Gaby's Field Journal by Gabriela Chanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz Made for the Artistic Inquiry en-us 2021-10-11 16:08:16 UTC 2025-04-20 17:22:33 UTC hello@padlet.com Creating Interview Questions gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808142022 1. Before leaving home, what were some emotions you felt?
2. What were your expectations of being away from family?
3. How did your experience meet or fail to meet those expectations?
4. What are things about home that you think about most often. 
- What is it that triggers these memories of home?
- What physical and emotional reactions to these do you experience?

]]> 2021-10-11 16:09:32 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808142022 Writing and Exploration gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808142856 To write the monologue, I decided to take and organize notes based on the interviews I recorded so that I can then use them for writing exploration. 
I chose words in each interview to highlight that stood out to me, and I from there did a free-writing exercise with those words, in order to connect the words to possibly my own experiences of leaving home, or simply interesting phrases that may come to mind when I think of the words. I kept the free-writing to 1 minute, as I would try to use key ideas from the writing in a monologue and wanted to streamline my ideas slightly

]]> 2021-10-11 16:09:51 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808142856 Combining Ideas gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808143729 The next step was to take inspiration from the ideas and characters that can be seen in the free-writing exercises as well as ideas from the interviews to begin drafting ideas for the monologue.]]> 2021-10-11 16:10:10 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808143729 Interview Process gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808162075 As the interview process began, I adjusted the questions slightly as I was asking them to students in a social situation, however they had the same ideas. I asked about expectations, whether they were fulfilled, emotions that have been felt, and triggers of homesickness. ]]> 2021-10-11 16:16:56 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1808162075 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1818229114 October 13th]]> 2021-10-14 22:21:34 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1818229114 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1818232533 October 13th]]> 2021-10-14 22:25:14 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1818232533 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1831052349 October 18th]]> 2021-10-20 16:51:31 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1831052349 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1838474299 Free Writing

As I started the first, I felt that I didn't write enough in 1 minute so I doubled it and wrote a few sentences in 2 minutes for each word prompt. This allowed for enough content to be created for each prompt but also not so much that it's difficult to take ideas from all of the prompts to incorporate into the writing as there are 8 interviews and hence would be 16 versions of the exercise. ]]> 2021-10-23 21:37:23 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1838474299 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1838500272 October 19th]]> 2021-10-23 22:13:31 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1838500272 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829043 October 20th]]> 2021-10-24 20:13:19 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829043 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829359 October 21st]]> 2021-10-24 20:13:35 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829359 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829702 October 21st]]> 2021-10-24 20:13:52 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829702 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829847 October 22nd]]> 2021-10-24 20:14:00 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839829847 Observations gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839834337 As I interviewed people, I found that there were patterns within the answers, especially surrounding expectations and emotions towards their experiences. Many people were excited to leave home however were very worried, or expected it to be a lot more stressful than it ended up being. I also noticed that most of the interviewees expressed having experienced a range of emotions, both positive and negative, as it was difficult to leave home and family, and school and social lives could be difficult, however they found it has been enjoyable and positive emotions have also been experienced. ]]> 2021-10-24 20:17:57 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839834337 Interviewees gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839837722 The people I interviewed were all people I have spent a lot of time with and become friends with over the past almost 2 months of being at university. However, I found that I was still able to interview people with a variety of different experiences as some are living close to family, some have completely moved countries to come to university, and in general listening to answers, everyone has had to deal with different things before and since coming to Toronto. I think if I had more time to explore, it would have been interesting to reach out to people on social media and interview those going to school in other countries and at other universities. This would have given me greater insight. ]]> 2021-10-24 20:21:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839837722 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839841643 After conducting the interviews, I wrote them out on a document, and highlighted key words from each interview to use for the free-writing exercise. I've done free-writing before, but was originally planning on directly drafting ideas based off of key phrases in the interviews. After doing the free-writing exercise in class, I was inspired to do it this way to get broader ideas and add another step to my process.]]> 2021-10-24 20:24:55 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839841643 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839907142 2021-10-24 21:25:59 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839907142 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839916241 As I wrote, I found that although I was writing with a clear mind and going into the exercise with only the word as an idea, I was writing along a similar theme to leaving home for the first time, and being unsure of oneself at university. For example, the last exercise on this page was quite emotional for me as I found that I often have a different idea of home from others I've spoken to because I have lived in so many places and also have never lived in the countries that I hold passports for until now. This experience was quite intimate and insightful as it allowed me to understand my own emotions about leaving home for the first time, and connect them with others' experiences without consciously trying to. ]]> 2021-10-24 21:35:09 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1839916241 Planning gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1840314399 Beginning: Character's current feelings about university, setting reminds the character of home. 

