WESTMINSTER DRAMANonsense Dialogue

Nonsense dialogue is a series of random lines that have no connected meaning. Your job, as an actor, is to make sense of these lines so that they may be delivered in a meaningful scene. Movement will be a crucial factor in this problem solving endeavour. Through movement, you will establish the who, what, and where of the scene. You may also find it helpful to add non-speaking characters.

The purpose of this exercise is to help you discover the relationship between words and stage movement. Some words seem to call for specific necessary actions, but more often, the actor must provide logical interpretive actions.

By participating in these exercises, it should become clear that, at times, actions can speak louder than words!

Take a look at the following nonsense dialogue:

The stars shine like torches in the night.

Tony pulled the fire alarm and ran.

May I have some baby powder, please?

Why doesnt anyone care about baby seals?

Sometimes I dont understand you.

I want you out of here by the time I count to ten!

How can you make sense of this NONSENSE?!

Possible settings might include:

A classroom the teacher is teaching and writing on the board while some students are whispering and passing notes.

A party with multiple discussions happening in different groups.

A psychiatric hospital.

A room with the television turned on.

In a car a family travels with the radio on, changing the stations.

In the audience of a movie theatre two movie-goers are annoyed by talkers sitting near them.

Use the lines provided to you to turn a nonsense dialogue into a meaningful scene.