Monologues!

April 14, 2022

Academics

GNS

Many students are filled with a sense of immense relief after an enormous deadline has been successfully met, whether it be a Math test or a Language and Literature poster. In the case of the Drama 8s, the relief comes from knowing that the Gallery of Fame is finished and complete.

However, it is far from the end of the year and the Grade 8 Drama teachers have assigned a new large project to the group: monologues! A monologue is a short speech that has a storyline and is typically spoken and portrayed by one person. A monologue can be about anything.

When asked what she was excited about with this project, Reese Suntok ’26 responded with, “I’m excited to create the costumes and the props because I like creating things. I chose a monologue about cats because I really like them and I feel as if I could relate. They’re lazy and so am I.”

“I wanted to choose a monologue that was different from my experiences because I wanted to experience something new. The writing in the monologue that I chose stood out to me and the writing in monologues are very different from normal novels,” said Anastasia Lavrenyuk ’26.

Keirti Pathak ’26 commented, “I’m nervous about memorizing so I’m planning to start memorizing soon but I’m really looking forward to performing my speech in front of the class and trying something new.”

This time, instead of writing their own speech or monologue, the Grade 8s have been given a list of monologues chosen by Ms. Pagett and Ms. Chaval. These monologues, comprised of no more than two short pages, each have a different storyline. For example, one of the monologues is about dealing with parents while another one is about cats. These monologues are to be presented on-stage, with simple props and a costume to help convey the artistic intention of a student. The monologues unit was created to allow the students self-expression and interpretation.

Unlike Gallery of Fame, each monologue is an individual, short play. The students are required to perform an in-depth analysis in preparation for becoming storytellers.

For many of the students, the best part is that these monologues are presented to their classmates without the pressure of having to perform for their parents!