MADRASSCHOOLOFSOCI

ALWORK
(
AnAut
onomousI
nst
it
uti
onaf
fi
li
atedt
otheUni
ver
sit
yofMadr
as)

Depar
tmentofEngl
ishandPr
osceni
um (
Theat
reSoci
etyofMSSW)
pr
esent:
INTERDEPARTMENTALMONOLOGUECOMPETI TION

(
Opent
oal
lUG&PGst
udent
s)

Dat
eandTi
me:
16t
hOct
ober2019,
12noon

Venue:
Audi
tor
ium,
MSSW.

Ther
ulesar
easf
oll
ows:

1.Theparti
cipantsneedt
opicktwomonol ogueseach,
ensur
ingthatt
her
eisatleast
oneclassi
calandonecontempor ar
yplay.Si
mil
arl
y,t
heyneedtochooseatl
eastone
comicandonet ragi
cspeech.So,amaleactormi ckMacbet
ghtpi handPygmali
on
(OR)AMi dsummerNi ght
'
sDr eam andLookBackinAnger
.

2.Thepar
ti
cipant
swi
l
lbeev
aluat
edoncl
ari
tyofut
ter
ance,
emot
ion,
stance,
etc.

3.Setmonologuesuggesti
onsher
earenotstr
ict
lygenderspeci
fi
c.Par
ti
cipant
sof
al
lgender
smaychooseanyt womonologuesaslongastheysel
ectbothaclassi
cal
ANDacont emporar
ywor kaswell
asacomi cANDat ragi
cone.

4.Nospeci
alcost
umesar
erequi
red.

5.Thej
udge'
sdeci
si
onwi
l
lbef
inal
.

6.Prel
imi
nar
yaudi
ti
onsar
ecompul
sory.ContactMs.I
swary
aV, StaffCo-
ordi
nat
or
between30t
hSept
emberand4t
hOctober(1-2p.m.)f
orfur
therdetail
s.

Cont
act
:Iswar
yaV(
9791121987)
 Audi
ti
onMonol
ogues
ForMal
eAct
ors

SET-A
Classi
cal
-Tragi
c:Macbet
hbyWil
li
am Shakespear
e
Contemporar
y-Comic:Py
gmal
ionbyGeorgeBernardShaw

(
OR)
SET-B
Classi
cal
-Comi AMi
c: dsummerNi
ght
’sDream byWi
l
li
am Shakespear
e
Contemporar
y-Tr
agi
c:LookBacki
nAngerbyJohnOsbor
ne

SET-A
1.Context:LadyMacbethhaspersuadedherhusbandtomurderKi
ngDuncanwhostays
atMacbet h’
scastl
e.However,wheniti
st i
metokil
lhi
m, Lor
dMacbethhassecond
thoughts.Hismindrecoi
l
sinterr
orasheconsiderswhatmightunf
oldi
fhegoesahead
withtheplan.

MACBETH
I
fitwer edone, when’ ti
sdone, then’ twer ewel l
I
twer edonequi ckl y:iftheassassi nat i
on
Couldt rammel upt heconsequence, andcat ch
Withhi ssur ceasesuccess; thatbutt hisbl ow
Mightbet hebe- al landt heend- all–her e,
Buther e, upont hisbankandshoal oft i
me,
We’dj umpt hel ifet ocome.Buti nt hesecases
West i
llhav ej udgmenther e; t
hatwebutt each
Bl
oodyi nst ructions, which, beingt aught ,return
Topl aguet hei nv entor :thisev en- handedj ust i
ce
Commendst hei ngr edient sofourpoi son’ dchal i
ce
Toourownl ips.He’ sher eindoubl et rust:
Fi
rst,asIam hi ski nsmanandhi ssubj ect ,
Str
ongbot hagai nstt hedeed; then, ashi shost ,
Whoshoul dagai nsthi smur derershutt hedoor ,
Notbeart hekni femy self.Besi des, thisDuncan
Hathbor nehi sf acul tiessomeek, hat hbeen
Socl eari nhi sgr eatof fi
ce, t
hathi sv irt
ues
Wil
l pleadl i
keangel s,trumpet -
tongu’ d,agai nst
Thedeepdamnat ionofhi st aking- of f;
Andpi ty ,likeanakednew- bornbabe,
Str
idingt hebl ast, orheav en’sCher ubi ns, hors’d
Upont hesi ght l
esscour iersoft heai r,
Shallbl owt hehor r
iddeedi nev er yey e,
Thattearsshal ldr
ownt hewi nd.Ihavenospur
Topr i
ckthesi desofmyi ntent,butonly
Vaulti
ngambi tion,whicho’ er
leapsi t
self
Andf al
lsont heot her
.
2.Context:Henr yHiggins, aprofessorofli
ngui
stics,hassuccessf
ull
ytaughtast
reetsi
de
fl
owergi r
lEli
zaDool i
tt
let ospeakandbehav el
ikeaDuchess.Herf at
her,whowasear l
ier
adust man(sweeper )
,hassuddenl yshottofameandi saskedtogi
vepubli
clect
ures.He
fi
ndshi mselfforcedtol iv
ea‘ respectabl
e’middleclassli
feandaccusesHiggi
nsof
rui
ninghishappi ness.

