The Shape of Water
Zelda monologue from The Shape of Water
- Movie
- Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
- Women
- Playing age 20s–50s
- About 1:15
- Dramatic
Zelda’s monologue from the movie The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor. A dramatic piece for women with a playing age of 20s–50s, running about 1:15.
The setup
Zelda shares a memory from her childhood: finding a turtle in the middle of the road and carrying it to safety.
The full speech. Read it out loud twice before you start working it.
Zelda’s monologue
When I was a little girl- I found a turtle sitting out in the middle of the road. Crossing it slowly. Car could run it over any minute. So, I picked it up, took it to a pond way back behind my house… and I laid it down under a big camphor tree, and I thought… "Mmmh- It's gonna be so happy here". And I left it there. (beat) But that night I figured out I had no idea where it was going… Far as I know it was bringing food to its nest or- looking to procreate- or escaping an owl. And maybe the worst place to keep it- maybe the place it was running from was that pond under that camphor tree. (looks at the fish) I didn't care. I just did what I wanted with it…
Excerpt for study and audition practice. Read the full play for context.
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About The Shape of Water
- The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- Octavia Spencer was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for playing Zelda.
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