The Monologue Workshop: from Search to Discovery in Audition and Performance

by Jack Poggi

To those for whom the monologue has always been synonymous with terror, The Monologue Workshop will prove an indispensable ally. Jack Poggi's new book answers the long-felt need among actors for top-notch guidance in finding, rehearsing, and performing monologues. For those who find themselves groping for a speech just hours before their “big break ” this book is their guide to salvation.

The Monologue Workshop supplies the tools to discover new pieces before they become over-familiar, excavate older material that has been neglected, and adapt material from non-dramatic sources (novels, short stories, letters, diaries, autobiographies, even newspaper columns). There are also chapters on writing original monologues and creating solo performances in the style of Lily Tomlin and Eric Bogosian.

Step by step, Poggi works with the actor in the rehearsal process, combining improvisation and textual analysis in the acclaimed technique that he has developed over thirty years of teaching.

Besides the wealth of practical advice he offers, Poggi transforms the monologue experience from a terrifying ordeal into an exhilarating solo opportunity. Jack Poggi, as many working actors will attest, is the actor's partner in a process they had always thought was without one.

Genres: Theatre

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000