Shoreham Monologue Research/Preparations

The monologue I have chosen to perform for the Shoreham is one of Hermione's speeches from The Winters Tale. In the part of the play that my monologue is from, Hermione is in a court room expressing her feelings about how she will stand up for herself and take what is hers. Previously, her husband has accused her of adultery and many other various things, which would lead them to taking her child away from her. She is appalled by the court for threatening this and builds in confidence throughout the piece. 
I chose this monologue for this performance because I can do a lot with the movement and my voice to grab peoples attention as they walk by. For example to start my monologue I am going to look around the space, just above my natural eyeline, as if I am looking at the jury in the courtroom that the monologue is set in. This establishes my status and also allows me some time to relax and become comfortable before I start my speech. As for my general movement, I plan to stay in the same place for most of the monologue, I have videoed myself performing my monologue as if it it my audition and I have a habit of stepping on the spot without realising or meaning to, this is need to stop. It makes it look as if I am distracted or forgetting my lines, neither or which I want to happen in Shoreham. To improve on this i will rehearse in front of a mirror more, or in front of others so that I, or the person watching can point out to me when I am doing this. 

In terms of vocal skills, I have tried to vary my volume and tone throughout the monologue. For example the last line 'cry fie upon my grave' is a very angry ending line. At this point Hermione has declared that she will not be wronged. I also start my speech with a shaky tone of voice, ending a few sentences in a higher pitch to show that she is anxious about what she is going to say.  I have also tried starting my piece with a proud strong voice, both of these work well with the narrative of the piece and my character, I would like to try both of these out on the performance day if I can and see which is more successful. 

In the original performance circumstances this monologue would have been performed in a melodramatic fashion. This was due to the types of theatres it would have been performed in. The staging would be thrust, meaning the actors would have had to perform to the whole room, not just forwards. The audience at the time would have been quite vocal, meaning they would have had to project over this, also without mics, this would have been much more difficult. Furthermore, because the theatres were open air, the sound would travel more. 

Similarities in these performances and mine are that I will be outside and will have to project my voice as much as possible. I will also have to be aware of audiences all around me, especially if I am going to start my monologue in an unexpected place or scenario. 

Differences between the OPC and my performance will be that my costume will be different. I will be wearing all black to show formality within my company, whereas in the Elizabethan performances they would have worn dresses with lots of layers, and a royal blue/purple colour scheme, but as Hermione was rejected from the royals more she would have worn black or white. But most importantly it would have always been a dress- 

My preparations- 

Because I already knew my monologue from a previous performance, I had minimal preparations to make. Apart from choosing my costume, rehearsal professional blacks, I only had to rehearse. I did this in front of others, to gain pointers to help me. Such as remaining focused, and having a stronger entrance. These helped me as my fellow performers gave me this constructive criticism, therefore I can work on these on the day as well.