Acting Shakespeare - “To Whom Should I Complain" - Isabella monologue Measure for Measure

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The actor's perspective on Isabella's "To whom should I complain" monologue. Breaking down context, meanings and Shakespeare verse speaking technique.
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Find connection, flow, and variety
Join in with actor Lisa as I coach her through Isabella's "To whom should I complain", to help her find connect to the text and find more detail: • Connect to Your Voice ...
Safe ways to connect to emotion (no trauma needed)
Join in with actor Haley as I coach her through Ophelia's "O what a noble mind" and give her exercises for dropping into big emotions quickly: • Healthy ways to connec...
For a look at Angelo's monologues (for context during your preparation, or as an alternative if you're allowing to perform any gender monologue at your audition):
www.shakespeare-monologues.or...

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Hey actors! If you're working on this monologue for an audition, I have two super useful videos for you to look at next. In this video 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ7Kl3mXndynerc I help actor Lisa find roundedness and flow with Isabella's monologue, and in this video 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKusdJtni652msU I help Haley work on dropping into big emotions quickly, without accessing trauma. Treat these like an online class and join in with the exercises. I promise you'll learn heaps ☺

[@alyssajade6802]

absolutely phenomenal breakdown of this monologue, thank you so much

[@zetablue6467]

You explained this so well, thankyou!!xx

[@charlotteooi2421]

Thank you so much for this! You just made my audition preparation process so much easier! A legend!

[@OSRS16]

Loved your video! It helped me a lot with my college assignment! Thank you!

[@rachelnewnhammusic]

Thank you so much I love your videos and I really appreciate it!! Your knowledge is incredible!! 🦋

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

You're so welcome! I had so much fun digging into this one. :D

[@kaeliedouglass6697]

This is such a great breakdown. Thank you!!

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

You're so welcome! Thank you for the feedback ☺️

[@GeorgiaCaines]

This is super helpful! So glad that I stumbled across this.

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Hurray! So happy you found it helpful. Thanks for your comment.

[@jessicadawn9023]

Thank you so much for this! It's crazy how relevant this monologue is considering the overturning of "Roe v. Wade". The world needs this.

[@sitting_nut]

what does right to killing the unborn has to do with this? do explain.

[@hollyreadman8034]

A fantastic breakdown of this poignant monologue! I was wondering when it comes to auditions, what other female monologue is a good contrast to this that isn't too overdone? Although it's a comedy/ 'problem' play, it's very much a dramatic monologue with such underlying sadness and weakness. I'm trying to find a female Shakespeare character with a contrasting objective and character. is there any that come to mind? I have a few in mind but honestly there are so many!

[@zphil]

"had he twenty heads to tender down on twenty bloody blocks, h'ed yield them up" Sarah interprets it that to save his sister's honour Claudio would sacrifice others, however I wonder if its really that Claudio is prepared himself to die twenty times over. The latter feels to me more reflective of her admiration for her brother's courage and love for her.

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Yes I think that's a great interpretation, thanks for sharing! Much more emotive actually.

[@shrishtipal6026]

Auditioning for this role. It's not an easy one, considering how many layers Isabella has and how the journey literally changes her life for ever. Still haven't figured out, if she marries the Duke willingly or is there some coercion involved. 🧐

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Yes, it’s so interesting, isn’t it?? I think if you’re cast in a production then the director will have some thoughts on that, but I definitely think for an audition you should go in with an opinion! Even if nobody asks you, I think you should decide for yourself what you think she would do. Certainly a lot of directors take her silence/lack of reply as a sign that she wasn’t so happy about the situation. And I think a modern audience really struggles to believe she would just be happy with that outcome. Not after everything she says and does. The only way it would work is if something happens when she’s talking to the Duke disguised as the Friar, like maybe she sees something in him that sparks something for her - but personally I think that’s a bit of a stretch. And I think it has more impact for a modern audience if we see her trapped at the end. Drives home quite a relevant message for our time.

[@kennagokey1862]

what would you say her objective is?

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Hmm. That’s an interesting question. I think on the surface, it’s the same as many other soliloquies - she needs to speak aloud in order to make the decision about what she should do next. But I think it would be more powerful to play with a more symbolic objective here, something like “to cleanse herself”. As she speaks, she seems appalled by Angelo’s behaviour and by the state of the world in general. It feels like she needs to speak to the audience to rid herself of that feeling. Like just by being propositioned like that, she has somehow become sinful and ‘dirty’. And that’s why it’s so powerful for her when she talks about her brother - because she sees him as valiant and free of that sort of sinfulness. That’s one way to interpret it and it may not work for you, but i’d encourage you to look for an objective that is less about action and more about her inner state. Hope that helps.