DOOLI TTLE
Itain'tthelecturingImi nd.I '
l
l l
ectur et hem bl uei nthef ace, Iwi l
l,andnott ur nahai r.It'
s
maki ngagent lemanofmet hatIobj ectt o.Whoaskedhi mt omakeagent lemanofme?
Iwashappy .Iwasf ree.It ouchedpr ettyni ghev erybodyf ormoneywhenIwant edi t,
sameasIt ouchedy ou, ’Enry’Iggins.NowIam wor ri
ed; ti
edneckandheel s; and
ev er
y bodytouchesmef ormoney .It '
saf i
net hi
ngf ory ou,say smysol i
citor .Isi
t?say sI.
Youmeani t'
sagoodt hi ngf ory ou, Isay s.WhenIwasapoormanandhadasol icit
or
oncewhent heyf oundapr am i nthedustcar t
,hegotmeof f,andgotshutofmeandgot
meshutofhi m asqui ckashecoul d.Samewi t
ht hedoct ors: usedt oshov emeoutof
thehospi t
albef oreIcoul dhar dlyst andonmyl egs, andnot hingtopay .Nowt heyf i
nds
outt hatI'm notaheal thymanandcan' tli
v eunlesst heyl ooksaf t
ermet wi ceaday .In
thehouseI '
m notl etdoahand' st urnf ormy self:somebodyel semustdoi tandt ouch
mef orit.Ay earagoIhadn' tar el
ativ eint hewor l
dexceptoneort wothatwoul dn'tspeak
tome.NowI '
vef if
ty, andnotadecentweek' swagesamongt helotoft hem.Ihav etol i
ve
forot hersandnotf ormy self:that'
smi ddl eclassmor ali
ty.Yout al kofl
osi ngEl i
za.Don' t
youbeanxi ous: Ibetshe' sonmydoor stepbyt his:shet hatcoul dsuppor ther selfeasy
bysel li
ngf l
ower sifIwasn' trespect abl e.Andt henextonet ot ouchmewi l
l bey ou,’Enry
’Iggins.I'l
lhavet ol ear nt ospeakmi ddlecl asslanguagef rom y ou, i
nst
eadofspeaki ng
properEngl ish.That '
swher ey ou'l
l comei n;andIdar esayt hat '
swhaty oudonei tfor.

SET-B

3.Cont
ext:I
ntheenchantedf orestnearAt
hens,themi schi
evousspiri
tPuckhaspour ed
i
ntotheeyesofsleepi
ngTi t
ania,theQueenofFairies,
thejui
cef r
om amagi cfl
owert hat
makesanyonef al
li
nlovewi t
ht hefi
rstper
sontheysee.Meanwhi l
e,abunchoff ools
havebeentry
ingtorehearseapl ayandPuckturnsoneoft heirheadsint
oadonkey ’
s.
Pucknarr
atesthewholeincidenttoOberon,t
heKi ngofFairi
es,whohasj ustquarrel
led
wit
hhiswifeTit
ania.

