The Olympic sporting action in Paris concluded last weekend but there is another global competition waiting in the wings.
It's called the World Monologue Games, and it's often referred to as "the Olympics for actors".
The World Monologue Games was founded in 2020 by Australian producer Pete Malicki at the beginning of the pandemic.
The virtual format allows actors from all over the world to participate from their homes, and was a direct response to the impact the pandemic was having on the arts and entertainment industries.
The competition attracts thousands of performers from more than 100 countries. In the running for this year's Global Finals is Newcastle's Louise Chapman, who is competing in the Regional Finals this month.
Chapman's abilities will be put to the test in the Endurance Category, where she will be judged by heads of international acting schools, Hollywood producers and even Emmy-winning casting directors alongside six other Australian actors vying for a place in the global finals.
"This is my fourth year competing in the World Monologue Games and I am ranked number one in the world in the Endurance Category, two years running. It is incredibly exciting," she says.
"I am joining an elite group of performers from across the world and I'm proud to be representing Australia."
The Endurance Category consists of five- to eight-minute monologues and is "like the long distance runner or swimmer in the Olympics".
"The greater time allows for a longer story to be told and a deeper insight into the character or characters portrayed," she says.
"The monologue must be committed to memory and performed from start to finish perfectly without a break.
"It takes great concentration and precision to perform the monologue and much rehearsal to develop the nuances of the delivery to tell the story compellingly, with diversity, to keep it entertaining."
Chapman was crowned Global Champion at the World Monologue Games in 2022 for her performance of A Real Thing by award-winning Newcastle playwright Vanessa Bates.
"In 2023 I won bronze in the Global Final yet still maintained my number one world ranking due to my success in previous years, performing The Rise and Fall of the Fairy Queen by Helen Hopcroft from Maitland.
"This year I perform Soul Sisters by Sinda Nichols from Florida. Sinda and I are developing a 12-part web series with director Dora Lanier from Seattle called This is So Amazing. Soul Sisters is the monologue part of that story.
"Each monologue has been written specifically for me and directed by the writers (except Helen, whose husband directed) which I love because, like a choreographer with a dancer, they can craft the monologue too suit my strengths during the rehearsal process."
The Endurance category of the Regional Finals will be broadcast on YouTube at 8.30pm on September 27.
You can watch online at worldmonologuegames.com/watch.
UpStage at the Playhouse
Chapman is also lending her talents to this year's UpStage program at The Playhouse, comprising four productions written by Newcastle playwrights. Blueberry Play, by Ang Collins, was performed last month. Tickets to the remaining shows - Romeo & Juliet: A Reimagining (September 19 to 28); Karma Kafe, by Carl Caulfield (October 3 to 12); and The Magic Hour, by Vanessa Bates (November 21 to 30) - are on sale now. Chapman will perform in dark comedy The Magic Hour with Jan Hunt and Amy Vee.
