I am doing a monologue that is about dying and I dont want to be melodramatic :what is some advice?

Answer 1

Practice doing the piece first with no movement or emotion at all then layer it in little by little. Don't make the obvious choices. What makes pieces like this work is when you find the pain perhaps not in the fact of death itself but in the life that will no longer be. Think of what is important to the character and then imagine each time losing a bit of that and when you feel the full depth of that reel it in completely. Feel what it feels like to feel it but not show it and again let it almost leak out of you. The subtleness of feeling the pain but not fully showing it should be very effective.

Answer 2

After someone has accepted the fact that death is near they often develop a sense of peace and are very calm. In short, they aren't melodramatic once they reach this stage. You might want to read the monologue and see if it can be portrayed it in this manner.

Answer 3

Just do it simply. Do not act. Pretense will ruin the piece. Allow yourself to react to the words, however, this will be normal and natural.