PUCK:
Mymi st
resswi t
hamonst erisinl ove.
Neartohercloseandconsecr atedbower ,
Whil
eshewasi nherdullandsl eepi nghour,
Acrewofpat ches,r
udemechani cals,
ThatworkforbreaduponAt henianst all
s,
Weremett ogethertorehearseapl ay
I
ntendedforgreatTheseus' nuptial-day.
Theshall
owestt hi
ck-ski
noft hatbar r
ensort
,
WhoPy ramuspr esent ed, int heirspor t
For sookhi ssceneandent er'
di nabr ake
WhenIdi dhim att hisadv ant aget ake,
Anass' snol eIf ixedonhi shead:
Anonhi sThi sbemustbeanswer ed,
Andf orthmymi mi ccomes.Whent heyhi m spy,
Aswi ldgeeset hatt hecr eepi ngf owl erey e,
Orr usset -
pat edchoughs, manyi nsor t
,
Risingandcawi ngatt hegun' srepor t,
Sev erthemsel vesandmadl ysweept hesky ,
So, athi ssight ,awayhi sf ellowsf ly;
And, atourst amp, hereo' erando' eronef all
s;
Hemur dercr iesandhel pf rom At henscal l
s.
Thei rsenset husweak, lostwi tht heirfear sthusst
rong,
Madesensel esst hingsbegi ntodot hem wr ong;
Forbr i
ersandt hor nsatt heirappar elsnatch;
Somesl eeves, somehat s, from y ielder sallt
hingscatch.
Il
edt hem oni nt hisdist ractedf ear ,
Andl eftsweetPy ramust ransl atedt here:
Wheni nt hatmoment ,soi tcamet opass,
Titaniawakedandst raight wayl ov edanass.

4.Context
:JimmyPor t
erisfullofangstagainstevery
onearoundhim, part
icul
arl
yt he
ari
stocr
ati
cBrit
ishsoci
ety.Hiswi f
e’supper
-classfri
endHelenaisstayi
ngov erattheir
houseandhehasbeendel i
beratel
yattempti
ngt oprovokeherthr
oughoutt heevening.
Shemost l
yremainsundist
urbedbyhi srant
sunt i
lhest ar
tsquest
ioningherifshehas
wit
nesseddeath.

JIMMY
Any onewho’ snev erwatchedsomebodydi eissuf fer
ingf rom aprettybadcaseof
vir
ginity.
[Hisgoodhumourofamomentagodeser t
shi m,ashebegi nstoremember ]
Fort welvemont hs,Iwatchedmyf at
herdying—whenIwast enyearsold.He’dcome
backf r
om thewari nSpain,yousee.Andcer tai
ngod- fearinggentlement herehadmade
suchamessofhi m, hedidn’
thav elonglef
ttolive.Ever y
oneknewi t—ev enIknewi t.
But,y ousee,Iwast heonlyonewhocar ed…Hi sfamilywer eembar r
assedbyt hewhol e
business.Embar rassedandi rr
it
ated…Asf ormymot her ,allshecouldthinkaboutwas
thef actthatshehadal l
i
edher sel
ft oamanwhoseemedt obeont hewr ongsi deinall
thi
ngs.Mymot herwasal lf
orbeingassociatedwi t
hmi norit
ies,pr
ov i
dedt heywer ethe
smar t
,fashi
onableones.

Weal l
ofuswai t
edf orhimtodie.Thefami
lysenthim achequeeverymonth,andhoped
he’
dgetonwi t
hi tquietl
y,wi
thouttoomuchvulgarfuss.Mymotherlookedaft
erhi
m
wit
houtcomplaining,andthatwasaboutal
l.Perhapsshepiti
edhim.Isupposeshewas
capableoft
hat.[Withakindofappealinhi
svoice.]ButIwastheonl
yonewhocar ed!
Everyti
meIsatont heedgeofhi sbed,tol
istentohimt al
kingorr eadingtome, Ihadto
fi
ghtbackmyt ears.Attheendoft wel
vemont hs,Iwasav eter
an.Al lthatt
hatfeveri
sh
fai
lureofamanhadt oli
stent
ohi m wasasmal l,
fri
ghtenedboy .Ispenthouruponhour
i
nt hatti
nybedr oom.Hewoul dtalktomeforhour s,pouri
ngoutal lthatwaslef
tofhi s
l
ifetoone,lonely,bewil
deredl
it
tleboy,whocouldbar el
yunderstandhal fofwhathesai d.
Allhecouldfeel wasthedespairandthebi
t t
erness,thesweet,sicklysmellofady i
ng
man.

