Sunday Writing Prompt #225 – Know Thyself

 

Welcome to the Sunday Writing Prompt – October 22, 2017 – Know Thyself

This week for the prompt, I’m offering you a selection from a movie. Here’s a trailer for it.

The film The Dresser was originally a play and was later made into film, several times. The one I have in mind, is the 1983 production, starring Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Edward Fox. “It tells the story of an aging actor’s personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge’s life together.” (for more info. source here)

Right, so I’m presenting  a selection- this monologue and I want you to sit with it, and then use it as your point of inspiration. And I’ve managed to find a clip – so watch it – it’s less than 2 minutes long – but you will begin to appreciate the intensity of the performance.

So the words:

I thought I caught a sight of him tonight
— or myself as he sees me –
speaking reason not the need I became detached from myself, my thoughts flow and I was observing from a great height
— go on you bastard I seemed to be saying or hearing, go on you’ve more to give, go on more more more —
and I was watching Lear
— each word he spoke was fresh invented, I had no knowledge of what came next, what fate awaited me, the agony of acting was in the moment created —
I saw an old man and the old man was me —
outside myself —
do you understand?
— outside myself

The video clip/performance:

Focus on the monologue – and use it as your starting point – consider being lost within yourself and yet found within a character, like Shakespeare’s Lear, but still lost and confused. And consider this particular element: the agony of acting was in the moment created — and I saw an old man and the old man was me —
outside myself —
do you understand?
— outside myself

Go forth and create – write, compose, create, — part of a script, a poem, some flash, a personal story, a mood board of images etc. Let yourselves get lost in the agony (hopefully not) of creating.

You have a week to play. Please include the tags MLMM or Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie and Sunday Writing Prompt. Create your links and pingbacks here and link up with the Stage Star Mr. Linky – he’s a show stealer. And visit your play-mates and see what they have in the stores.