An Adventure with Monologues: Level 1 Theatre

Lesson plan created by Madison Nielson and Alyssa Landroche

Standards
● Standard L1.T.CR.5:
Explore physical, vocal, and emotional choices to develop a performance that is believable,
authentic, and relevant to a drama/theatre work.
● Standard L1.T.R.4:
Demonstrate the ability to receive and act upon coaching, feedback, and constructive criticism.
● Standard L1.T.P.1:
Interpret the character, setting, and essential events in a story or script that make up the dramatic
structure in a drama/theatre work.

Enduring Understanding:
● Students will understand that script analysis and character development contribute to a
compelling monologue performance.
Skills:
● Students will be able to score a monologue.
Knowledge:
● Students will know that a monologue is a poetic form in which a single character,
addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the
dramatic​ situation.
● Students will know that an objective is a goal a character is trying to reach.
● Students will know that an obstacle is something that stands in the way of the objective
● Students will know that a tactic is a strategy used by a character to overcome the obstacle
to achieve their objective.

Assessments
Performance Tasks:
● Students will perform their final monologue in front of the class graded on the
monologue rubric (See attached) in order to assess Standard create 5 and Standard
Perform 1.
● Students will perform two group monologues in which they will explore different ways to
use physicality and voice to convey meaning in a monologue in order to assess Standard
Create 5.

Other Assessments:
● Students will identify beats, given circumstances, motives, obstacles, objective, and
tactics in their monologue they chose in order to assess their ability to score a monologue.
 ● Students will revise their monologues using the feedback they have received from their
peers on their student critique worksheet (see attached) and write an reflection on the
revision process in order to assess standard respond 4.
● Students will fill out a self-reflection sheet (see attached) asking them to describe how
script analysis and character development impacted their performance and to define
objective, obstacle, tactic, and monologue in order to assess the Enduring Understanding
and the key knowledges.

Materials Needed
● Slips of paper with different emotions/personalities written on them
● Group monologue worksheets
● Student critique worksheets
● Monologue Rubric
● Self-reflection paper

Day 1: Introduction to Monologue

Hook
1. Watch two movie monologues (5 minutes)
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vY7HjZ-VMs​ (2:20-3:35)
b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tLf1JO5bvE
Process
2. Discussion on Monologues (7)
a. Discuss the following for both clips and record ideas on the board:
i. What happened in the clip?
ii. What was the setting?
iii. Who was speaking? Who were they speaking to?
iv. What was the purpose of the speech in the film as a whole?
v. What were the stakes?
vi. How could this relate to theatre?
3. What is a monologue? (8)
a. Ask students if any of them know what a monologue is.
b. On the board, define a monologue as: a poetic form in which a single character,
addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the
dramatic situation.
c. Tell students that the latin roots of the world “monologue” is Mono=One, Logue=
Speech.
d. Were these clips an example of monologues?
e. Considering our list on the board, what are elements of a good or bad monologue?
 1. NOTE: As you revisit the list from part two you may want to circle
the elements that made the monologues good in one color and
those that made them bad in another color.
f. Which actor’s performance was more believable?
g. What character choices made Neville’s monologue stronger than Anakin’s?
i. Body
ii. Voice
iii. Authentic/appropriate emotion
4. Introduce Group Monologue (10)
a. Explain to class that they will each perform a monologue by the end of the unit
but first they will practice doing a monologue together as a group.
1. NOTE: Clarify that a monologue is supposed to be one person but
for the purposes of this activity it will be a group monologue to
introduce the concept in a non-threatening manner.
b. Split class into groups of 5.
c. Handout group monologue worksheet to each group. (See attached)
d. Explain to students that they will read the monologue as a group and answer the
questions on the worksheet.
5. Visualize (7)
a. Based on the analysis you wrote on your worksheet, your groups will create a
tableau embodied the central message of the monologue.
i. Explain to the students that the reason for this activity is so they can
practice using their bodies to create meaning.
ii. Remind students that a tableau is a frozen image
iii. Encourage the groups to consider how the imagery can be applied to the
tableaux in an abstract or literal way.
b. Give students 5 minutes to create their tableaus.
c. Have the groups share their tableaux with one another.
6. Vocalize (8)
a. Explain that the students will then create a scene in which the entire group
delivers the monologue.
i. Everybody must participate and the words of the monologue can’t be
altered but the speaker and action can.
ii. The scene should start with the tableau they created in step 5, but they can
move from there, drawing inspiration from the previous activity.
iii. Students will need to decide which lines are spoken in unison and which
by individual speakers.
iv. Explain that students can create a lot of impact by how they deliver the
lines as well: a shout, a whisper, a plead, a punch.
 b. Give students 5 minutes to put together their scenes.
c. Share scenes with all the groups.
1. NOTE: Group Monologue activity taken from:
https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/acting-exercise-ensemble-monol
ogue/
Reflection
7. Discussion on monologues
a. Gather the students back to their seats and discuss the following questions:
i. How do our physical choices impact the meaning of a monologue?
ii. How do our vocal choices impact the meaning of a monologue?
iii. What were some moments from the scenes we just shared that were
impactful?
iv. How can you apply the things you learned in the group monologue to your
own one-person monologue?
b. Assign the students to go home and research monologues that they would want to
perform by the end of the unit.

