Titles are so important. The title of your play acts as a frame, encouraging the audience to discover connections they might otherwise miss.
In the weeks leading up to each month's Some1Speaking presentation, I meet privately with each playwright to confirm my suspicions as to what lies at the heart of their monologue.
Next our Resident Director, Suzanne Bachner, meets with the artists for one exploratory rehearsal. In this way Hear Me Out Monologues has constructed a pipeline aimed at bringing new character studies to life and in so doing, introducing writers to new audiences by placing the objectives of the writers front and center in everything we do.
This month, something interesting happened.
Of the five monologues being presented Monday, two have completely changed titles just in the past week as each author came to recognize that the title they'd originally chosen was in some way failing to properly frame the piece they'd written.
The frame suggests ways of interpreting the work of art. So in this way, the title whispers in my ear as the house lights go down. Here are 3 examples:
Romeo & Juliet = there will be a man and a woman equally at the center of this story.
Three Days of Rain = What is the significance of three days of rain? How does the meaning of this phrase shift and expand and deepen as the play progresses?
Parasite = The title causes me to question each character's value and whether I'm to regard them as the parasite. Given a less provocative title and the film would surely have landed quite differently.
I won't reveal here which two pieces were recently re-framed by their Some1Speaking authors with a title change.
It'll be more fun (and eye-opening) for you to hear from the authors themselves. So bring that question to our post-show discussion by venturing a guess. Most will be surprised to learn which pieces shifted titles and to serve what purpose.
Join us Monday at 6PM and let us know what you think and how these pieces make you feel.
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