Peter Demonstrates - Peter Sardi's School Of Acting

Peter Sardi's School of Acting

Peter Demonstrates

NOTE: Go to bottom of this page for latest Demonstration!

It's recommended to listen to PETER TALKS–Monologues below, followed by How to Start a Monologue BEFORE you listen to The FULL Monologue

as they contain key information you need to understand.

This page is dedicated to MONOLOGUES — specifically, a series of

Talks with Demonstrations.

"THE WAY OF THE ACTOR" —

— an actor’s approach to monologues and the unique challenges they present.

The first in this series–PETER TALKS– has me sharing some thoughts on how actors can approach performing a monologue.

Peter Talks Monologues — I discuss technique, interpretation, & common obstacles

paired with “The Demonstration,” where those ideas come to life through performance.

THE MONOLOGUE

A MONOLOGUE ISN’T A SPEECH IT’S A RESPONSE.

Monologues can feel pretty intimidating—even scary—for a lot of actors. But they really don’t have to be.

One thing that might help take some of the pressure off is remembering this:

There’s no one “right” way to do a monologue.

PETER TALKS — Monologues. . .

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⚠️ Important: Watch This First

Please listen to Peter’s talk above before viewing the demonstrations below.

It contains key information you need to understand what follows.

How to Start a Monologue –

A Demonstration by Peter Sardi

This demonstration focuses specifically on the first few lines of a monologue, which are highlighted in yellow below the video. The aim here is not to perform the entire piece, but to explore the moment of the monologue's beginning. A monologue isn’t just a speech. A monologue is a response—a response to something that has just been said or done by the other character. That moment –what you’ve just seen, heard, or felt—triggers the monologue. So the beginning is never neutral. It's charged. It has purpose, and emotional context. And how you start, how you respond, can set the tone for the entire piece. Notice how the energy and purpose are already alive before the first word of the monologue is spoken.

OPENNING DIALOGUE. . .

"The past is dead. The past is dead, really? The past will catch up with you, the past will catch up with all of us. Don’t you think it’s catching up with us right now in our relationship, in your relationship with Eve, in our relationships period?"

The Full Monologue in Action — From Start to Finish!

Version One (Of same monologue)

Version Two (Of same monologue)

A scene partner’s delivery can completely shift your performance, even when your lines stay the same.

*𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀: These two videos feature the exact same monologue — the words haven’t changed at all — but the performances are noticeably different. Why? Because in each version, the character I’m responding to delivers their line (the one that triggers my monologue) in a completely different way. In the first video, their line is delivered gently and compassionately; in the second, it’s aggressive and angry. This is a great example of how a scene partner’s delivery can completely shift your performance, even when your lines stay the same.

COMING SOON: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 — Speaking to the audience. — A New Demonstration!