29 January 2025
Teaching Monologues: Practical Activities & High School Examples
Wondering how you can 'teach' a dramatic monologue to your Theatre or ELA students?
Here's a short introduction to this form of speech - including how DT+ can support your lessons...
What is a monologue?
In theatre, a monologue is a speech given by one character (from the Greek 'mono').
Monologues can vary in length but are typically extended speeches performed without interruption, either to another character or directly to the audience.
Monologue Activities for High School Students
Activity 1: Understanding the Monologue
When analyzing or preparing to perform a monologue, it's helpful to have your students start with a basic exploration of the speech, either individually, or as a class.
Start by asking one student to read the monologue aloud for the class, or watch a recital.
Then, ask the class:
- Who is the character speaking to?
- What is the character talking about?
- What does the monologue reveal about the character?
As the class continues to analyze the monologue, these questions should drive deeper interpretations, encouraging students to find textual evidence that justifies their arguments.
This activity can be found in full in the e-learning video 'What is a monologue', available on DT+.
Activity 2: Vocalizing the Monologue
Whether you're preparing theatre students for an audition, or stretching your ELA class to include commentary on performance in their textual analysis, the way that a character chooses to perform their lines is almost as important as the words themselves.
To demonstrate this, have your students listen to different performances of the same monologue. These can be filmed scenes or audio recordings - the voice is what matters.
For this exercise, we recommend using a Shakespearean monologue, which will allow for a fruitful and diverse collection of recitals and interpretations. DT+ examples include:
- 2x versions of 'Romans, Lovers, countrymen' from Julius Caesar
- 5x versions of 'O, you are men of stones' from King Lear
Ask your students to write down 3-5 adjectives to describe each performance. In pairs or small groups, have them discuss why they chose different words for each performance.
Compare & Contrast: 'Romans, Lovers, countrymen', Julius Caesar
Activity 3: Staging the Monologue
Just as they have analyzed the impact of vocalization, encourage your students to think about the relationship between language and movement.
Hand out copies of your chosen monologue, and have students watch a performance extract of this speech. Instruct them to note the movements or gestures that occur alongside specific lines.
Are these movements effective? Why? What do they 'add' to the text?
Stretch: Assign each student a theatrical movement (i.e. Realism, Expressionism). Each student should perform the same monologue using movements and gestures appropriate to the style they have been given. Can the rest of the class guess which style they are imitating?
This concept is illustrated in the Frantic Assembly Studio series, Making Work – Text and Movement, available on the DT+ platform. Through short workshops, practitioners explore how choreography can highlight key emotions or character journeys in monologues or duologues.
This collection includes monologues from Things I Know To Be True, Beautiful Burnout, and Lovesong.
Finding Monologue Examples on DT+
It's one thing to read a monologue – it's another thing entirely to see it performed. Watching an actor interpret their lines is essential to helping students form unique opinions on a speech.
With this in mind, there are a number of monologues available to watch on the DT+ platform, including key scenes from productions, poetry recitals, and text extracts for class analysis.
Monologues for Female Characters
-
‘These are the forgeries of jealousy’ from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 'He was a boy, just a boy' from A Streetcar Named Desire
Monologues for Male Characters
- 'Alas, poor Yorick' from Hamlet
- My Last Duchess by Robert Browning
- 'Friends, Romans, countrymen' from Julius Caesar
One-Minute Monologues
- 'That's what he used to say, my old Dad' from Billy the Kid
- 'O, you are men of stones' from King Lear
- 'Like my mother before me' from Lovesong
Looking for more acting lesson resources?
Check out Acting Essentials, our practical and inspiring 2-hour Professional Development course which provides a foundational understanding of actor training.
Find out more about how DT+ can help you find fresh approaches to teaching. Contact our Sales Team to book a tour or start your free trial today.
Related blogs
Celebrate All Students This Season: 4 Creative Classroom Strategies
As the holiday season approaches, many educators find themselves in a bit of a conundrum: How do I...
Read moreDT+ Teaching & Learning Resource Achieves ESSA Level IV Certification
At Digital Theatre+, our mission has always been to empower educators and develop students through...
Read moreBlack History Month: Top 10 Teaching Resources
Originally created in the United States in February 1926, and celebrated each October in the United...
Read moreGet the latest teaching tips straight to your inbox
Explore free lesson ideas and inspiration, education news, teaching trends and much more by signing up to regular blog updates!