Zen and the Art of the Monologue

Preview:

Jay Sankey standup comic, magician, and cartoonist is back with another book for performers. Building on the success of his Zen and the Art of Standup Comedy, Jay is moving further into the uncharted wilds of solo performance. Spalding Gray and Eric Bogosian have made the monologue a significant part of contemporary theater, and more and more oneperson performances crop up every season. The monologue gives you incredible freedom as well as posing real dangers, especially, as Jay puts it, for the vain and inexperienced. Standup comedy is funny, cathartic, and usually over in minutes. A monologue is reflective and can run an hour or more. Comedy entertains; the monologue explores.With his trademark blend of calm, sound advice and unexpected, anarchic humor, Jay Sankey guides you through the experience of performing your monologue. His questionand.answer format allows him to cover the issues central not only to the fulllength monologue, but also to explain how his techniques and ideas can help you perform a short monologue (like Hamlets To be or not to be speech) within a play or, taken out of context, as an audition piece.What Sankey has to say about the monologue will give you the nerve to sit on a chair by yourself for an hour and talk about anything at all. And, as Jay says, if youre lucky there will be other people in the room.

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