Carolyn Gage
  • Home
    • Butch Visibility Project
    • Bio and Vitae
    • Endorsements
    • Production History
    • Catalog of Books and Plays
    • Online Essays >
      • Lesbian Culture and History Essays
      • Theatre Essays
      • Feminist Essays
      • Tributes/Obituaries
      • Reviews
    • Interviews >
      • Audio/Video Interviews
      • Print Interviews
  • Books and CD's
    • Gage Play Anthologies
    • Feminist Thought And Spirituality
    • Lesbian Theatre
    • CD's and DVD's
    • Anthologies with Other Authors
    • Journal Anthologies
  • Plays
    • One-Woman Shows >
      • The Second Coming of Joan of Arc
      • La Seconde Venue de Jeanne d'Arc
      • Joana Dark - a re-volta
      • Giovanna d'Arco - la rivolta
      • ВТОРОТО ПРИШЕСТВИЕ НА ЖАНА Д’АРК (Bulgarian tranlsation of The Second Coming of Joan
      • 贞德再临_中文 (Mandarin translation of The Second Coming of Joan of Arc)
      • The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman
      • Crossing the Rapelands
    • Musicals >
      • The Amazon All-Stars
      • Babe! An Olympian Musical
      • How to Write a Country-Western Song
      • Leading Ladies
      • Women on the Land
    • Full-Length Plays >
      • The Abolition Plays
      • The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women
      • AXED!
      • Black Star
      • Coming About
      • Esther and Vashti
      • The Goddess Tour
      • In McClintock's Corn
      • Sappho in Love
      • The Spindle
      • Stigmata
      • Thanatron
      • Ugly Ducklings
    • One-Acts >
      • Ain't Got No - I Got Life
      • The A-Mazing Yamashita and the Millennial Gold-Diggers
      • Artemisia and Hildegard
      • Battered on Broadway
      • Bite My Thumb
      • The Boundary Trial of John Proctor
      • Cookin' with Typhoid Mary
      • The Countess and the Lesbians
      • The Drum Lesson
      • Easter Sunday
      • Entr'acte or The Night Eva Le Gallienne Was Raped
      • The Evil That Men Do: The Story of Thalidomide
      • Female Nude Seated
      • The Gage and Mr. Comstock
      • The Greatest Actress Who Ever Lived
      • Harriet Tubman Visits A Therapist
      • Head in the Game
      • Hermeneutic Circlejerk
      • Heterosexuals Anonymous
      • Jane Addams and the Devil Baby
      • A Labor Play
      • Lace Curtain Irish
      • Lighting Martha
      • Little Sister
      • Louisa May Incest
      • Mason-Dixon
      • The Obligatory Scene
      • The P.E. Teacher
      • The Parmachene Belle
      • The Pele Chant
      • Planchette
      • The Poorly-Written Play Festival
      • Radicals
      • The Rules of the Playground
      • St. Frances and the Fallen Angels
      • Souvenirs from Eden
      • Starpattern
      • 'Til the Fat Lady Sings
      • Valerie Solanas At Matteawan
    • Short Short Plays >
      • 52 Pickup
      • At Sea
      • Black Eye
      • El Bobo
      • Calamity Jane Sends a Message to Her Daughter
      • The Clarity of Pizza
      • The Great Fire
      • Hrotsvitha's Vision
      • The Intimacy Coordinator
      • The Ladies' Room
      • Miss Le Gallienne Announces the New Season
      • On the Other Hand
      • Patricide
      • The Pickle Play
    • Dramatic Adaptations >
      • Amy Lowell: In Her Own Words
      • Brett Remembers
      • Deep Haven
      • El Bobo (one-act play)
      • El Bobo (short screenplay)
      • Emily & Sue >
        • Touring Production of Emily & Sue >
          • The Creative Team
          • Director's Vision
          • Adaptor's notes
          • Open Me Carefully
      • I Have Come to Show You Death
      • Speak Fully The One Awful Word
      • We Too Are Drifting (Screenplay)
    • Special Index: Plays That Deal with Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls
    • Special Index: Women's History Plays
    • Special Index: Romantic Plays with Happy Endings
  • Touring Work
    • Performances >
      • Lace Curtain Irish
      • Crossing the Rapelands
      • The Parmachene Belle (performance)
      • Calamity Jane Sends a Message to Her Daughter (performance)
      • Gage on Stage
    • Lectures >
      • Lizzie Borden and Lesbian Theatre
      • The Secret Life of Lesbians
      • Paradigms and Paradigm-Shifting
      • When Sex Is Not the Metaphor For Intimacy
      • Meeting the Ghost of Hamlet's Father
      • A Theatrical Journey Through Maine's Lesbian History
      • Tara and Other Lies
      • Teena Brandon's Inconvenient Truth
    • Workshops >
      • The Art of the Dramatic Monologue
      • Acting Lesbian
      • Interrupting Racism: A Workshop
      • Playwriting Techniques for Poets and Fiction Writers
      • Ugly Ducklings Workshop
    • Residencies
    • The Lesbian Tent Revival >
      • Testimonials
      • The Lesbian Tent Revival Radio Hour Podcasts
      • The Lesbian Tent Revival Sermon on Dying Well
      • Sermons for a Lesbian Tent Revival
      • Supplemental Sermons
      • Hotter Than Hell
      • The Synapse Pendant
    • Cauldron & Labrys >
      • A Brief History
      • Upcoming Productions
  • Calendar
    • Productions of Gage's Work and Appearances
  • Contact/Storefront
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog

