The following program has been found!

Program Name:
#N036 - Monologues and Dialogues: How Do We Talk To Each Other?

Age Brackets:

• USY (gr. 9 - 12)

Program Type:

• Social/Fun

Estimated Cost:
Free

Duration:
Less than 2 hours

Required attendance:
10-25 people

Description:

What's it all about?
This program deals with developing self awareness through the medium of theatre. It enables the USYers to develop a deeper meaning with oneself and those aspects of their social world. The program gives the USYers an opportunity to examine social situations and helps to develop skills in interpersonal communication.

Goals:

1. The USYers will take part in activities which increase their self- awareness and enhance their ability to listen in a group setting.
2. The USYers will discuss the concepts of monologue and dialogue and understand their function as well as the importance of healthy communication.

Category of Activity:
Social

Age:
USY

Time:
Up to two hours

Method:
Theatre games

Size of Group:
Up to 30

Keywords:
Self awareness, theater, monologue, dialogue.

Place:
Chapter meeting room.

Preparation of Supplies and Resource Materials:

1. Blackboard or poster boards.
2. Markers.
3. Role play cards as described in the program.

General Preparation:
None

The Program in Detail:

1. The Monologue activities:
   Each USYer should be asked to recall an internal conversation which he/she may have had with him/herself during the day or in the previous week. This may be a dilemma, a contemplation of some issues or being angry with oneself. In turn, each USYer should present the issue before the group. While the USYers are presenting their stories, the group leader should write on a blackboard or poster board the words which indicate that a monologue took place (such as: "I asked myself", "I wondered to myself", "I said to myself", etc.).

   At the conclusion of the presentations, the group leader should present the idea of "Monologue". This means "mono" = one and "logue" = conversation, or conversation with oneself. The group leader should try to bring an example from a short story, poem or movie familiar to the USYers (25-30 minutes).

2. The group leader should lead a discussion following the monologues - (Attachment 1) - 10 minutes.
3. The Dialogue activities:
1. Option One:
   The group leader should ask for two volunteers to participate in a dialogue about a difficult situation. The volunteers should come to the center of the room and enact the dilemma or problem.

   Following this role play, the volunteer actors should reenact the scene and try to see the situation form each other's point of view.

2. Option Two:
   The group leader should present a possible dilemma from the daily life of the USYers. (See Attachment 2 for suggestions). The volunteer actors should present the situation. At any point in the discussion, any one of the spectators can take the place of one of the actors by tapping him/her on the shoulder. This option allows a number of USYers to take part in the scene and play the various roles.
3. Now the group leader should present the concept of "dialogue". That is, "dia" means two and "logue" means conversation, or a conversation between two people (25-30 minutes).
4. The group leader should lead a discussion based on the dialogues. This discussion should focus primarily on the importance of listening to the other person and trying to see the situation from his/her point of view (Attachment 3) (10 minutes).
5. The group leader should now discuss dialogue as described in the Bible.
1. Option One:
   The group leader should describe examples of successful dialogues from the Bible (Attachment 4) which lead to the other person changing his viewpoint. The USYers should be asked to critique each of these dialogues. The discussion leader can ask the USYers to decide which was the more successful dialogue.
2. Option Two:
   The group leader can divide the USYers into small groups. The small groups should review the situations listed in Attachment 2, prepare them as role plays using dialogue, and present them to the entire group (30 minutes).
6. The group leader should conclude the program with a summary discussion based on the questions in Attachment 5 (10 minutes).

Attachments:

Attachment 1 - Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think it is important to be aware of the conversations we have with ourselves?
2. What might be their purpose? What do we accomplish with them?
3. When do you make the important decisions in your life? With whom?
4. Who usually "wins" when you talk to yourself? Fear? Laziness? Impulse? Habit? Ambition? Excitement? Anticipation?
5. What do you think is the connection between talking with yourself or taking personal stock of yourself, and the other times when we talk with ourselves?

Attachment 2 - Dilemmas in Our Lives

1. A USYer calls a friend and tries to convince him/her to come to a party even though the friend knows that he/she has an important test the next day.
2. A USYer notices that a friend seems sort of depressed and tries to talk to her/him even though he/she knows that the friend is shy and doesn't like when other people ask about her personal life.
3. A USYer tells his friend that he is going to date his former girl friend in spite of the fact that he knows that the friend is still pretty upset about the break-up.

Attachment 3 - Discussion Questions: Dialogues

1. What do you think can be learned from the dialogues we just heard?
2. Let's focus on the specific characters:
1. How do you think that they felt?
2. Which qualities seemed to best characterize them?
3. When is it important to know what someone you are talking to really thinks? Why?
3. Why do we sometimes have such a hard time listening to others?
4. How can the ability to discover what someone else is thinking and feeling help to improve our communication with him/her?

Attachment 4 - Dialogues in the Bible

1. The parable of the lamb. Nathan the prophet conducts a dialogue with King David and helps him to understand and admit to the King's serious mistake of causing the death of Uriah the Hittite. He also helps David to understand that he should be punished for this sin.

   2 Samuel Chapter 12:

   1. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
   2. The rich man had very many flocks and herds;
   3. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up; and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it ate of his own food, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.
   4. And there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare for the traveler who came to him; but took the poor man's lamb, and prepared it for the man who came to him."
   5. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this thing shall surely die;
   6. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
   7. And Nathan said to David, "You are the man. Thus said the Lord God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
   8. And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives to your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given to you such and such things.'
   9. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
   10. And therefore the sword shall never depart from your house; because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife."
   11. "Thus said the Lord, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun.
   12. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'"
   13. And David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
   14. But because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child who is born to you shall surely die."
2. Esther, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 - The Dialogue between Queen Esther and King Ahashuerus

   This dialogue continued for two days from the moment that Esther was summoned. She even extends the dialogue until the second party when she reveals to him her request. She causes him to identify with her and her people and discovers how much he adores her.

Attachment 5 - Summary Discussion

1. What can we learn from the way the characters conducted the dialogues?
2. Is there anything not okay with the way they acted?
3. What kinds of problems might develop when we begin a dialogue with someone else and we are conscious of what they are really thinking?
4. What do think might have happened to Queen Esther or Nathan the Prophet if they had not bothered to take into consideration the person they were talking with in their dialogues? Would they have arrived at the same results?

Summary:
Try to recall those times when you explained your opinion or idea so that you were successful in convincing the other person. You probably discovered that they appreciated the way you related to their views and ideas in a respectful way. Hearing the needs and ideas of the other person created good communication and helps create effective dialogue.

Text Resources:
None

This program was written by Einat Leibovich.