I have written a collection of dialogues for each section of my performance, I have three different styles that I have chosen: I begin with a poem; continue with general storytelling; end with a speech that is similar to speeches made by religious people who have just found God. I have chosen to have an introductory poem as I want the audience to feel as though I am telling them about my journey, rather than just performing something for them to watch.
Each section will be heavily physical so that the entire performance itself is a workout for me.
How I Found the Gym
Intro:
If I knew then exactly what I do now, would I still crave the heat and pressure or would that differ somehow?
If the path to my present would have been so smooth, would I still now have so much that I need to prove?
Is it mad or daft that I imagine myself to be the one and the only, Lara Croft?
Well, maybe quite not at this second as the only place she’s seen recently is the inside of our PS1 at the back of our loft.
But, I mean, you get the gist. She’s strong, she’s audacious and she probably lifts.
When I was a young little bean, I would never have thought that I would be striving so much to be lean.
1) Primary School Sports Day:
Miss! Miss! I don’t want to do this anymore! I always come last.
Oh Emily, no need to worry. It’s the taking part that counts.
2) Tag Rugby:
Then I understood, the taking part really did count. Finding myself star of the Trowell C of E Tag Rugby team kept me on a constant high. I had found my calling at the young age of 9. Swooping in and out of all of those cocky boys that thought they would catch me because rugby was ‘their’ sport, the boys’ sport. Pft! If you could have seen the look on their faces as I pelted past them at lightning speed scoring try after try, you would have laughed for sure! I was on fire!
Mrs Chalkley! Mrs Chalkley! Did you see? Emily Bland scored 3 tries and caught Connor Tideswell!
There was absolutely no stopping us; we were soon to be the top dogs of Tag Rugby for Primary schools in the Midlands. Until…Disaster struck! The team was cut and back to being the sporting loser of the school I went!
3) Secondary School:
Why is it that I have to take P.E. every bloody year? Because really…I want to know. I mean, every year, it’s exactly the same, I’m forced to humiliate myself in front of the rest of the class. Its not so bad for the kids who are athletes, but for the rest of us, like me, it’s not so easy.
Yes Mrs Soulsbury, I know P.E. is just as important as English and Science but is it not possible to be put in a group with other people? Being forced to work with those girls was like forcing me to walk on hot coals…A burning hell!
Emily, but you’re such a good influence. It would do them girls some good.
Lets just say that secondary school was not a highlight for me.
4) College:
College, no involvement in anything apart from parties and ‘Our House’ the musical. It was there and then that I had decided that at university, I would do it! I would find what had been missing, find myself, find passion and strive!
5) Athletics:
So there I was, a brand new member of the University of Lincoln Athletics and Cross Country Club. Had I ever ran properly like this before? Absolutely not! Was it going to stop me? Not a chance!
Over the course of the year I felt great! I was much fitter and was no longer the straggler way behind everybody else. There was only one problem…I absolutely bloody hate running!
6) Finding the Gym:
I always felt I had some sort of connection with sports and fitness, but at a youngster I don’t think I ever truly explored the possibilities.
At a time where it came absolutely clear and visible to me was when I was full up to here with uni and wanted to be at home.
As I picked up my weights, immense joy started to take over me.
I was re-born.
To rebuild the body and mind felt like the crucial next step for my existence.
The redemption is worth more than one can imagine.
The exchange of reps for endorphins, it’s electric.
The change had come, the opportunity had risen, my time to thrive!
Section 3 was the part that I started to write first, it was the part that sparked this entire performance idea. I adapted a monologue that I found online to suit my own story:
“Miss Meyers, can you just answer me just one qestion?…Why is it that I have to take P.E. every stinking year, because really…I want to know. I mean every year, it’s exactly the same, I’m forced to humiliate myself in front of the rest of the class. It’s not so bad for the kids who are athletes, but for the rest of us, like me, it’s not so easy.(Beat) Yes, Miss Meyers…I know, I know…P.E. is just as important as algebra and biology, and yes I agree that you should get a grade based on yor abilities and skills. But everyone has to take the same class! They don’t have “Basic P.E.” like they have “General Science” or “Basic Math”…that would be a whole different subject completely! And why do we have to rotate activities all the time, why can’t we stick with one thing for awhile, that way I could redeem myself by getting better at something. Soccer and Basketball aren’t so bad, but this body shouldn’t be on a balance beam during gymnastics. I just become entertainment for the rest of the class. High school is humiliating enough without coming in five minutes after everyone else during the mile run…while they’re showered and going to lunch, I’m just crossing the finish line. I already know the theory around fitness…it-is-a-part-of-a-well-rounded-education. But the the least they could do is level the playing field for everyone. I know there’s not much you can do for me, but thanks, for at least letting me get that off my chest…See you in the gym.” (ISPGroupInc, 2017)
The part that I have highlighted in bold is the section that I adapted for section 3 of my performance, I made it more personal to me by changing words such as ‘stinking’ to ‘bloody’ as I would be more likely to say bloody.
The only other section that is inspired by other people as well as myself is section 6. I searched for videos of people who had ‘found God’ to hear what sorts of phrases they use as I want me finding the gym to be similar to somebody finding religion as both findings can be life changing for the better.
(Common Ground Church, 2013)
This is a video that directly aided my dialogue in section 6. The man in the video, Gary Kirsten, seems very calm and sincere during this video but calm is not particularly a way I want to deliver this dialogue. Because I will be exercising with dumbbells while delivering the dialogue, I will be getting more passionate as I go on, using the speech as a way to get me working out to the best of my ability.
Works Cited:
Common Ground Church (2013) Gary Kirsten – How I Found God. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3gjm3ryqU&t=57s [accessed 1 May 2017].
ISPGroupInc (2017) Powerful Free Monologues. Los Angeles: ISPGroupInc. Available from http://www.ispgroupinc.com/monologues/free-monologues-shapingup.htm [accessed 30 April 2017].
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