The inner monologue for actors, also known as internal monologue, inner dialogue, or interior monologue, can be one of the most important tools you can use in order to be in character and connect with their circumstances while you perform. In this guide, I’ll explain what the inner monologue is, how it can be useful, and some techniques you can use in order to put it to use.
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What Is An Inner Monologue?
Our inner monologue, also known as internal monologue, is the constant stream of thought we have inside our heads – that inner voice or internal dialogue. We all have one, all the time – and so do our characters.
The inner monologue in terms of acting is when we think as our characters on stage. This is something that we can craft during our preparation work and then lean into while we’re performing in order to connect better with our characters.
Internal monologue examples in literature, such as stream of consciousness writing, can provide inspiration for developing a character’s inner world.
How Inner Monologue For Actors Can Help Us
Creating an inner monologue for our characters can help us really connect with them and how they exist in the world of the play. It can help us to get a better understanding of them and the way they work, including their emotions, point of view, and internal conflict.
It can also help us discover the differences between how we see things and the way they see things, aiding in character development.
All of this progresses towards a place we call “Being In Character”. This has an external element – how we stand, move and talk as our characters. It also has an internal element – our thoughts and feelings.
All of these things should be brought together as the character on stage in order to be in character. The inner monologue can help us to develop the internal elements of being in character in order to get closer to their experiences and cognitive processes.
The Camera Always Knows
Not only this, but inner monologue can really improve your performance for on-screen work. It’s often said that the windows are the eyes to the soul and that the eyes are especially important in camera work.
It can almost seem that the camera is able to read the thoughts of the performer on screen, revealing their inner voice. That means it is especially important to have a strong inner monologue when performing for film or TV.
How To Develop an Inner Monologue
There are lots of methods you can use in order to create an inner monologue. All of these can be done during the preparation phase of your work, and can even be incorporated into rehearsal.
If you do all of these before your performance, then your inner monologue will be able to come more naturally to you when you perform.
So, why not give some of them a go, play around, and see how they work? Remember, there’s never any harm in giving something a go as you may rely on it later on!
Understand Your Script
One of the most important things for you to do is understand your character as they are presented in the script. This way you can base your inner monologue on the information the playwright has provided you with.
Go through the script and write down any information you can find out about your character. Action your script, and find your objectives in the scene. You could also fill out a character biography to build on what you’ve found in the script.
This information can really help us to build a solid inner monologue for actors and understand the internal monologue meaning for the character.
Beats In The Scene
One of the most important moments to connect to your inner monologue for actors is during the moments in which your character’s thinking shifts. I’m sure you’ve seen it in films before – the moment when a character receives shocking news or makes a decision. Something seems to shift in their eyes, and it’s almost as though you can see the direction their thinking takes change track, revealing their internal narrative.
In order to do this, go through the script and mark any beats in the script where there are changes in the script. They don’t have to be big ones, just any shift in the script can be useful to mark.
These moments can be when a new person enters the scene, when someone leaves the scene, when the topic of conversation changes, or when there’s a shift in mood or emotion. Go through your script and mark each of these moments with a slash.
When you’ve done this, write down a thought your character might have at this moment. Write it next to the marks on your script. Read through your script, and read the thoughts you’ve written down aloud as you do.
Then go through your script, and instead of reading the thoughts aloud just think them silently to yourself. This can really help you to connect with the shifts in your character’s thinking during these moments, and even help you to develop a deeper emotional connection to the scene.
Free Writing
Another exercise you can do to develop your inner monologue is to do some free writing. This is where you continuously write without stopping and you just express whatever comes to mind, like a stream of consciousness or interior monologue.
With this technique, you don’t have the ability to overthink what you write, as you simply have to keep going. It is also useful because it mirrors the constant stream of consciousness we have going on in our own heads.
Pick a scene in your script. Then begin to free-write your character’s thoughts during the scene. Start at the beginning of the scene and keep writing non-stop until you reach the end.