Day 2: Objectives, motivations, and tactics, Score a monologue

Hook
1. Students sit in a circle and play the game “If you love me, won’t you please please smile”
as teacher side coaches them to explore different tactics to make their peers smile.
Process
2. ​Define objective/ motivation, obstacle, and tactics for students.
3. Discuss:
a. How did these concepts relate to the warm up game they played?
b. What tactics were effective or ineffective? Why?
c. How do we see these concepts in real life?
d. How does this relate to monologues?
4. Explain that scoring is used to break down the elements of a monologue, and provide an
example.
5. Divide students into groups of 2 or 3 and explain that in groups they will be scoring a
monologue.
6. Provide a monologue (see attached) to the students and ask them to score it and to
identify the characters objective/motivation, obstacle, and tactics on the back.
Reflection
7. Discuss and reflect on the scoring process as a class
a. Did you find this easy or challenging?
b. What did you discover about the character?
c. How did this process help you better understand the material?
 8. Assign homework: find a 2-3 minute monologue that is appropriate for a believable in
class performance and bring it in for the next class. Provide resources for students to find
monologues for their age group.
9. Pass out Monologue Grading Rubric and tell students this is what you will be grading
them on and that they will be receiving personal feedback on that sheet for their final
monologue. Answer any questions the students have.
10. Collect the scoring sheets as an exit ticket

Day 3​: ​How to convey appropriate emotion in Character

Hook
1. Slow motion emotion game for warm-up where each student is assigned an emotion that
they have 10 seconds to portray with their facial expressions and body, using no words.
The students need to guess what emotion they are portraying.
a. Have each student participate
Process
2. Have students pull out chosen monologue and check each of the monologues off.
3. Discuss the importance of setting in the monologue, who the character is addressing in
the monologue and the events in the monologue. Have the students fill out the worksheet
that identify each of these things in their own chosen monologue and how that affects
their scene.
4. Split class into groups of 3 or 4 people and do the Character Emotion exercise where they
pull a slip of paper that has a specified emotion or personality on it and perform their
monologue using that emotion. This exercise is used to explore the different emotional
possibilities of their character and to not get too rote in their rehearsal. Have the students
perform for each other in their individual groups.
5. Discuss as a class the things they learned from the Character Emotion exercise
6. Do the advanced character walk activity where you have the students act as their
character in the monologue they chose and have them embody their character, walk and
react to other students as their characters. Create a list of scenarios for them to react to as
they walk around the room. (I.E. Can’t remember where they parked their car, trapped on
a deserted island, just won the lottery). Have your students think about how their
character walks, talks, etc.
Reflection
7. Do a reflection discussing how you can identify what emotion their character is feeling,
how physicality and voice can portray meaning and character, and why it’s important to
know who the character is talking to.
 8. Have the students write a small paragraph as their character answering the following
prompt: “What is the thing you want the most?” and have the students turn it in as their
exit ticket.
9. Student homework is to work on monologue at home.

