Monologues and Dear Diary Excursion

Term Two’s major Year 10 Theatre: Acting and Directing assessment was a monologue performance. It was quite nerve-racking knowing we had to memorise a large section of text and make sure our performance hit the minimum time limit. A lot of time was taken into practicing our monologues and the end result showed this. We were able to source costumes and props from home or “The Dungeon”. The monologue I chose was Lady Macbeth’s “Yet here’s a spot”. This one was a bit tricky as it had Elizabethan language which was a bit harder to memorise, but I was well prepared and delivered my monologue effectively. 

Along with our performance, we also were required to submit a monologue folio. This consisted of research, character descriptions, stage directions and blocking, costuming and theatrical possibilities, as well as any other work that was a part of putting together our monologue performances.

Alongside learning our lines, we also learnt a lot about line memorisation techniques, and we had many rehearsals within small student groups and in front of our whole class where our peers could provide feedback to us.

The Year 9’s and 10’s also went on an excursion in term two to the Clocktower in Moonee Ponds to view “Dear Diary” performed by Kay Proudlove. The show was a fun performance where Kay took us on a journey through her old teenage diaries. The setting of the closet helped tie different parts of her life together with the clothes and guitar she had in this environ. Being a one woman show, it tied in nicely to our monologue unit, and was a great way to cap it off. Overall, a lot of people enjoyed the show and laughed along to the many humorous theatrical choices made by Kay.

Varuna Malhotra - Year 10