Play Guide [1.2MB PDF] - Arizona Theatre Company

written monologues will be based on this example.
3) Once the monologue has been performed, ask the class who they think the character
is. What clues were present in the example? Did the object or cultural reference make it
easier to guess? Why or why not?
4) Have each student select an item that is not his/her own.
5) Each student will then have 10-15 minutes (or longer, depending on class length)
to write a short monologue as a character for whom the chosen object has meaning.
Parameters for the monologue are as follows:
• Monologues should be formatted like the sample scene from The Glass
Menagerie.
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The monologue should begin with a contemporary description of the character.
Using what they know of the characters from the play, students should consider
the following:
o How old is this character?
o What is he or she wearing in this monologue scene?
o Where does the scene take place? (Again, keep in mind what you know of
the characters and the play. Don’t take the character completely out of their
world – update that world to 2010.)
The monologue should be the length of a decent paragraph and should have a
beginning, middle, and end.
The character is sharing what the chosen object or cultural reference means
to him or her. If a student chooses an object or reference that could relate to
multiple characters, it is up to the student to choose which character they would
like to write as. However, there must be evidence in the play that a character
would relate to the contemporary object (e.g., the character had a relationship
with the 1930s equivalent in the original play). Remember who the characters
are and their relationships to one another and to keep those relationships the
same in the contemporary monologue. Students should not feel obligated to
write as their own gender; they should write what is interesting to them.
Students should try to capture the voice of the character as much as possible,
while also considering what a contemporary version of the character would
sound like. What contemporary phrases might this character use?
Encourage students to really delve into the minds and emotions of the characters
that they are writing. WHY is this object or cultural reference meaningful to the
character? WHAT does the character get from his or her relationship with this
object/reference? HOW do they feel about the object/reference? HOW does the
character respond to the way that other characters in the story feel about the
chosen object/reference?
The Glass Menagerie
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 36