"Ellen Schoeters is a member of Actorama + where actors can upload a monologue or scene performance for peer review. What do you think of Ellen Schoeters's performance?"
(39 votes)
| Character | Jill | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | Female | |
| Age Range(s) | Teenager (13-19) | |
| Type of monologue / Character is | Depressed, Lamenting, Insecure, Talking to the audience, Reminiscing life story/Telling a story | |
| Type | Dramatic | |
| Year | 1999 | |
| Period | 20th Century | |
| Genre | Farce, Family, Tragedy, Drama | |
| Description | Jill reflects on her life after having tried to commit suicide | |
Summary
The play has four characters, Dad, a famous Elvis impersonator who is now paralyzed because of a car accident, his promiscuous, alcoholic and anorexic wife Mam, his 14 year old daughter Jill, who grows obsessed with food to cope with his family life, and Stuart, a good looking young baker who sleeps with them. Unable to cope with his depressing and difficult life, Jill tries to commit suicide but survives. In this monologue, after surviving her suicide attempt, Jill reflects on her life, on what keeps her or her mom going through all that darkness. "It's the little things, maybe life's about those tiny moments that keep us going through all that darkness...."
Written by Administrator
| Excerpt |
|---|
| Jill: “Somewhere in that fall something was irrevocably changed and when I woke up I couldn’t remember why it was that I’d tried to commit suicide...And I knew it was alright. Even if Dad was a cripple. And I asked Mam what had kept her going. Through everything that had happened. And she said she didn’t know.. But she said there was one time when she first brought him home. There was this one day when she just couldn’t cope any more and she got all these pills and a bottle of whisky and lined them all up in a row. And just before she was going to take them, she heard Dad moan from next door and she went in to see him. And she looked down at his face and on it was a smile. Just a brief smile. For a second. And then it was gone. And maybe life isn’t about the tragedies. Maybe that’s just what’s normal, hurt and heartache, and loneliness and despair. Maybe life’s about those tiny moments that keep us going through all that darkness. The little things. Like a delicious supper, or a tiny moment of kindness, or a smile- just for a brief second. Maybe it’s about not giving up, and maybe we all have to try. But I’ll tell you one thing life’s bloody weird, isn’t it?” |
