Characters

The semester is almost over!!  One more paper to write and a culmative final (both for health) and I'll be free from spring 2010 classes!

Today I had finals in acting and voice.  Voice went really well, and acting was not as good as I hoped, but still good.  I was trying to recall today all the roles I have played this semester, either through scene work, plays, or small exercises.  I know they include:

-musican
-roman soldier
-Judas Iscariot
-Christine, an Irish housewife
-Shelly, a sassy L.A.-born bartender
-Michael Jackson-obsessed fan
-a mythological Irish warrior
-Audrey Hepburn!

The last role on the list was my final project for acting class today.  I presented a small report about her life, and then had to perform an original monologue.  I'm really happy with the monologue, so I wanted to share it here.  I wrote it from the point of view of Audrey when she had mostly retired from movies. Her charity work and raising her sons were her top priorities in life.  The bolded words are actual Audrey quotes I found, and I built the rest of the monologue around them.

Sacrificing public life and my successful career for a fulfilling personal life doesn’t seem like much of a cost. I’ve danced and worked alongside the rich and famous, am rich and famous myself. I’ve won awards, and worn beautiful clothing. So many fans are so kind and adore me and try to emulate me. But as Holly Golightly said, “There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl’s complexion!”

 That’s why being famous doesn’t really matter; it shouldn’t define who you are. What does matter is falling in love and being loved. Being virtuous. Giving of one’s life to better another’s. That’s why I decided to work for UNICEF. I know what it’s like to be a child scared, hungry, and surrounded by terror. The children that I visit are those that many in the world have forgotten. The 'Third World' is a term I don't like very much, because we're all one world. I want people to know that the largest part of humanity is suffering.

 I wish people understood that things that last are not what brings you fame, but what brings you peace, and love, and happiness. Those things will live longer than a feature film or necklace of diamonds. We cannot feed the world or change a life with just lots of money or fame. We will change the world with our good hearts and acts of kindness. In my travels to devastated countries I see but one glaring truth: these are not natural disasters but man-made tragedies for which there is only one man-made solution- peace.”

My other classmates had some really interesting pieces.  We saw Helen Keller, Marshall Mathers, and Eleanor Roosevelt, just to name a few.  Acting 2 is a class I will miss.