Yousee,
Ilear
ntatanearl
yagewhatitwastobeangr
y—angryandhel
pless.AndIcan
nev
erfor
getit
.Iknewmor eabout—l
ove…betray
al…anddeat
h,whenIwast enyear
s
ol
dthanyouwill
probabl
yeverknowall
yourl
if
e.

ForFemal
eAct
ors

SET-A
Classi
cal
-Comi TheWayoft
c: heWorl
dbyWill
i
am Congr
eve
Contemporar
y-Tr
agi
c:ASt
reet
carNamedDesi
rebyTennesseeWi
l
li
ams

(
OR)
SET-B
Contemporar
y-Comi TheGoodDoct
c: orbyNei l
Simon/
Chekhov
Classi
cal
-Tragi
c:Haml
etbyWil
l
iam Shakespeare

SET-A
1.Context:YoungMi
ll
amanthashadmanysui t
orsvy
ingforherhandandheraunthas
beenactivel
yencour
agi
ngsomeoftheserichmen.Howev er
,iti
sMirabel
lwhoactual
ly
i
mpr essesherandsoshel
ist
soutthecondit
ionsonwhichshewouldagreetomar r
y
hi
m.

MI LLAMANT
Ah, I
'llnevermar ry,unlessIam f ir
stmadesur eofmywi l
landpl easur e.I '
lll
iea- bedi na
mor ningasl ongasIpl ease.Andd' y
ehear ,
Iwon' tbecal lednamesaf terI 'm mar ri
ed;
positivelyIwon' tbecal lednames—Ay ,as" wif
e,""spouse, "" mydear ,
""joy ,""jewel ,
""love,"
"sweet -hear t,
"andt her estoft hatnauseouscant ,i
nwhi chmenandt hei rwi v esar eso
fulsomel yf ami li
ar—Ishal lnev erbearthat .GoodMi rabell
, don'tl etusbef ami liarorf ond,
norki ssbef or efolks,li
kemyLadyFadl erandSi rFrancis;norgot oHy dePar kt oget her
thef i
rstSundayi nanewchar iot,toprov okeey esandwhi sper s,andt hennev erbeseen
theret ogetheragai n,asi fwewer eproudofoneanot hert hef irstweek, andashamedof
oneanot herev erafter.Letusnev ervisittogether,norgot oapl ayt oget her ,butl etusbe
veryst rangeandwel l-
br ed.Letusbeasst r
angeasi fwehadbeenmar riedagr eatwhi l
e,
andaswel l-bredasi fwewer enotmar r
iedatal l.Imustbeatl ibertytopayandr ecei ve
visit
st oandf rom whom Ipl ease; t
owr i
t eandr eceiveletter s,wi thouti nt errogat ori
esor
wr yfacesony ourpar t;towearwhatIpl ease,andchooseconv ersat i
onwi t
hr egar donl y
tomyownt ast e;tohav enoobl igati
onuponmet oconv er sewi thwi tst hatIdon' tlike,
becauset heyar eyouracquai ntance,ort obei ntimat ewithf ools, becauset heymaybe
yourr elati
ons.Comet odi nnerwhenIpl ease,di neinmydr essi ng-room whenI 'm outof
humor ,withoutgi vingar eason.Tohav emycl oseti nv i
olat e;tobesol eempr essofmy
tea-table,whi chy oumustnev erpr esumet oappr oachwi thoutf i
rstaski ngl eav e.And
l
astl
y,whereverIam,youshal
lal
way
sknockatt
hedoorbef
oreyoucomein.These
ar
ti
clessubscri
bed,i
fIconti
nuet
oendur
eyouali
tt
lel
onger
,Imaybydegr
eesdwi ndl
e
i
ntoawife.

2.Context:
BlancheDuBoisi
sstayi
ngathersist
er’
shouseandisoftenvi
sit
edbyt he
sensi
ti
veMi tchwhotakesanint
eresti
nher.Oneeveni
ng,shenar
ratest
ohi mthestory
ofhertragi
cpast—howshelostherhusbandsever
alyear
sagoaftershediscover
edhe
wasgay .

