A Monologue is an Outrageous Situation!

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Performance Notes

There Is Never a Fourth Wall

This is not the most earth-shaking note in the world but I want to mention it because it can cause actors to make choices that are not as big or risky as they might be. Sometimes when performing in a realistic play on a proscenium stage actors allow the conceit of the ‘fourth wall’ to limit their performance to the confines of the stage alone, as if they have lost all awareness that people are out there in the auditorium watching. This is out of striving to sustain the ‘realism’ of the modern play they are in and that is good, but actors should not forget that they are telling a story to an audience and must share it with that audience. I have seen this several times when viewing ...