Week 16- Play Talk

Dialogue, aside, monologue, soliloquy When it comes to writing speaking parts for plays or films, the way that a character is speaking and interacting with other characters and/or the audience is key to the kind of story being told and how the audience will receive it. In this lesson, we're going to talk about dialogue, aside, monologue, soliloquy. Dialogue just means that two or more characters are talking to each other. They are aware of one another's presence and directly interacting through speech. An aside occurs in a play or film production when an actor takes a moment to directly speak to the audience. In a play this is different from a soliloquy in that the character may step away from other characters, almost freezing their interactions so they can talk directly to the audience. In TV shows and movies, characters usually look directly into the camera during this time. This technique is also called "breaking the 4th wall." A monologue is when one character is giving a lengthily speech directly to at least one other character on the stage, or in the movie. The speaker is aware that he or she has an audience and is speaking with the intention of being heard. A Soliloquy is when a character in a film or play thinks out load or speaks to himself or herself. Usually there are no other characters in the scene or on the stage, though if there are other characters present and listening, but the speaker doesn't realize it, and believes he or she is alone while speaking, the piece is still technically a soliloquy.