Can you give me some ideas on how to deliver this monologue? i'm going to an acting competition this july?

Question

Exactly Who You Are (Teenage girl): Girl who confronts an old friend about why they don't hang out any more.

Denise: I know exactly who you are. You're Kenny Fisher...we used to...we used to play Miami Vice in my basement. You used to sleepover my house...you had to leave the hall light on every night. You're Kenny Fisher who used to buy me a card every Valentine's Day and a bag of those little hearts with the words on them. And you're Kenny Fisher who suddenly got too cool to hang out with me when we hit junior high. Cause, I was in all the smart classes, and cause my parent's didn't make a lot of money. And cause you desperately needed to sit at the trendy table in the cafeteria.


thank you!

Answer 1

You need to use a technique called subtext. Natural actors use it subconsciously but it CAN be learned.

What you do is write down, for every line of dialogue, what you think the character means in completion of each sentence.

So: "I know exactly who you are" may be completed with:
* "you little biatch"
* "my greatest friend"

or a myriad other phrases.

Once you do this, say the text (the part that's in the script) but complete it with the subtext in your mind. You will agree that "I know exactly who you are, you little biatch" will be said differently than "I know exactly who you are, my greatest friend."

By completing the subtext in your mind you'll give just the right tone and texture to what you are saying.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

hmmmmmm.....

when you say "I know exactly who you are. You're Kenny Fisher...we used to...we used to play Miami Vice in my basement. You used to sleepover my house...you had to leave the hall light on every night. You're Kenny Fisher who used to buy me a card every Valentine's Day and a bag of those little hearts with the words on them." have a smile on your face like your remembering the good times.

and then the last part, have a shadow of anger across your face. not to much, but just enough so they know how you feel.

Answer 3

Just deliver like you are really speaking to that person, from the heart. If you've ever felt in real life the way Denise feels as she speaks, go into that feeling emotionally, and let the words come from that. That, and really learning to listen to the other person, are the basis of what great acting is all about. Don't TRY to emote, or indicate what the emotions are with facial or physical gestures, or get all technical about it. Just go back into your feelings, and let the words and emotions feel truthful as you say them.

Answer 4

Can you find a similar situation in your own experiences? Has a friend ever let you down badly? You need to relate it to an experience of your own and then simply tell it like it is. Just tell the truth...dont be really angry in your delivery...after all this is a smart girl and she is choosing her words carefully in order to affect him deeply. She does not need to shout, the words do the work for her.

You also need to work out what she wants from him...does she want him to beg for forgiveness? To suddenly revert to being himself again...the old self. Of course she does, otherwise she would not bother to speak to him.

Laern your lines well and then practice a lot!