BLANCHE
Hewasaboy ,
justaboy ,whenIwasav eryyounggi rl
.WhenIwassi xteen, Imadet he
discovery–love.Allatonceandmuch, mucht oocompl etely.I
twasl ikey ousuddenl y
turnedabl indi
ngl i
ghtonsomet hingt hathadal way sbeenhal finshadow, t
hat ’
showi t
struckthewor ldforme.ButIwasunl ucky .Deluded.Ther ewassomet hingdi fferent
aboutt heboy ,anerv ousness,asof tnessandt ender nesswhi chwasn’ tlikeaman’ s,
althoughhewasn’ tthel eastbi
tef f
emi natelooking–st i
ll–thatthingwast here….Hecame
tomef orhelp.Ididn’tknowt hat.Ididn’ tfi
ndoutany thingt il
lafterourmar r
iagewhen
we’ drunawayandcomebackandal lIknewwasI ’
df ailedhi mi nsomemy steriousway
andwasn’ tabl
et ogiv ethehelpheneededbutcoul dn’tspeakof !Hewasi nt he
quicksandsandcl utchingatme–butIwasn’ tholdinghi m out ,Iwassl i
ppi nginwi t
hhim!
Ididn’tknowt hat.Ididn’tknowany t
hi ngex ceptIlov edhi m unendur ablybutwi thout
beingabl etohelphi m orhel pmy self.ThenIf oundout .I nthewor stofal lpossi bleway s.
Bycomi ngsuddenl yintoar oom thatIt houghtwasempt y–whi chwasn’ tempt y,buthad
twopeopl ei ni
t…t heboyIhadmar riedandanol dermanwhohadbeenhi sfriendf or
years….

[Alocomoti
veisheardapproachi
ngout
side.Sheclapsherhandstoherearsand
crouchesover
.Theheadli
ghtofthel
ocomot i
veglaresintot
heroom asi
tthunder
spast
.
Ast henoi
serecedesshestrai
ght
enssl
owl yandcontinuesspeaki
ng.
]

Aft
erwar
dswepretendedthatnothi
nghadbeendiscover
ed.Yes,
thet
hreeofusdr
ove
outtoMoonLakeCasino,
verydrunkandl
aughingallt
heway .

[
Pol
kamusi
csounds.I
nami
norkeyf
aintwi
thdi
stance.
]

Wedancedt
heVarsouv
iana!Suddenlyi
nthemiddl
eoft
hedancetheboyIhadmar
ri
ed
br
okeawayf
rom meandr anoutofthecasi
no.Afewmomentsl
ater–ashot
!

[
Thepol
kast
opsabr
upt
ly.Bl
ancher
isesst
if
fl
y.Then,
thepol
kar
esumesi
namaj
orkey
.]

Iranout–all
did!
–allr
anandgat her
edaboutthet
erri
blethi
ngattheedgeofthelake!I
couldn’
tgetnearfort
hecrowding.Thensomebodycaughtmyar m.“Don’
tgoanycl oser!
Comeback!Youdon’ twanttosee!”See?Seewhat!ThenIheardvoi
cessay–All
an!Allan!
TheGr eyboy!He’
dstucktherevolv
erint
ohismouth,andfi
red–sothatt
hebackofhi s
headhadbeen–bl
ownaway
!

[
Shesway
sandcov
ersherf
ace.
]

Itwasbecause–ont hedance-f
loor –unabl
etostopmy sel
f–I
’dsuddenlysaid–“Isaw!I
know!Youdi sgustme…”Andthent hesear
chl
ightwhichhadbeenturnedont hewor l
d
wast ur
nedof fagai
nandneverforonemomentsi ncehastherebeenanylightthat’
s
str
ongerthant hi
s–ki
tchen–candle…
[Mitchgetsupawkwar dl
yandmov estowardheralit
tl
e.Thepolkamusicincreases.
Mitchstandsbesideher.
]

SET-B
3.Cont
ext :
Awomanhaswal kedintot
hebankwithastranger
equestf
ort
hebankof
fi
cerKistunov
,
whoisalreadyver
ysick.Heasksherwhatshewantsandshest
art
scomplai
ningabout
al
lherproblems.

