ROMEO AND JULIET:

 

 

Watching the various versions of one of Romeo and Juliet’s most famous monologues made me realize how over-done the play is. Despite its familiarity around the world, it’s frowned upon to perform such a monologue for a Drama school audition because of how popular the play really is. Watching the videos also made me realize how important it is to actually make a monologue your own. Some of the videos like #5 and #9 were example of under-acted and not making the monologue interesting – which the drama schools are looking for anyway. #9 unfortunately played the part very dull and spoke in a monotone, which I’m afraid of which I might do as I am aware that I may speak in a monotone voice maybe due to nerves or just my lack of acting realistically.

While watching the videos I was aware at the fact that even just looking at the performers at the way that they looked and how they acted on stage. This is very popular on drama panels and in drama schools; to be judged on appearance, so this is a lesson on how to appropriately look ready for auditioning.

The 1^st and 2^nd video that was watched were really varied and contrasted. The first video displayed a version of a traditional interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. Although it was clear and the actor understood what the monologue was about but, the actor had little emotion and the it was very cringe-worthy and cheesy. The 2^nd and 3^rd video, were very modern. They wore very casual clothes and had a casual and simple set. I enjoyed these the most because they weren’t stereotypical or cliché. They added emotion but wasn’t over-dramatic.

What I enjoyed about the two modern videos (2^nd and 3^rd) is the fact that they were spontaneous, they both seemed to have a good thought process. Unlike the 7^th video which was a college/school production, the set was very weak and the acting wasn’t much better. The man portraying Romeo seemed like he was rushing the monologue and was out of breath, I’m not sure if this was part of the performance or the fact that the actor was poorly breathing. Also, the actor over-acted too much, he seemed like he had a poor thought process and didn’t seem to understand the  script very well he added emphasis on certain words that didn’t need it. It could of been improved if he slowed down, breathed better and understood the monologue more where as the 5^th video as I stated previously it was very under-acted but seemed to understand the words that he was speaking which is what drama schools are looking for it would be pointless to audition without knowing what a single word you was saying.

NOTES:

#1 – Little Emotion, added in a traditional/classical romance.

#2 – A little over-dramatic but good at the beginning, hardly any classical romance. Very clearly staged and set, played with different emotions and very casual

#3 – Very Mysterious, calm and not too little or too much emotion. Lightly spoken despite the staging and set, it was modern and casual

#5 – Very under-acted, no emotion but clearly spoken

#6 – (Children) Very adorable, reflective acting but done well for learning the lines at age 6.

#7 – Very dramatic, over-acted, rushed and he didn’t seem to know what he was talking about

#8 – Boring, doesn’t understand the script

#9 – Very monotone, little emotion.

What I have learnt from watching these clips and renditions of Romeo and Juliet monologue is the fact that making it your own version is much more interesting from just playing it the same way as everyone else. I know that I have the tendency to read the lines and to act the line without having a second thought or attempting to make it my own. I’m not sure if it’s due to being nervous to perform it or just afraid to make it different since Shakespeare is so popular and I’m afraid of failing or not giving the good monologues justice. But, watching the clips made me realise that the more popular or the favourite auditions are the ones that are not afraid to take risks and to make the piece interesting and different.

What I know also that I need to work on is my voice, I’m aware that my voice needs strengthening and that I need to take more risks with it. I’m also aware like I said before that sometimes I don’t add different pitches or tempos to my voice, I either talk to fast without slowing down or just speak with one monotone voice. Watching these clips, I noticed that many of the actors say different lines with different voices to make it more unique to watch as I got quite bored of watching the 9^th video because he kept his voice on one level.

I’m also aware that I sometimes perform using a lot of hand gestures and reflective acting. Sometimes I do it without realising and noticing how cringe worthy it could be while acting, I know that I need to work on stopping reflective acting and using certain obvious gestures can be quite annoying and cheesy. Also, I have to work on using a stronger thought process during auditions to show that I am capable of understanding the monologue, although I do thoroughly enjoy Shakespeare. I need to improve on the skill of being able to make the monologue my own to really get the experience out of the performance and to make it enjoyable to the audience.

I really enjoyed this task as it opened my eyes to not only just performing but how hard it is to perform monologues and how you are thoroughly judged by panels as I felt that I was on a panel watching the renditions of the performances and having to judge them on how good they were or what they needed to improve on. It really showed me how competitive the Performance world is. It also showed me the little aspects of performance that need improving, taken away and what I need to start doing in order to really strengthen my chances of succeeding in acting.