Auditions for Actors –
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Intro
‘The Two
Gentlemen of Verona’ was written by William Shakespeare between the years 1589 and
1593. The play tells the story of two
gentlemen whose friendships are put to the test when they meet the women of
their dreams. This is a comedy that puts
its characters in humorous situations and explores the power of love and
friendship.
The
character I will be performing as is:
Name: Launce
Age: Early
20s
Relationships: Proteus
(his master)
Crab
(his dog)
Likes: Crab
Entertaining
people/his master
Dislikes: Goodbyes
What
transpires during the monologue? The
monologue takes play just before, one of the two titled gentlemen, Proteus
departs for the Duke’s court in Milan (where he has been asked to go on behalf
of his father) and Launce is his witty servant and has to accompany him. The purpose of this monologue is to show two
sides of Launce’s personality. His
humorous side, as he entertains all the people around him. With his emotional side, as he says farewell
to his trusty companion, his poorly trained dog named Crab.
The
monologue explores:
-
Launce’s
passion for entertainment - as he performs to an audience without
his master present and in his spare time.
-
Launce’s
love for his dog, Crab – despite the fact that Crab is poorly
trained and makes little to no notice towards his master.
-
and His
commitment to his master – as he too is leaving everything behind to
accompany him to another country.
Themes
of the Play
Love – deduced
from relationships between the plays four leads; Proteus, Valentine, Julia, and
Silvia. In the beginning of the play,
Valentine is arranged to marry Silvia (the daughter of the Duke of Milan), and Proteus
is to marry Julia out of true love. Throughout
the play we see various comedic scenarios showing the male leads competitiveness
against one another to find a marriage and true love.
But the
theme of love transpires within the character of Launce, in this monologue, as
we see his strong relationship with his dog Crab. Knowing he is the servant to Proteus (one of
the leads who is the more ungentlemanly of the two) it isn’t hard to imagine
that he is constantly working to entertain his master. Therefore the only company he would have is
with his dog. This makes their farewell
all the more impacting, as Launce is losing his only friend.
Friendship – deduced
from the close bond that the two gentlemen share as close friends. Their friendship does spawn competitiveness to
see who can find true love the first.
But the overall power of friendship comes to its full might in the end
of the play. As Proteus makes an
incredibly disgraceful act, to which Valentine immediately forgives him.
The theme of
friendship can be found within Launce’s close bond/love for his dog Crab. As well as a possible friendship between
Launce and Proteus; while never fully seen the loyalty between servant and
master is clear.
Dedication –
deduced partially from our lead’s passion towards finding true love and staying
loyal to one another; but majorly from Launce’s dedication to his master and
his entertaining skills. Launce is a
very dedicated and loyal servant to Proteus so much so that he entertains him
at will, without objection, and does join him on a journey abroad. While it is his job to do so, Launce does his
job with little to no concern. It is
only when he says farewell to his dog Crab, where we see a little objection
within his eyes, suggesting that he does not want to leave his only friend
behind. Plus his dedication to his
entertaining skills, especially in this monologue, suggests that he is a
natural entertainer and can trigger a clown like state at will. Knowing full well that he is making a fool of
himself, he progresses without hesitation.
Upholding a passion and dedication to all those around him.
Why did
I choose this monologue?
When
choosing a Shakespearean monologue for one of my classical pieces I wanted to
choose something different and out of my comfort zone. One monologue I was keen to try was Ford’s
outburst in Act II Scene II of ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ (http://www.shakespeare-monologues.org/plays/11?g=3). I was fond of this monologue because of its
bizarre role within the rest of the play, plus it showed the character, of
Ford, going a little mad over a ridiculous situation. All performance elements I wanted to test
within my own performing abilities.
However this
character seemed to be too out of my comfort zone and had little to no
connections with my own character.
Therefore I was recommended Launce’s monologue. I instantly felt a connection with the
character and was invested to the bigger story surrounding the plot of the play
and his role.
Performance
Style and Inspirations
Physically – when
analysing this monologue I found a few similarities between the character of
Launce and the Commedia character of Harlequin.
Harlequin’s characteristic state shows a naïve and sensitive physical
structure:
This is how
I wanted to interpret Launce. To have
the appearance of a shy and naïve servant, but is subconsciously aware that he
is making a fool of himself. Plus I
would use exaggerated movements and gests (during his descriptions of saying
farewell to his family) to emphasis his clown like lifestyle and indicating
that this is his natural physicality.
Vocally – considering
the character’s status, physicality, and role within the play, I wanted my
vocal state to be near neutral. Neutral
in the sense that the character doesn’t have a sophisticated lifestyle, or
education. Although the character does
understand what he is talking about and understands his role as a servant and
where he is going. Therefore I will
inflict several emotional states within my vocal performance to enhance these thoughts
and feelings. These emotions list from:
-
Pride – when thinking
of his payment for joining his master on his journey to Milan.
-
Excitement
–
when thinking about the adventures he is going to have.
-
Disappointment – when his
dog, Crab, doesn’t seem to be upset at all when he says farewell.
-
Confusion – when he
makes a joke that doesn’t quite make sense in front of an audience, and needs
justifying.
-
and
Sadness
– when he says his final goodbye to Crab and the dog still does not respond.
Taking these
performance notes about my physical and vocal performing style choices, I
believe I can convey several layers of emotion and investment to a character
whom has a minor role in a bigger story.
‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ Plot Summary: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/twogentlemen/summary.html
Launce’s Monologue: http://www.shakespeare-monologues.org/plays/16?g=3
Harlequin Resource Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin
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