Lesson Three: Structure of a Monologue
Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of monologues by identifying key features of a monologue in their own dramatic pieces.
- Informal. Students will participate in a game of “Fortunately/Unfortunately”, working to incorporate the Five Key Features into the story.
- Formal. Students will turn in copy of monologue with Five Key Features notated:
- Mark moment of engagement
- Mark beat changes
- Mark point of no return
- Character description
- Character motivation
- 25 pts possible
- Students will be given 5 points each for of the key features notated on their monologue. 20/25 will be deemed proficient.
- Adaptations:
- Students who struggle with writing can share their choices verbally. Students may take assignment home for homework if they don’t finish. Students with special needs may only need to complete 2 of these features.
Facets: Interpretation, Application
Standards: TH.CR.3.HSI c. Explore physical, vocal and psychological choices to develop a performance that is believable, authentic, and relevant to a theatrical work. TH.PR.4.HSI a. Research various character objectives and tactics in a theatrical work to overcome an obstacle.
Materials: White Board, Dry Erase Markers; Lesson 6’s Discovery Project Rubric https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Eay-_uAEdUntp_jyujvFwQWjiJ0UQbkeb_mf9RyH0Xc/edit?usp=sharing
Opening
Who knows what the Freytag Plot Structure is? What are some of the important elements of this story structure? (Draw the Plot on the Board: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement/resolution)
Lecture Discussion
Just like stories have a structure they need to follow, so do monologues.
With the students, help them to identify Five Key Features of a strong Monologue. Check for understanding along the way. Write each feature on the board as it is introduced. Have students take notes on their own Plot Structure diagrams in their notebooks.
- Moment of Engagement
- Similar to the Inciting Incident
- Point where the protagonist commits to achieving his or her goals
- Beat Changes
- Beat: The smallest division of action in a play; The moment at which increasing dramatic tension produces a noticeable change in the consciousness of the character.
- Parallel to Conflicts in Rising Action
- Point of No Return
- Similar to the Climax
- The moment a character must reach that makes turning back or giving up impossible or dangerous. They have already laid everything on the line. There is no turning back or undoing what has been done so far.
- Character Description
- Takes place in the Exposition
- Look for phrases, words, actions, clues within the monologue that says something about your character—what they look like, what they do, where they are, who they are, etc. How do you get to know your character through only a few lines of dialogue?
- Character Motivations
- Motivation is the reason behind a character’s specific action or behavior. Singular action. So this means there should be a new motivation for each new action or behavior within the monologue.
- The behavior is characterized by the individual’s own consent and intention to do something.
Discussion
Where do we see these elements, not just in stories, but in our everyday lives? Give me an example of Beat Changes in an everyday situation. When are some moments that we might experience a Point of No Return? What are clues that we give off to let people discover who we are as individuals?
Key Learning Activity
After learning about the 5 features of a monologue, students will participate in a game of “Fortunately/Unfortunately”. (Can be divided into 3 groups, each led by a Co-Teacher).
Instructions: Everyone sits in a circle. We are all working to tell the same story. We will take turns, each adding a new step along in the storytelling process. As we go, we must keep in mind our five features discussed today and work to incorporate them in the story. The twist: each person must start their addition to the story of with either “Fortunately…” or “Unfortunately…”, alternating as we take turns. The first person, who will start the story, may start with “Once upon a time…”, and start the F/U with participant 2. So for example, if “Elizabeth” started the story “Once upon a time there was a fierce warrior princess that lived in a corrupt kingdom.” Then the story moves left around the circle to me, I would follow up with “Fortunately, she had a plan to save the village from the evil ruler that had killed her father.” Then it moves to “Josh” and he would continue with an “Unfortunately…” statement and add his piece to the story. Remember to try to include elements of the five features. When you think you hear a new Key Feature introduced (like Character Description or a Beat Change) say “ding!”
The story will travel around the circle twice and by the time it gets back to the last person, we must have a reasonable conclusion to our story.
**During this activity, actively guide the students by stopping the story every once in a while to ask what features were introduced. Help students recognize these elements and learn from this activity even though they are more engaged in the storytelling aspect.
This activity is to help students practice the five features verbally and in their bodies, allow them a low stakes practice environment before they are assessed on this for the final.
Discussion
What did we notice about the storytelling process? How did using the Five Features enhance our story? What might it have looked like without those elements? How can we use what we learn from this activity while working on our monologues?
Wrap Up
Take a moment and look at your own monologues (dramatic monologues selected after Lesson Two). Read through it. Analyze it. Try and find each of these features within your monologue. Before class is over, make sure you have all five of these features marked, underlined, highlighted, etc. in the lines or words from your monologue. Do this work on your copy of your monologue itself. We will come around and check that you have completed this task. If you have any trouble or questions you can ask us for help.
Project Introduction
Next week you are going to be sharing a discovery project on your comedic monologues. You will be looking into the background of the play that your monologue comes from. You will be finding information about:
Playwright
Storyline of play
Setting
Character background
MOST IMPORTANTLY: include any information about cultural, community, societal structures/implications of the period of the play, and how that affects the character
You will create a 2-4 minute oral presentation that you will share with a small group.
Get started on this research now so you can keep asking us questions during the class periods between now and presentations.
*Provide Rubric for reference and more details. Ask students if they have any questions. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Eay-_uAEdUntp_jyujvFwQWjiJ0UQbkeb_mf9RyH0Xc/edit?usp=sharing