Performing the opening monologue from OLEANNA

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/1/08 at 7:54pm

Hi all,

Never thought I'd have one of these - a performing question - for you.

I'm helping out a friend of mine who's doing a showcase by performing the opening scene from Mamet's OLEANNA. I'm not a performer by any stretch of the imagination (this was well-known going in), and I'm at a total loss as to how to even approach John's opening monologue.

Luckily, I can have my script in hand. Any suggestions as to how to get the rhythm down?

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 11/2/08 at 12:28am

Hey Yankee,

So I performed OLEANNA a while ago, and I definitely know where you're coming from. What I found is important is considering that John is a teacher, and is oviously extremely smart. Thus, he's going to tend to talk a lot, and he's going to want to use big/unconvential words when speaking. (Not REALLY big words, but he uses a sophisticated syntactical pattern.) This isn't a huge deal in the opening monologue, but when you get into the rest of the play and he starts choosing strange words.

Also: repeat the words. A lot. Just say them- over and over and over. Eventually, it should start to make sense. Also- pay attention next time you're talking to other people- especially when you're trying to explain something that is rather ineffable. Youi'll notice that his language makes sense, but only when you really start to understand it. Just pay attention to people. Maybe, even, if you want, record yourself while you're on the phone. That should give you a good idea.

Hope that helps. If you have questions, PM me.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/2/08 at 12:00pm

I played John a few years ago, and it is the hardest role I've ever had to memorize! All Mamet is really hard to memorize.

The essential thing to do when doing a "telephone speech" is to know exactly what the person on the other end is saying to you. Especially if it's a long speech (like the Oleanna ones), you might even want to take a seperate piece of paper and write/type out your lines and the "responses" that you've created for your imaginary scene partner. I've found that for both theatrical and practical purposes it's not really possible to play them back in your head while you're doing the actual scene, but it will give you something to work with.

Also, make specific choices about what all the incomplete sentences and such mean. Finish them for yourself in your head, and know what it is that your saying even if it's "...[one word]..."

Hope this helps.