On Monologues

I am not really a fan of monologue plays. To be honest, I like stories with multiple characters in which the story is not only told, but unraveled. Monologues rely on the audience's imagination and the story telling capability of a single actor. To be fair, however, I like the stories in many of the monologues we read; and I understand how monologues can be effective in making a statement, it's just not the presentation I would chose if I were writing a play.

Monologue plays always seem to bring something taboo yet relevant into the light. This is something I do like about this monologue-based structure. I am beginning to wonder why people have abandoned trying to make the same points and bring attention to the same issues in theater with multiple characters on stage. I understand that because the audience is being directly addressed in a monologue play that people feel there is a greater communication of the message the play is trying to get across. Perhaps this is something I can work towards: finding a topic that brings attention to an issue while not having the need for a series of monologues.

Common threads between the readings, other than bringing attention to a taboo subject, were the shared experiences of the characters, even though they might not have ever encountered each other. This brings awareness of a small world to the audience: of the fact that people are not as alone as they often think. No matter how intense and depressing the stories of monologue plays are, there is always this underlying hope. There is a defining event, or realization that brings all of these characters together though they do not know it; they stand on the stage alone, not realizing there are people with similar experiences waiting in the wings. I feel monologue plays often resonate the question, what does it mean to to be human?

In the New Orleans Monologues this question answers by showing people's reactions to a crisis. It shows human nature in a natural disaster: people under pressure in unexpected and grave situations. In the Laramie Project a crisis of a different kind is portrayed, yet although none of the speaking characters were in direct peril, everyone had been effected in some way by Matt's murder. The concept of an invisible and recurring main character is also interesting, and something I hope to play with when writing. By this I mean, the stories and accounts of Matt create in the audience's mind a powerful and well developed character. In the Vagina Monologues, the characters were not connected by an event; sure, one might say they are all connected by having vaginae, but I like to think it is something more than that. I feel each of these women are portraying a realization about their vagina. I like the idea of taking a subject and having diverse characters with diverse stories having diverse realizations about the same subject.

So I have said monologue plays are not my favorite, but that does not mean I do not understand why they are effective. There is definitely an art to these plays, I am not denying that, I just prefer to watch and read plays that show what happens instead of tells.