ABSTRACT
A demand for ‘inner monologue’ in theatre raises the need for a highly cultivated actor. For a reciprocal train of thought to arise, the actor must actually comprehend what their partner is saying, must actually learn to be open to the impact of the events occurring onstage. Having a reaction to everything that is seen and heard generates a particular train of thought. Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko believed that ‘inner monologue’ arises as a result of heightened concentration, a genuinely creative sense of self, and an acute awareness of how external given circumstances reverberate in the actor’s heart and mind. ‘Inner monologue’ requires the actor to have genuine organic sense of freedom which gives rise to a gloriously improvisational sense of self so that at every performance the actor will have the power to infuse the existing verbal form with new, fresh colours.
