Why I chose this monologue:

Over the summer, we were assigned a task to choose a monologue to perform in class. At first, I struggled to find an interesting monologue that I enjoyed performing. However, after hours of searching, I finally found a monologue which I enjoyed. Widely known as 'The tuna fish monologue', this monologue from Laughing Wild instantly appealed to me.

I mainly liked performing it as it differed from my usual choice of work. Usually, I perform more 'dramatic' and emotional pieces. The tuna fish monologue is vastly different-
although it has more serious underlying themes of mental illness, it portrays these themes in a more satirical and humorous way. Rather than looking at mental illness in an exaggerated dramatized way, it focuses on a more 'stripped back' portrayal of illnesses such as anxiety and depression. This is what largely intrigued me about the piece.

Furthermore, I believe that although I could produce a more simple portrayal of the character, I could uses these underlying themes to create an interesting performance of the monologue. Throughout the play, the mental state of the characters seems to deteriorate. Because of this, the beginning monologue is supposed to stay almost normal. At the start of the play, the audience is almost fooled into thinking that the characters are simply eccentric and unusual. However, I believed that although the monologue was supposed to show normality, there should be some 'symptoms' of her confused mental state.

Because of this, I believed that it would be beneficial to create some repeated movements. For example, I had an elastic band around my wrist that I plucked at when my character was agitated. This is a common technique used to 'reign' in unwanted emotions or desires. Throughout the monologue, I pulled at this band to show the audience that although the character appears vaguely normal, there is an underlying message of anxiety and illness.

I believe that this is effective as a whole. If the audience was to watch the whole play, they could remember the original monologue and realise that something was wrong, right from the beginning. Moreover, the repetitive movement makes the piece more interesting visually and intrigues the audience about the mental state of my character.