Day 4: Work Day and Group feedback

Hook
1. Play the Game “Master, Master who am I?” where students stand in a circle and one
student is in the middle and disguises their voice. They go up to a student and says
“Master, Master who am I?” and the student has to guess who they think it is. This is a
good vocal warm-up and exploration with different ways to use voice to portray a
character.
Process
2. Demonstrate for students students how to “slate” their monologue by modeling how to
introduce their name, the name of the play the monologue was taken from and the name
of the character they are performing.
3. Have each student stand up where they are and practice slating their monologue 3 times.
4. Tell the students that they have 15 minutes to rehearse their monologues by themselves
before they perform it for their peers. Make yourself available to answer any student
questions or to give students feedback on their performance.
5. Split up the students into groups of 5 and explain that they will each perform their
monologues for each other and the members of the group watching will write down and
share aloud feedback for the student to apply to their monologue. The student will then
apply the feedback by performing for the group again. Every student in the group do this
and should perform their monologue twice.
6. Have a discussion with the students about what is good, effective feedback and what is
feedback that doesn’t help to ensure the experience is a good one for everyone.
7. Hand out the Student Critique worksheets and tell the groups to begin performing. This
activity should take the rest of the class period.
Reflection
8. Have a discussion with the students about why feedback and constructive criticism is
necessary.
9. Have students write a reflection on how they applied the feedback from their peers in
their monologue.

Day 5: Perform monologues

Hook
1. Students will play zip, zap, zop as a warm up.
Process
2. Explain that today students will perform their monologues for the class.
3. Review rules for good audience etiquette.
4. Give students time to perform their pieces.
a. Note: This may take two days depending on class size.
Reflection
5. Have students respond to the following prompt:
a. What choices did you or your classmates make to make the monologue
dramatically interesting?
b. How do monologues contribute to a play? What makes them effective?
6. Self-Reflection Paper
a. Have your students answer fill out their self-reflection paper (See attached)
7. Collect scored monologues and their reflection responses.
 Group monologue worksheet:

GIRL: You’re not good at this you know. I’ve had better. Much better. Sneakier. Sit beside me at lunch,
pretend to be my friend. Bolder. They try to drag me into the bathroom. Meaner. Spit at me. Knock books
out of my arms. Pinch me. Treat me like a piece of garbage, think it’s funny to try and make me eat
garbage, be garbage, and I should be so grateful for any attention that comes my way – oh sure let’s go in
the dark ride, gee what a great idea! Oh look who’s waiting for me with what, rotten eggs to rub in my
hair? What a surprise! How funny! (​as others​) Why aren’t you laughing? It’s just a little egg. It’s just a
joke. (​mocking serious)​ But I thought you were serious. I thought we were all going to be best friends.
(​dead serious)​ I won’t eat garbage for you, friend. (Taken from Funhouse)

So the first task is to ​analyze the monologue​.

● What’s the subject?

● What do we know about the subject?

● Who is talking, and who are they talking to?

● Where does the monologue take place?

● What images are in the monologue?

 Self-reflection paper:

Name:

1. How do you feel your monologue went?  

 
 
 
2. How did the script analysis process influence your understanding and performance of your 
monologue? 
 
 
 
3. What did you learn through developing your character and how did that impact your 
performance? 
 
 
 
 
4. What is a monologue? Why are they used in theatre?  
 
 
5. What is an obstacle? 
 
 
6. What is a tactic? 
 
 
7. What is an objective? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monologue Grading Rubric  
 
Performer:  
 
Show:  
 
Character played:  
 
 
____/25 -- C ​ haracterization​ (Authentic, appropriate physical and vocal choices that make performance 
believable) 
 
____/10 -- I​ ntentions​ (Clear who character is talking to, what character’s tactics are, and what character’s 
objective is) 
 
____/10 --​ Dramatic Structure​ (clear beats, clear beginning, middle, and end of monologue) 
 
___/5 -- ​Context (​ Clear understanding and portrayal of where monologue is taking place, understanding of 
how monologue impacts the rest of the story)  
 
 
 
 
Total : _____/50 
 
 
Notes:  
 
 
 
 Student Feedback

Performer:

Show:

Character:

Feedback from:

Please identify strong points in this monologue. What impacted you the most?

What do you feel the performer could have done to make their monologue even more impactful?