The One-Minute Monologue Competition: gather up the theatre lovers
By Kristen Chan
Ever since the hit of COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020, there has been a general lack of exposure for the theatre community here in RCHK. Students who have expressed their love for drama and the performing arts haven’t been able to get a chance to experience being in an active theatre environment, or demonstrate their performing, speaking, and acting skills. The Performing Arts Department said enough was enough, particularly Kentaro Kawada from Year 10, who came up with the idea of the One Minute Monologue Competition.
From February 24-28, the student bulletin posted a lengthy post declaring the first-ever monologue competition hosted by the Performing Arts Department. This competition strove to not only improve the contender’s speaking skills but also to generally have fun and express their passion and enthusiasm for theatre during these trying times. Monologues were not chosen by default, so participants were allowed to perform their own chosen monologues, but they had to be memorized by the day of the competition.
From March 1st to March 2nd, participants had the opportunity to attend workshops. Drama scholars at RCHK were there to supervise, encourage and assist during these practice sessions. The workshops lasted for two days and the arranged Zoom sessions were from 3:25-4:10 pm. So students were not required to attend if they were not available during this time, but it was highly recommended. On March 3rd, students took turns reciting their memorized monologues. The competition criteria included depth of character, authenticity and believability, use of voice and physicality to show character, use of pace to create meaning, and use of space.
The One Minute Monologue Competition Poster (2022)
There were a total of 14 participants and all of them demonstrated and performed all kinds of monologues. Some were out of the ordinary but were able to execute great versatility and individuality as a performer. Some were more sentimental and emotionally driven. Nonetheless, every participant tried their best to show their best acting efforts forward.
But as this was a competition, there could only be one winner. For the sake of privacy, their name will not be revealed. But according to the judges, they had enjoyed “the depth and characterization they performed, showing subtle emotional shifts that made their performance interesting and engaging to watch.”
Cara Chum from 11.4 said, “The monologue competition was a great opportunity for students to engage in drama and collaborate despite the covid circumstances.”
Max Qiu from 11.6 stated, “The monologue competition was memorable because of two main reasons: customization, and expression. The variety of skills and personalities displayed during the competition was very entertaining.”
When asked if there could be any improvements, both agreed that there could have been a specific theme for participants to stick by “because it would be hard to judge each monologue since they are all different and unique in their ways.” This would also “allow performers to show different interpretations of the same stimulus, which would be interesting.”
It is still unclear as to whether or not this competition will be continuing. However, since students are heading back into real-life school on the 19 April, it is fully plausible for that to happen. Since it will not only be easier to interact and communicate with one another in retrospect to online school but also because it gives students a chance to be in a productive and enthusiastic atmosphere that will prompt them to work even harder than before.