By the end of your writing, you should have a full block of text that reflects your character’s inner stream of consciousness throughout the entire scene. This is a great way to explore the character’s inner dialogue.
Scoring The Text
This is where you go through your script and write down particular thoughts your character has during the scene on your script. If you’ve done the free writing exercise and there are any specific thoughts that jump out at you from this exercise, you could write these at the appropriate points on your script.
Another way to go about it is to write a thought for each separate line you say. Take each line you have, and think of a specific thought your character may have before or during the time they say this line. This could be what triggers them to say it.
It could also be what they really mean as they say the line, linking you to the subtext of the scene and the character’s inner voice.
You can also work this into your personal rehearsals. In order to do this, go through your text and before you say each of your lines, say the thought you’ve assigned to it.
Try not to pause between the thought and the line, just go straight into it. See how the inner monologue you’ve created affects the way you say each of your lines.
Silent Rehearsal
Here is a way you can incorporate your inner monologue into your rehearsal room. You can either do this as an exercise after your director has given you the blocking and your movements for the scene, or you can do this early on as an improvisational exercise in order to connect with the way you imagine the scene playing out.
All you need to do is run through a rehearsal of the scene without saying any of your lines. Just go through the movements of the scene – whether blocked or improvised. As you do this, focus on the other person/people in the scene, your objectives in the scene, and your actions.
See what kind of thoughts pop up during the rehearsal, revealing your character’s inner speech. After you’re done, make sure to write these on your script. This is a great way to develop your inner monologue authentically out of the circumstances of the scene.
Recording
Here is another way to externalize your inner monologue and see how it affects you. Once you have written down your inner monologue, whether that’s through beats, free writing or scoring your script (or a combination of all three), make a recording of you reading out your inner monologue.
Now you can use this however you see fit. You can listen to it on repeat so that it really sinks into your subconscious. Or, you can run through the movements of the scene while listening to it to connect the two.
You can also leave gaps between each thought in order for you to do a full run-through of your scene and speak your lines after you listen to each thought. This can be a really useful tool in order to get your inner monologue to sink in and make that internal voice feel natural.
Let Go And Listen
This is probably the most important and the most difficult part of the whole process. While you’re performing your scene, you need to let go of all the work you’ve done on your inner monologue, trust it’s going to be there and focus on the world of the scene.
If you’ve properly prepared your inner monologue effectively, your subconscious should tie it to your scene naturally and allow your brain to naturally supply an inner monologue to you.
You may find during your scene that specific lines from your pre-prepared inner monologue pop up, or new thoughts as your character pop up that you’ve never had before. That’s fine, it’s natural and just means you’re connected to your character.
Just let whatever happens happen. Don’t try and force your inner monologue to keep going, as the most important thing is to concentrate on the world of your scene. If you try too hard to focus on your thoughts then you can get “stuck in your head”, as it tends to be referred to.
Just allow thoughts to come and go as they do in real life, like a natural internal dialogue.
What to do if you can’t get in character?
Of course, if you’re having real trouble connecting to your character during the scene then we can use the inner monologue as a tool to help us to do that. If out-of-character thoughts keep popping up in your head such as “Does this look stupid?” or “What’s my next line?”, then you’re not in character but in your own head!
If this happens, you can use some of the lines you’ve memorised during your prep to get back into character, or even just try and reconnect with thoughts your character may be having at that moment. This is especially useful when performing a monologue.
Hopefully, if you’re doing a scene with another person, then focusing on them and the circumstances around you should be enough to pull you back in. However, this is a great tool to have in your back pocket – just in case.
Conclusion
As you can see, developing an inner monologue for actors can really help us connect to our character, and our circumstances, and help us to craft and clear and specific performance – especially when acting on screen. I really hope this post has helped you to further understand the inner monologue, how it can help you, and some ways we can use it during our preparation work.
Thank you so much for reading, and if you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a message.
