Much ado about nothing, Beatrice?

Question

I want to audition in the school play as Hero, but to do so I have to act out Beatrice's monologue (or whatever) at the end of Act 3 scene 1. I have searched the internet for videos of Emma Thompson but found none from that scene... Is there any hints or tips or prehaps another school production in which someone had to do that part?
thanks

Answer 1

I can tell you a bit about Beatrice's character, that should help.

Beatrice might be what you call a flirt. She is outgoing, lively, and loves to mess with boys -- but would hate to be tied down to one.
She is strong, confident, stubborn at times and independent. She does not want a man to take control of her so she is stubborn with men and finds it hard to let that wall or guard down. She is a good friend to Hero and would do most anything for her, and is scared that Hero's naive and playful place with men will get her in trouble. Beatrice likes to kind of keep the men guessing and likes to play "hard to get", but she is actually somewhat afraid of them.

I'm sorry I cannot help you with a specific part or monologue, but if you get into the character's mind and learn how the character is and what they are about, I find it is easier to portray a character that way.

Good luck in your audition!

Answer 2

There's really nothing too tricky about this little soliloquy; it's exactly what it appears to be. Don Pedro has engineered a plan to bring Benedick and Beatrice together. The conversation between Hero and Ursula is part of that plot. They KNOW that Beatrice is eavesdropping on them, so they drop a bunch of hints to the effect that Benedick is madly in love with Beatrice (the irony, of course, is that the MEN in the play just pulled the same stunt on Benedick!)

So, when Hero and Ursula exit, Beatrice comes in and has this brief speech. Basically, she's saying, "Can it be true that Benedick really LOVES me?" And, once she believes THAT, she's more than willing to reciprocate.

If I were to give you one bit of direction, I'd say this: bear in mind how stubbornly OPPOSED to love Beatrice has been up to this point. This is the moment to turn loose the giddy little girl inside of her...the one that has inwardly been DYING to confess her love for Benedick. She's HAPPY!