Middle: Character remembering home, their expectations of university before moving, and whether expectations were met.

End: Back to their current feelings about university, tying back into the setting and maybe their future at university.
]]> 2021-10-25 01:58:12 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1840314399 Monologue Drafting gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1840448200 After creating a template idea, I began to write out different sections, writing 2 options for most sections so as to include all the ideas I wanted to. This shows how I am exploring the topic and developing my creative skills by using research and exercise data in multiple ways but not coming to a conclusion yet. As I wrote, I noticed that I was writing more in the style of a stream of consciousness novel rather than a monologue, so the next step would be to edit the draft sections to make them sound more like telling a story to another character or an audience. This I feel is what distinguishes between a monologue and a novel before it is performed, hence it is important that I change this. My character can still be speaking in a stream of consciousness such as in an aside, however I believe it fits more to the genre if the character tells a story and their feelings.]]> 2021-10-25 03:08:37 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1840448200 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842098267 The red text is how I went through the different draft sections of the monologue and edited it so that it followed a more clear structure of a character telling the story of a walk they took and what they thought on that walk. I also added a more clear ending that tied together the ideas of missing and remembering home but being content and accepting of that. This also made it more cyclical as it starts and ends with telling the audience about what happened "yesterday". ]]> 2021-10-25 15:29:05 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842098267 Class about plays/monologues gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842119891 As the writing part of my exploration began conveniently after the class where we discussed playwriting and monologues, I used notes taken in class to guide my structure shown in the next post. I wanted the beginning and ending sections to display setting to create a thread throughout, and to maintain a clear voice in order to share enough about the character to create a moving piece about their experiences. ]]> 2021-10-25 15:34:57 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842119891 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842979265 After doing this editing, I was curious as to how long a monologue should be in terms of wordcount, so I did some research:
https://hobbylark.com/performing-arts/How-To-Create-A-Monologue-Easy-And-Simple
This site includes some useful tips for writing a monologue, and it also says that a monologue should be around 2 minutes in length. Choosing random sections that I wrote and reading it out loud, I found it was just under 2 minutes but I felt as though it was too short. Also according to this article, I should introduce the character clearly, hence in order to add time and make the character more clear to the audience, I decided to add a section describing more about the character's home and family there. ]]> 2021-10-25 20:48:50 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842979265 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842993283 The blue sections I added will add a few seconds to either version of the monologue, and I felt as though they created a more emotional connection to the character as audiences will learn more about their family and home. In 2A, I was lightly inspired by an interview, but it was mostly fictional. In 2B, due to the discussion of always being confused about "home", I used my own experience, writing truthfully about 2 places I've lived and what my family does. ]]> 2021-10-25 20:56:45 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1842993283 gabrielachanen https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1843006857 As this is just the exploration process, I did not add stage directions as the monologue is not written but has been taken for a trial run. I also think it is interesting to let a performer interpret the words themselves and allow them to connect personally with the text in order to speak it as they think is appropriate and as they would. ]]> 2021-10-25 21:04:18 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielachanen/scrgdx2qdzgt8nlz/wish/1843006857