The Art of the Dramatic Monologue

Picture
Gage as 'Fly Rod' Crosby
Ah, the dramatic monologue . . .  “To be or not to be.”  Sometimes referred to as “arias without music,” these speeches are often the high points of a play.  They can also form the basis for entire scenes or even one-person shows.  The dramatic monologue can be a marvel of manipulation, a surprisingly chaotic glimpse behind the mask of calm, a hilarious exhibition of vanity and self-delusion, a heartbreakingly honest revelation of human grief, or any of a thousand other facets of human nature.  The dramatic monologue can be taken from everyday life, from the pages of history, or from the realms of pure imagination.  It can deal with the trivia of daily routine, or the epic sweep of momentous social change, or ― best of all ― both at the same time!

The ability to construct the dramatic monologue is a useful tool for a writer in any genre, because the revelation of character through their own words allows the reader a direct, immediate, and powerful interaction with the character.  This is a workshop for writers of journals, poetry, novels, short stories, and, of course, playwrights.  

In this workshop, participants will hear samples of monologues performed by  Gage, who tours internationally in her own work and who has authored a book on monologues.  After a discussion of the elements of the monologue, including costume and staging, participants will compose their own monologues.  These will be “performed” in staged readings and then polished for final presentation.  

  • Maine Association of Community Theatres Conference, Auburn.
  • University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS.
“While it was probably the novelty of having a lesbian feminist in Hattiesburg, Mississippi that brought the people out, it was Carolyn’s intelligence, wit and charisma that motivated us to participate..." —Dr. Kate Greene, University of Southern Mississippi.

“Ms. Gage’s visit to Washington College was inspiring. Her passion for what she does is so obvious and her intellect so impressive that students and faculty alike were immediately and permanently engaged by her presentation and presence. Washington College is, in part, known for it’s writing program. We have regular visits by well known writers—everyone from Edward Albee and Israel Horovitz to Toni Morrison and John Barth in recent years. I can honestly say I have never seen students so enthusiastic about a guest. Another thing that is unusual and impressive is that she has kept in touch with several of our students since her visit. One of the things I was most impressed with was the clarity of her aesthetics and politics. This is a person who does not apologize for her agenda or the militancy necessary to further that agenda. The amazing thing is she combines that unswerving commitment with compassion, understanding, warmth, and generosity. She is totally committed to her art in a way that is truly inspiring. Don’t let the lesbian/feminist moniker scare you, this is a formidable artist in every way.” —Dale Daigle, PhD., Theatre Department Chair, Washington College, Chesterton, MD.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.