After I chose my monologue, ‘Family’, I applied the five elements of the Stanislavsky system. I imagined the background story of the main character, trying to find out what had caused the character to say the monologue. I also created a setting that would apply to my monologue. Where the character is at. who is she talking to, and what purpose/feeling she wants to express. Then, I developed the tone and pacing of my monologue. I think performing a successful monologue is not just about delivering all the lines correctly; it’s about natural and trying to “become” the character. So I chose a tone that is appropriate. Also, I added some pauses and sound effects to better show the character’s feelings, In the end, I planned my action and my body language. I used the key sentence as my turning point of the whole monologue, and my body language changed from anger to haziness/confusion.

I think I am overall successful because acted out the “drama”/conflict in this story. I created settings and background stories for a 5 sentence monologue; I had gone beyond the meaning of the context, but to the deeper objective that the character wants to achieve or conflict she has to overcome. However, there are some skills that I still need improvement. For example, expression. During the preparation, I focused mainly on vocal techniques and might have overlooked my expressions. Next time, I could practice in front of a mirror. On the other hand, I think I am too nervous during acting, which affected me a bit from “becoming” the character. I should work on relaxation next time.

In the future, I would continue applying Stanislavsky techniques in my acting. There are some skills that I approach, and there are also skills that I struggle with. This was my first time learning about Stanislavsky; I believe as I practice Stanislavsky’s skills more and more, I would be better at it. Overall, the Stanislavsky system had helped me a lot in building a basic understanding of my monologue(and scripts/… in the future). When I act next time, I would tell myself “Observe it, Imagine it, Concentrate, Communicate, and Relax!”