written. As Shakespeare's skills developed, his work became more complex: Shakespeare's late Tragedies, Problem Plays, and Romances contain his most complicated meter, imagery, grammatical structure, and themes, and present the greatest challenge to the actor. If you are working on Shakespeare for the first time, you may want to choose a piece from the earlier Comedies, the Histories, or the early Tragedies. You may also wish to consider whether you prefer to present a standard monologue or a soliloquy (see "Now I Am Alone" and "Some Advice on Auditions," on facing page, for the issues this choice raises).

After polling directors, coaches, professors, and casting directors nationwide, we have designated the frequency with which each monologue in this book is used in auditions (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most frequent). You may want to avoid the most frequently used pieces, of which directors are sometimes weary. On the other hand, there is a reason certain monologues are "overused": they're simply the best vehicles with which to convey your ability in an audition setting, and many auditioners understand and appreciate this.

In classroom settings, we urge you to select any monologue that has resonance for you, regardless of the character's gender, age, or ethnicity. (In fact, certain characters such as Rumor, Chorus, and even Ariel or Puck, who are referred to within their plays with male pronouns, are essentially gender neutral.) In auditions, however, you may encounter directors who are not as open to nontraditional casting as one would wish them to be. If you are concerned that you could occasionally be passed over because of a nontraditional monologue choice, you may wish to present a gender- and age-appropriate piece. Do not, however, concern yourself with ethnicity, since there are very few monologues written specifically for people of non-European descent and Shakespeare's characters are for everybody.

Will's Works: Early, Mid, and Late Early Comedies, Tragedies, and Histories:
The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, Loves Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Henry VI, Parts One, Two, and Three, Richard III, Richard II, and King John Mid-Career Histories, Comedies, and Tragedies:
Henry IV, Parts One and Two, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet Problem Plays, Late Tragedies, Romances, and one Late History:
Troilus and Cressida, Measure for Measure, All's Well That Ends Well, Othello, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra, Pencles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, and Henry VIII Now I am Alone: A Note on Soliloquies

Unlike most monologues, which are spoken to other characters, a soliloquy is written to be performed by a character alone on the stage. Soliloquy is a device that allows the actor to break from the convention of realism and communicate openly with the audience. When performing a soliloquy, the actor must first consider whether his or her words are actually being spoken aloud, or whether they are a representation of the character's inner thoughts. Next, if the words are spoken aloud, is the character talking to him -- or herself (thinking through a problem, reacting to a situation, etc.) or is he or she addressing the audience directly (seeking help with a problem, trying to gain its sympathy or support, etc.)? Occasionally, a monologue is performed in the manner of a soliloquy, despite the presence of additional characters who are otherwise occupied and do not notice; this is called an "aside".

Some Advice on Auditions

When auditioning, always mentally place the other character(s) in your scene somewhere else onstage or out in the audience behind the auditioner, so she or he will feel comfortable watching you (auditioners find it very annoying when actors address them directly). Even if your piece is a soliloquy and you have decided that your character is speaking to the audience, you should address an imaginary person rather than the very real, very powerful person in front of you, who holds your entire future happiness in the palm of his or her hand.

Copyright © 2002 Rhona Silverbush and Sami Plotkin

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571211224
• ISBN 13: 9780571211227
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1088