LAMDA exam - help!

[Leeds2]

I volunteer in a school library, and today one of the Year 6 girls asked me to suggest something "with lots of speaking in it" that she could use for an upcoming LAMDA exam. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be suitable for a 10/11 year old?

You could try double act by jacqueline wilson, i think that there are chapters written from the characters POV so she would be able to do one of them x

Thanks, sleepismysuperpower. We do have that in the library, and I can check. I am not sure Jacqueline Wilson would be approved by the parents, but I can't really legislate for that!

Or if she needs something more classical, the Wind in the Willows might work. Or a Michael Morpurgo?

Thanks, Limpid. I will have a look.

DS1 is doing the Trinity Guildhall exam soon and is using some dialogue from "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

We have those books too, BlueChampagne!

Could you give me a rough idea of what the examiners are looking for? As in, is it a monologue and how long is it meant to last? The girl was very unclear about what was needed, so I did ask her to go away and check.

I'm assuming its Acting rather than Verse and Prose? And what Grade?
Also the syllabus is about to change so really you'd need to knwo what her anthology piece was so it can contrast. If its new syllabus I'd need to cross reference it against the anthology as you arn't allowed to duplicate.

if it's acting the monologue can be "adapted from the text of a published novel" but I mostly used playscripts. I have adapted an excerpt from Matilda for a weaker student doing Entry Level. Other monologues I've used in the past include Alice in Wonderland, The Borrowers and a fantastic Heather Stephens one called The Tap Dancer (had to be shortened)

They usually need to be 2-3 mins long.

Double Act is also available as a playscript.

DD did Alice in Wonderland early on in Year7 and enjoyed it as a piece. She’s currently on Grade 8 and the pieces are far less enjoyable now!

Excuse the formatting

The Tap Dancer

By Heather Stephens

Enter Camilla noisily in tap shoes concealing something behind her back. She clatters forward angrily.

CAMILLA: Can’t tap on carpet. Its impossible!

She taps a toe and pouts.

And then…If I don’t practice. (Pause) Well! That’ll be that. I’ll never make it to the top. Never see my name in lights.

	(She attempts a shuffle hop step)

	Showbiz is desperately competitive, you know. 

(She adopts a photographic studio long neck pose and sighs in an exaggerated fashion)

	Life’s really not fair!

(She pulls out a vase in two fragments from behind her back and views the breakage with concern)

(Sulkily)I was only trying to perfect the routine after all.

(She attempts to piece the vase together)

Her favourite! (Pause) What am I going to say? (Fast to herself) Ttt, ttt, ttt, ttt…. Of course I know now that I shouldn’t have been standing on top of the sideboard. It was a silly thing to do…

(She shakes her head)

It just wasn’t big enough to tap dance on!

(She shuffles her feet and shrugs her shoulders)

Actually, everything was fine…until I did the high kick! Then the vase sort’ve, sprang up. And flew through the air! (Following the movement of the vase) And landed in two pieces the other side of the room.

(She taps loudly in a tight circle.)

Could blame the cat. (Pause) Trouble with that is…After the accident, when I tried to stand the pieces up again on the sideboard, hoping it’s look as if nothing had happened. Then, only when it was far too late: did I notice lots and lots of little dug out pits in the smooth wood, just where I’d been tapping. She’ll know the cat can’tve done that!

(She holds up the offending fragments and evaluates)

(Optimistically) Perhaps the little pits won’t be noticed. Perhaps the vase won’t be missed for ages and ages – If I just keep quiet.

(She smiles. The smile gives way to a look of horror)

What if she’s given masses of flowers. There’ll be nothing to put them in.

(She paces and stamps a foot in utter frustration)

What am I going to do? Suppose I’ll have to own up and cry a lot. That’s all I can do.

(She turns catching a sound and hastens to one side. She listens out and pulls a face before rushing back)

She’s on her downstairs, HELP!

(She views the fragments with desperation)

(Shouting) Mummy! There’s something I want to talk to you about.

(She searches for somewhere to hide the broken vase. Finally grasps the fragments behind her back in panic)

Mummy! I want to give up tap…I hate it!

(She throws down the vase angrily and storms off)

I thought dd had finished with LAMDA when she did her Grade 8 last year Shangrila but she's decided to do the new Shakespeare Certificate!

I've thought of a really good one that used to be very popular - Violet Beauregarde from Charlie "I'm a gum chewer normally). It was set on the anthology about 2-3 syllabuses ago but its fine to use as a free chouce now.

DD used Hetty Feather for Grade 5.

That’s not good news, Comefromaway. I thought the end was in sight! 🙄

This one was used for Entry but could be Grade 1

Matilda by Roald Dahl

MATILDA

I’m wondering what to read next, I’ve finished all the children’s books……Yes, I’ve looked at the pictures but I’ve read the books as well. I thought some were very poor, but others were lovely. I liked The Secret Garden best of all. It was full of mystery. The mystery of the room behind the closed door and the mystery of the garden behind the big wall.

I liked The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I think Mr. C.S. Lewis is a very good writer. But he has one failing. There are no funny bits in his books. I think that all children’s books ought to have funny bits in them. Children are not so serious as grown-ups and they love to laugh.

Next I would like to read a really good book, one that grown-ups read. A famous one. I don’t know any names. I’ll try this, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I’d love to try it.

My mother goes down to Aylesbury every afternoon to play bingo. She doesn’t know I come here. I’d rather not ask her. She doesn’t encourage reading books. Nor does my father. They expect me to mooch around and watch telly every afternoon in an empty house. My mother doesn’t really care what I do.

I didn’t know that public libraries like this allow you to borrow books and take them home. I didn’t know that. Could I do it?