On Monday, November 13, 2017, “The Children’s Monologues” was performed on stage by Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain, Jason Alexander, Anne Hathaway and other renowned actors. The monologues, which were delivered in between musical performances, were adapted from stories created by young people in the South African township of Rammulotsi. Award-winning authors like Lynn Nottage and Jack Thorne transformed their works into stirring stage performances that were directed by Danny Boyle and performed by a superb cast.

The actors only had time to practice the script on the day of the performance. For one night only, some of the most renowned actors in the business showed audiences how to memorize and perform a monologue in a short amount of time. Despite having limited rehearsal time, these professionals showed throughout their little time on stage that even the simplest decisions may result in an engaging performance.

Andrew Garfield’s tipp: Use your breath.

When Andrew delivered a particularly challenging monologue, he showed and emphasized on another piece of wisdom that many actors receive early on. The story was largely very emotional, and he spent a lot of time on stage exaggerating his breathing, which heightened the tension, anger, terror, and violence of his account. Post-traumatic stress disorder affected the character, which Garfield embodied on stage with heavy breathing.