WOMAN
Well
,sir
…It’
smyhusband.Col l
egiateAssessorSchuki
n.He’
sbeensickforfi
ve
months…fi
veagonizi
ngmont hs.I
t’sanervousdisor
der
.Every
thi
nggratesonhisner
ves.
I
fyousomuchast ouchhim he’
ll
scr Andwi
eam out—( t
houtwar
ning,shescr
eamsa
l
oudbloodcurdl
ingscream t
hatsendsKI STUNOValmostoutofhisseat.
)Howorwhyhe
goti
t,nobodyknows.

Well,whilethepoormanwasl y
inginbedt hesefiv
emont hs,recuperati
ng,hewas
dismissedfrom hisjob—f ornoreasonatal l
.Youdon’ tknowhowIsuf fereddur
inghis
i
ll
ness.Inur sedhimf rom morningti
llnight,doctoredhimf rom nighttil
l
mor ning…besidescleaningmyhouse, takingcareofmychi ldren,feedi
ngourdog, our
cat,ourgoat ,
mysi ster’
sbirdwhowassi ck—Eh?nott hebir
d, mysi st
er.Sheget
sdi zz
y
spellsandshe’ sbeendizzyamont hnow.She’ sget t
ingdizziereveryday...

Ihadt otakecareofherchi
l enandherhouseandhercatandhergoatandt
dr henher
bir
dbi toneofmychildr
en,andsoourcatbi therbi
rd,
somyoldestdaught
er,t
heone
withthebrokenarm,drownedmysi ster
’scat,andnowmysist
erwantsmygoati n
exchange, orel
seshesaysshe’l
lei
therdrownmycatorbreakmyoldestdaughter
’s
otherarm—

Andt henwhenIwentt ocol l

ectmyhusband’ spay,theydeductedtwenty-
fourroubles
andt hi
rty-
sixkopecks.Forwhat ?Iasked.Because,theysaid,heborroweditfr
om the
empl oyees’fund.Butthat’simpossibl
e.Hecoul dnev erbor
rowwi t
houtmyappr ov
al.I
’d
breakhi sarm!Notwhi lehewassi ck,
ofcour se…Idon’thavethestrengt
h.I’
m notwel l
my self
,sir
.Ihav ethisrackingcought hat’
sat er
ri
blethingt
ohear —
(Shecoughsr ackl
ingly
—sor acki
nglythatKISTUNOVi saboutt ocr
ack.)
4.Context:
Opheli
a,whowasinlovewithPr i
nceHamlet,
hasbeendr i
ventomadness
fr
om sorrowthatHamlethasbeenact
ingi nsaneandhasspurnedheraff
ect
ion.I
na
madf i
t,Hamlethasal
readyki
ll
edherfatherPoloni
usbyaccident
.Aft
erOpheli
aalso
drownsinar i
ver
,theQueenGert
rudebreakst henewsofherdeatht
oherbrother
Laert
es.

GERTRUDE
Onewoedot htreaduponanot her '
sheel ,
Sofastt heyf ollow.Yoursi ster
'sdr own' d,Laertes.
Therei sawi l
lowgr owsasl antabr ook,
Thatshowshi shoarl eav esint hegl assyst ream.
Therewi thf antast i
cgar landsdi dshecome
Ofcrowf lower s, nett
les, daisies, andl ongpur ples,
Thatliberal shepher dsgi v eagr ossername,
Butourcol dmai dsdodeadmen' sf ingerscallthem.
Thereont hependantboughshercor onetweeds
Clamb' ri
ngt ohang, anenv ioussl iverbr oke,
Whendownherweedyt rophi esandher self
Fell
int heweepi ngbr ook.Hercl othesspr eadwi de
And, mer mai d-l
ike,awhi let heybor eherup;
Whicht i
meshechaunt edsnat chesofol dtunes,
Asonei ncapabl eofherowndi stress,
Orli
keacr eat urenat i
v eandi ndued
Untot hatelement ;butl ongi tcoul dnotbe
Til
lthathergar ment s, heav ywi tht heirdrink,
Pull
'dt hepoorwr et
chf rom hermel odiousl ay
Tomuddydeat h.