SOLO - The devised Monologue

Workshop and individual coaching with Christine Schmalor

Saturdays 6 | 13 | 20 October 2025 | always at 17:00 – 20:00 UTC+2 | Berlin time plus 3 x one meeting of 1 hour with each participant during the following week. Time to be arranged.

The SOLO course supports artists who want to develop a monologue, a monodrama, a solo performance or a self-conceived theatre evening.

Actors often start out with a SOLO because they want to finally have control over all the parameters themselves. That promises a great deal of freedom! And rightly so! But working on and with yourself is also a journey into the unknown, with very practical questions: How do I structure my own artistic path? What do I need to keep in mind? How do I work with myself? What tasks should I set myself so that I can truly break new ground?

Perhaps you already have a vague theme or a collection of artistic material, but how should you work with it? And that brings us to the most important point: how do you formulate your theme? What is your theme in its full dimension? How exciting it is when a seemingly down-to-earth idea gradually awakens a philosophical dimension that leads you onto completely new artistic paths!

The first part of the SOLO course focuses primarily on how to introduce and formulate my theme. Suddenly, a whole cosmos unfolds, which should not confuse me, but rather enrich me. There are many extremely useful exercises for this step, which leads me to give voice to my complex theme and, as an actor, dare to formulate big ideas out loud.

We will explore various steps for developing a creative mind flow. Under the heading of intertextuality, we will discover new patterns of language and thought that are above all fun and inspire a joy of play. We are consciously embracing chaos! Were we not seeking ‘freedom’ with the decision to go solo? Let’s take it and surf through both our subconscious and cultural history – there are no limits – not for the free spirit!

And then there is your own artistic vision. What is that? How do I find it and how do I shape it into an artistic image? How do I deal with it? Can I actually enter it?

During two group sessions and two individual consultations, I will do everything I can to unleash the creative chaos so that all facets of creativity are activated. But how can this storm be tamed? How does this result in a dramaturgically meaningful evening? How do I organise the chaos?

The third session of the SOLO course deals with the art of composition. This primarily involves a changed acting position that enables you to direct your own freedom. It is about awareness of your own artistic language and mastery of the creative means.

Theory and knowledge need to be translated into art; therefore, joint practical exercises on all topics will help to understand more and make the often lonely process enjoyable and productive.

The SOLO course consists of three joint meetings, each lasting three hours, with one hour of personal coaching in the following week, during which you can explore the topic in more depth in a personal conversation with me and apply it to your own project.

SOLO 1 – The Theme (6 October)
Finding – opening – giving voice

SOLO 2 – The creative mind flow (13 October)
Intertextuality – game and chaos – think big!

SOLO 3 – Composition (20 October)
Building your fundament – your compass – your artistic language