Customer Reviews

Zen and the Art of the Monologue (A Theatre Arts Book)

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In my opinion, the fact that Sankey is a stand-up comedian actually hurts him. He seemingly feels some pressure to be funny and, therefore, shuffles silly non-nonsensical non sequesters throughout the book: "Do Siamese Twins Really Understand Double Entendres," "Are Parrots Really Psychic," "Why Is It Dangerous to Smoke in Bed?"... After the first two such interruptions, I have to admit that I just skipped the rest and read his actual advise.

And the advise is pretty helpful. It's very much in line with other Zen books and is not totally unlike the Tao of Pooh. This isn't to imply that Sankey neglects pragmatic advise. In fact, he lays out some valuable ideas. I found especially useful what he had to say about script length, the performance space, and fringe festivals.

The author also offers some sound advise about promoting a solo show. Inexplicably, however, Sankey neglects to mention internet promotions at all. I have to wonder if he wrote this before the web really took off? (Though the copyright date is listed as November 2000!) Perhaps he's just not net saavy? Still- seems like a glaring omission that the editors, at least, should have noticed and remedied.

Also, don't buy this expecting writing exercises. He has advise on how to start, but not an intensive set of prompts to get an eager but blocked pen writing.

All in all, it's not a bad book. Unfortunately, I think it's way too expensive for its size (especially if you omit the useless silly sections).