Mineola Students Bond Over Scripted Monologues

students in Edward Murray's Advanced Placement (AP) English class were given a new and interesting assignment this semester – come up with three true to life stories, which were near and dear to their hearts. Partnering with fellow students from Megan Messina's musical theatre class, students then chose which story could best be dramatized on stage. The ultimate goal of all this preparation was to fully immerse students into the world of theatre.

With stories ranging from funny to quirky, deathly serious to dramatic, student actors took the stage, re-enacting events from the writers lives. Using rhetorical strategies such as anaphora (using the same phrase continually at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences to create a sense of emphasis) or anastrophe (reversal of the normal order of words), Mineola students "are still having fun (and) they're preparing for the AP exam, since they will be tested on these sorts of strategies," Miller said.

In addition to prepping for their test, Messina ensured that her students would be enriching their educational experience from this project as well. When originally faced with the proposal of this project, Messina realized her students had never worked on monologues, especially those of the dramatic sort. Despite the fact that the more than half do not have professional training, the students completely embraced the task.

Performing monologues like A Trip to Gym Class, a story chronicling a student tripping and falling in a very public spectacle written by Nikki Vella and performed by Marisa DiGrigoli, the students were able to bond over funny memories. Other monologues such as Nicole's Life, written by Brianna Lee, performed by Matt Eisen, sent students chilling reminders to practice personal safety, as the monologue chronicled the tragic death of the student's cousin at the hands of reckless driver.

Though the auditorium only contained two classes of students and a few interested administrative staff members, it was often filled with laughter as each performer enacted their set. Despite some members of Messina's class having theatre experience, others like DiGrigoli performed like seasoned veterans.

Both Messina and Murray plan to continue this assignment in future years having in their opinion having seen nothing but positive results.