Courtney

Judy Garland By Courtney Stevens

//(A withering Judy appears center stage at a dimmed and empty Palace Theatre in New York City; she's draped in a glistening sequined pants suit. She looks around the theatre and at the empty red velvet seats where the audience was seated only minutes before. She continued observing the theater as if she had never been on it’s stage before. She looks down and begins to reflect.)//

I have worked for forty-five of my forty-seven years of life, I have been in thirty-two films, and so much more that I myself have lost count. I have made so many accomplishments, but I have not accomplished what I want the most. There have been many, many nights where I have wished for the loving words of a man instead of the roar of an audience, or any award I have won. A life without love is no life for me. //(She places her aged hands on her chest above her heart, and tears begin to stream from her sullen eyes.)// Although adoring fans and friends always surround me, I feel alone. Feeling alone in a crowded room is the worst feeling I have yet to experience. Everyone would expect that me being so-called successful and famous that I would be just thrilled and have a wonderful life, but it’s lonely at the top, cold and lonely. Sometimes I wonder if my fame has kept me from finding someone, but since it is all coming to an end maybe it will change. I can live without money, I can live without awards, I can live without fans, but I cannot live without love, and just when I think things couldn't get worse I realize that I have an addiction..and it's not even my fault. From as far as I can remember I've been given amphetamines so I'll always be peppy, happy and thin, I lie awake every night because of them. I want to quit, but I feel as if I cannot live without them, I can't be happy ever. //(A calm look comes over her face, as she continues to survey the theater)// I’ve spent much of my life trying to get over the idea of the rainbow; I think I may have taken The Wizard of Oz a little too seriously. Maybe I need to follow the yellow brick road in my ruby slippers to the Wizard of Oz and ask him for love. //(She smiles, and chuckles sarcastically and then begins to sing like she had done many times before.)// “Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue.” It seems to me that maybe I have yet to find my rainbow, because for me it’s always been that behind every cloud, there is another one. //(A woman comes from back stage a motions Judy to come with her, it was time for her to go home She sighs and slowly follows her off stage. Later that nighty Judy was found dead in her bathroom due to an overdose on the drug that dominated her entire life.)//

Tiffany Add more to it, it's not long enough. Why is she feeling this way? What happened to make her not have love? Add a conclusion.

Arlena-Add more to it dialogue to your piece. Also you have good staged directions and emotion about the character. Maybe add what she is doing to have love in her life. Or what kind of person is she looking for in her life? Add conclusion

Corinne -- Try tying an actual event in her life into the monologue to explain why she never found anyone to love. This will also make it longer.

Ashley - The other people above me has pretty summed it up, but you do need to add more to the actual body of the piece... so the only question that I have is... what made her come back to the the theatre?

Monique- Yep yep yep they are all right. You need to pick a certain part or event in the characters life where they reflect how they felt at that moment or what happened before or afterwards. I like how you gave her emotion and feelings. Overall its a good piece but it should have more to it.

Ms. Schoen -- I really like the way you ended the piece with lyrics from a song but you need to go more in-depth with your character. You do that somewhat in the paragragh "Although adoring fans..." but I still feel as though you could give you character more life and insight. If you added some emotion in that paragraph it would give the feeling but you need to look more in to the life of Judy Garland. If you wanted to look at the various drug issues of her life and maybe how that affected her attitude later (she was a drug addict and alcoholic). As a child, she would be given uppers for a performance and downers to assist her with sleep but then again this was not an unpopular practice in Hollywood back in the day for child actors. Just think about how you will give the character depth. Give specifics if you need to but remember not to fall in to a biography. I do like the piece so far but you need more.. :-) Very well written by the way.

(Courtney- I added more and put more about her drug use and her life.)