What is a Monologue?

https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/what-is-a-monologue/

From the Greek: monologos speaking alone (mono=alone, logos=speech/word)

What is a monologue?
A speech presented by a single character.
Uses the first person.

Can be comedic or dramatic.

Must reveal something: inner thoughts, emotions, secrets, a story, answer to a question.

The monologue is a jewel. It can be the shining gem in your play. A moment that makes an audience lean in, to
be enveloped simply by words and the images that play in their heads. The monologue can act as net cast wide
over the audience, bringing the old and young into a singular experience all hearing the same words and
maybe, all having unique experiences. The best monologue will open up a character like a treasure chest with
secrets to reveal like gold and silver. It will linger with the audience long after the ring of the last word
dissipates in the glare of the spotlight.

The worst monologue will make the audience run screaming from the theatre bemoaning their time spent being
insanely bored to death. It is a doorstop, a lead weight, a stone. Nothing can derail the pace of a play faster than
an ill timed five minute monologue.

The monologue is not a throwaway. If you dont like them, dont use them. Its not necessary, there is no edict or
written rule that all plays need monologues. Its pretty easy to tell when a monologue has been plunked into the
plot because the author thinks there should be a monologue there rather than having a moment where its
necessary beyond all measure for a character to speak, to share, to reveal, to explain. Its the same for musicals
characters should start to sing when they have no other choice. There is nothing they can do or want to do but
sing their feelings. There has been a trend lately that I hate in musicals of talking songs, where characters are
basically just talking about what theyre doing, which never comes across as a moment where singing is
absolutely necessary. Which leads to another thing that the monologue is not:

The monologue is not a vessel to advance the plot. A weird thing to say, I know everything in a play should
advance the plot. Yes a monologue can affect the plot, a reveal in a monologue can send the story into a tailspin.
But what I mean is avoid having a character saying this happened and this happened and this Avoid a long
speech that advances the story by talking the plot. Dont reduce action to talking. Action in theatre should
always centre on a character pursuing a want, trying to get something. Talking the plot is passive because we are
hearing about it instead of seeing it.

The monologue is a mini-play. It is a microcosm within the macrocosm that is the play. A moment of magic that
is its own form within the larger story structure. The monologue can reveal. It acts as a communication directly
from the soul of the character to the audience. The monologue is something that is inherently theatrical because
it doesnt happen in real life. No one stands up and monologues whats going on inside of them as theyre
waiting for the bus.Thats why theyre so much fun to write. You can take the most realistic situation and make
it theatrical by adding a monologue.

Did you know? There is a difference between a monologue and a soliloquy. In the soliloquy the character is
always alone on stage, thinking and talking out loud to themselves. Soliloquies dont have an audience, whereas
monologues generally do another character, the audience. The most famous soliloquy example is Hamlets To
Be or Not To Be.

The monologue does not have to be daunting. Most people have something they want to share. Even the
introvert who may hate talking to people will bare their soul to their cherished pet. You can even write a
monologue for the monosyllabic individual. Who says that sentences have to be more than one word? If you are
creating a three-dimensional character with a life outside the world of the play, you shouldnt be able to stop
yourself from writing a monologue for them. If youve got a character with nothing to say or contribute, then
you need to learn more about them. I think that where playwrights fall short with characters is that they only
create them to exist from the first word to the last. That may do the story justice but it lacks depth.

Exercise The Character Profile. Its easy to give depth to a character, you give them details. Characters come
alive in the details elements that are not necessarily needed for the plot but are vital to create a living,
breathing human being.
Sample details:
Secrets. We all have them from tiny to mammoth.
Memories. Favourite, Least favourite. Childhood memories that still have impact in the present. These
are excellent details that could affect their behaviour within your play.

Significant relationship. Every character needs one. Even if theyre a loner, there has to be something
or someone for them to confide in. And thanks to the wonder that is theatre, this something/someone
could be anything. A boyfriend or a dead relative. An imaginary friend. A literary or historical figure. A
pet, a plant, a rock, a poster of Marilyn Monroe.

Practice MonologueCreate the above details to give depth to one of your characters. Then write a monologue in
which the character shares a childhood memory that still impacts them today. Why does it still impact them?
The audience for the monologue is the significant relationship.

Contoh :
Sore Yang Tidak Pernah Selesai (sebuah monolog pendek)

Masih senja yang sama. Yang dimulai dengan pagi yang sama. Dan kini sore
yang itu-itu juga, pun datang lagi. Apa yang bisa kukatakan?
Makan, minum, tidur, bangun, mengulang lagi.
Makan, minum, tidur, beranak pinak, mengulang lagi.
Bercerita (Improvisasi)
Masih senja yang sama. Yang dimulai dengan pagi yang sama. Dan kini sore
yang itu-itu juga, pun datang lagi. Apa yang bisa kukatakan?