My acting monologue

I wrote this monologue recently to perform at an acting class.  It tries and fails miserably to explain why I'm so driven to act.  Fails because I still haven't really figured it out myself!

I have always wanted to act.  Of course, when I was a kid I thought of it as wanting to "be an actress."  My mom tells me when I was little and my parents would have friends over I would run into my room, put on my flounciest little dress, and run back out to twirl in front of them.  You know, so my skirt would go out in a big circle.  [grins]  And they'd laugh, and clap, and that would just set me off on another round of spinning, until my parents would tell me that was enough. 

 I remember watching Marilyn Monroe and saying to myself, "I'm going to be an actress.  But I'll be prettier than her."  [laughs] I thought she had funny eyebrows.  [laughs again]

But I never did it, until about 5 years ago.  A friend gave me a part in a play she was doing. She says she created a monster.  And now you just can't stop me.  I've done tons of shows --- some better than others -- but I just have to act.  I don't know what it is about acting that is so vital to me.  I've thought about it a lot.  The whole process of becoming another person, figuring out what makes her tick, working with other actors and a director to shape who that person is and what she's after and how she responds, digging deeper with each rehearsal, learning to love even the unattractive ones … it is just so compelling.  And I'm driven to learn more, to get better at it, to deliver a performance that touches people in some way.  I want audiences to leave the theater feeling they've been touched by something special, something that engages their hearts and minds and that they can't quite shake off.

I want to burn bright.