Video LINK: Night Luster by Sarah Lian

During one of my quiet times this past summer, I decided to check out Toronto’s Public Library on Yonge/Bloor to find a good monologue piece. Since most of the workshops that I work on tend to be for my audition prep, I wanted to try something a little different. Inspired by a few pieces, I ended up with one called Night Luster by Laura Harrington. 

Something about this introspective voice made me want to narrate more than perform. There are various interpretations of this monologue on Youtube but I thought I’d do something different. So I enlisted the help of my two visionary friends, Dennis Chan and Sai Sivanesan. Although they have never worked together before, both their contributions made this piece work so well.

(Youtube Link)

Night Luster by Laura Harrington

I don’t think people see me. I get this feeling sometimes like I’m invisible or something. I can be standing there in a room and I’m talking and everything, and it’s like my words aren’t getting anywhere and I look down at myself and sometimes my body isn’t getting anywhere either. It’s like I’m standing behind a one-way mirror and I can see the guys and I can hear the guys, but they can’t see me and they can’t hear me. And I start to wonder if maybe I’m ugly or something, like maybe I’m some alien species from another planet and I don’t speak the language and I look totally weird.

But I don’t know this, you see, because on this other planet I had this really nice mother who told me I was beautiful and that I had a voice to die for because she loved me so much, not because it was true. And I arrive here on Earth and I’m so filled with her love and her belief in me and I sing like I have a voice to die for. And because I’m so convinced and so strange and so deluded, people pretend to listen to me… because they’re being polite or something — or maybe they’re afraid of me. And at first I don’t notice because I sing with my eyes closed.

But one day I open my eyes and find out I’m living in this world where nobody sees me and nobody hears me. I’m just looking’ for that one guy who’s gonna hear me, see me… really take a chance. I mean, I hear them. I’m listening so hard I hear promises when somebody’s just sayin’ hello. if anybody ever heard what I’ve got locked up inside me… I’d be a star.

What do you think? (you can also thank the boys for the slo-mo ass shot, where I was outvoted 2-1 to keep it)

Thank you to Matt McAuley who squeezed time for me to play my “john”.

Thank you to Eliza Tam who is a fab makeup artist in the making!!