Original Stuff: Words
I'm posting twice today. Well, possibly three times depending, and I'm sorry about that. At least it's not a fic spam, right? Like, when I cross post to 200 goups and they ALL end up on your friend's page. See. Be thankful.
Anyway, this is a monologue I wrote for my Playwriting class, and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on it. I'm not that great at monologues, so any suggestions would be great.....
Words
By Stephanie Beavers
[JAMIE, a freshman in college, is sitting in a clinic, facing the audience. She has her hands wrapped around her stomach and is sniffling quietly, nodding every now and then in answer to unheard questions]
JAMIE: I…. [Pauses, shaking her head] No. No, it was… Uh-huh…. No, I’m not… I don’t know. [She sits theree in silence for a moment, staring at her lap] How am I holding up? [JAMIE looks up, gathering herself] Well, I’m in control like the pamphlet says. I mean, it’s just a word, right? Just one little word. Some letters, a symbol, and nothing more. I was in this class once where… And this is a messy quote, but they said something like, “Sounds are primal. Words are just sounds that we give meaning.” We give words there power, their meaning, their history. We’re in control of the sounds and their connotations. And, you know, I know lots of words. Excellent vocabulary, my high school teachers would say. Big words. Important words. But…
But I don’t feel any more powerful. I just feel full… Of words. Of sounds.
[JAMIE slumps again, taking a moment before she sits back up straight, determined] Words are power, but I think everything we say is really just made up and meaningless. Like… Like brannigan I could say. Really, it’s just a word, right? To help hide the fact that this party I went to… It was just a bunch of drunken teenagers. Party. Another word. But we give it power, right? We let our friends take us there, even though we don’t really want to go. We want to be… We want to be good words, though. Like fun, popular, happy. We strive for those sort of… light sounds, I think. Good words. And sometimes we have to do things, actions, to back up those words. Like… one beer, that’s all. One beer and one dance with someone you don’t really know. What’s a little flirting, a little drinking when it ends with good words.
You think I’m a horrible person, don’t you? [Looks back at her lap, glancing up after a moment] You’re just saying that but really… Really I messed up. I know I did. But… But I’m not a bad person. You have to understand. My mom… My mom use to say I was a good kid. All the time. She doesn’t know. She thinks… She says she never has to worry about me. She loves me, because I’m so good. And… And I really am! I mean, it was one party. One drink. One boy.
I am supposed to have power over these things. I’m tough to break! Really… You can’t tell right now, but it’s true. And I’m smart. I know a lot. A lot of words. Like… Like sex. What a stupid word. It even sounds ugly, doesn’t it? Sex-zzzzz. It sounds… Sounds like a snake about to bite. Hard. Through the skin and ripping at you. Ssssexssss. Horrible word.
I didn’t… I’ll bet you get this a lot, right, but I didn’t mean for this to happen. None of it. The party. The beer. The boy. See, none of this was supposed to happen to me. I mean… I’m pathetic, really. Because… Because I know all these words and I give them meaning. I give them power, and I didn’t use any of it. Words like help, stop, self, safe, condom. All these small words that anyone could memorize. Nothing special, but I had them and their power. But… But I’m here now, right? Words or not. [Shakes her head] No, I don’t think that. No… I understand. I’m sorry.
Well… Yeah. Now I just have to get use to these new words, but… But I can still be powerful, right? Just new meanings, new guttural sounds that can’t hurt me if I don’t let them. I just… I think I’d feel better, if I had that power back and maybe I can use it this time. I mean… Sick, dying… Positive. They’re just words, right?
Anyway, this is a monologue I wrote for my Playwriting class, and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on it. I'm not that great at monologues, so any suggestions would be great.....
Words
By Stephanie Beavers
[JAMIE, a freshman in college, is sitting in a clinic, facing the audience. She has her hands wrapped around her stomach and is sniffling quietly, nodding every now and then in answer to unheard questions]
JAMIE: I…. [Pauses, shaking her head] No. No, it was… Uh-huh…. No, I’m not… I don’t know. [She sits theree in silence for a moment, staring at her lap] How am I holding up? [JAMIE looks up, gathering herself] Well, I’m in control like the pamphlet says. I mean, it’s just a word, right? Just one little word. Some letters, a symbol, and nothing more. I was in this class once where… And this is a messy quote, but they said something like, “Sounds are primal. Words are just sounds that we give meaning.” We give words there power, their meaning, their history. We’re in control of the sounds and their connotations. And, you know, I know lots of words. Excellent vocabulary, my high school teachers would say. Big words. Important words. But…
But I don’t feel any more powerful. I just feel full… Of words. Of sounds.
[JAMIE slumps again, taking a moment before she sits back up straight, determined] Words are power, but I think everything we say is really just made up and meaningless. Like… Like brannigan I could say. Really, it’s just a word, right? To help hide the fact that this party I went to… It was just a bunch of drunken teenagers. Party. Another word. But we give it power, right? We let our friends take us there, even though we don’t really want to go. We want to be… We want to be good words, though. Like fun, popular, happy. We strive for those sort of… light sounds, I think. Good words. And sometimes we have to do things, actions, to back up those words. Like… one beer, that’s all. One beer and one dance with someone you don’t really know. What’s a little flirting, a little drinking when it ends with good words.
You think I’m a horrible person, don’t you? [Looks back at her lap, glancing up after a moment] You’re just saying that but really… Really I messed up. I know I did. But… But I’m not a bad person. You have to understand. My mom… My mom use to say I was a good kid. All the time. She doesn’t know. She thinks… She says she never has to worry about me. She loves me, because I’m so good. And… And I really am! I mean, it was one party. One drink. One boy.
I am supposed to have power over these things. I’m tough to break! Really… You can’t tell right now, but it’s true. And I’m smart. I know a lot. A lot of words. Like… Like sex. What a stupid word. It even sounds ugly, doesn’t it? Sex-zzzzz. It sounds… Sounds like a snake about to bite. Hard. Through the skin and ripping at you. Ssssexssss. Horrible word.
I didn’t… I’ll bet you get this a lot, right, but I didn’t mean for this to happen. None of it. The party. The beer. The boy. See, none of this was supposed to happen to me. I mean… I’m pathetic, really. Because… Because I know all these words and I give them meaning. I give them power, and I didn’t use any of it. Words like help, stop, self, safe, condom. All these small words that anyone could memorize. Nothing special, but I had them and their power. But… But I’m here now, right? Words or not. [Shakes her head] No, I don’t think that. No… I understand. I’m sorry.
Well… Yeah. Now I just have to get use to these new words, but… But I can still be powerful, right? Just new meanings, new guttural sounds that can’t hurt me if I don’t let them. I just… I think I’d feel better, if I had that power back and maybe I can use it this time. I mean… Sick, dying… Positive. They’re just words, right?