Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Pieces from the Past

I do not know about your grade school but in mine we were asked to memorize several declamation pieces and recite them in class. I had my third grade in Saudi Arabia where declamation pieces were unheard of so what my mom did was to ask me to memorize a piece and recite it at home. Without an audience but my mom and my brother, I was made to recite a declamation piece over and over again. Fragments of this piece haunts me to this day....

"... and I danced and danced with my handsome Romeo"

Almost all pieces involved a dying parent or a dying self. I believe this is to force the kids to shed tears without contorting their faces to unimaginable proportions, crying and trying to remember the next line.

In the piece I memorized when I was in third grade, the mother died because she got a glass of water that the daughter refused to give her. The daughter went off to dance with her handsome Romeo. Upon getting home she then cries, "MOTHER!!!". Most declamation pieces will have this line.

Because of the gulf war, I had to go back to my previous school and declamation pieces were abound. Each student in my English class was forced to memorize a piece and recite in class. AFter a while, I had all pieces memorized by heart. While the other kids doing their chores at home sing, I recite declamation pieces, with feelings mind you. Perhaps because of so much practice, I got better and I was selected for the level eliminations. Perhaps due to so much practice, I got eliminated. I knew the pieces too well... I was speaking too fast. This is still my problem up to this very day. :)

The classic pieces way back are:


A Birthday Gift
This piece is about a litte girl wanting to a doll from her dad. Her dad was away and all day she waited for her present. Finally, a big box arrived. She was jumping for joy but she got very confused when her mom started to cry real hard. Though confused, she still excitedly peeked at the big gift box her dad gave her. She cried "DADDY!" (I warned you, most declamation pieces will have this line). Her dad died in the war and the box was really a coffin containing the cold dead body of her dad.

Please Smile
This one starts with "I can still vividly remember. It was three months ago. Yes. Three months ago when I visited Dr. Castro and she told me I had three months to live. Three months. " The words three months are repeated for three million times in this piece. The finale is the winning part for most of the students where the student has to laugh and cry at the same time as she realizes that she is dying. This piece is really crazy!

Oh Captain, My Captain
This piece is only for those who are unable to memorize anything longer. This is only meant for first graders. Horrible piece for those who cannot recite poems without sounding like Little Miss Philippines contestants. Arg!!!

Vendetta
This is one of the most beautiful pieces I have heard. Perhaps because, it does not involve mourning but vengeance. Instead, of the protagonist dying slowly, the protagonist avenges herself by killing her parents and other relatives who have mocked her all her life because of her ugly face. Throughout the piece, she was being haunted by her conscience. "Vendehttah... Vendehttah.... " like haunting voices and this is the part where the girl starts to act tormented. Hehe... I did this piece in my Forensics club in high school.

Last Christmas
This piece is the most twisted piece I have ever heard. Normally, the student would wear a pair of pajamas for this piece. I forgot the whole story but the highlight is that there is this girl who keeps on throwing the knife on the door and then gets the knife back. Throws it and gets it back. Throws it and wham... it hits her mom! And then this is the part where the girl cries hysterically because she realizes that her mom is drenched in blood already!

Twisted and disturbing. I was in kindergarten when I first saw this piece performed on stage. I am forever scarred. :)

There are more declamation pieces but these are all I care to write right now.

Maybe if nostalgia hits me again, I will have more to write.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

these are really interesting pieces which i would really enjoy performing. .if by any chance you have found these pieces, let me know^^ jani_kitt@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

please if u've found any copies of "last christmas", "vendetta", "please smile" or "a birthday gift"(any of the four)...can u pls e-mail it to me..please i need it....^^
emorocks_macky2008@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I love to have the copies of " Last Christmas", "please smile", " a birthday gift", "vendetta". Please send me a of these pieces. I really need it. (jovitagatok@yahoo.com)

Anonymous said...

hi! please if you have found any copies of "last christmas", "vendetta", "please smile" or "a birthday gift"...can u pls e-mail it to me. Thank you. here is my email add jen_lee_24@yahoo.com
God bless you...........

Anonymous said...

pls nman po declamation about a glass of water oh..klangan lang po nmin eh..tnx po..

Anonymous said...

what a nice piece.. i remember my hs days

Anonymous said...

uhmm do u happen to have a copy of vendetta ? if yes.and if its not too mch trouble :D can u please send it to me? distressedmaiden_ise@yahoo.com? please and thank you! :D

Anonymous said...

can you please send me a piece of "vendeta", "please smile" and "birthday gift" please! thank you.
send it to me endless_just@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

please give me a copy of all the declamation pieces you've mentioned..thanx a lot.kindly send in my email add shiezr_15@yahoo.com

shiena said...

please give me a copy of all the declamation pieces you've mentioned.
kindly send to shiezr_15@yahoo.com
thank you

Anonymous said...

Hi can you send those declamation pieces to me too?

Anonymous said...

Hi, if you won't mind can you please help me to find an english declation for my daughter.. she is sophomore student... just send it to tajoy2@yahoo.com. Thank you

Anonymous said...

will you please post the copies here...i love to have them

Anonymous said...

hope to see the declamations here

Anonymous said...

my Please Smile n po b? pasend po sa khrister_07@yahoo.com tnx po

Anonymous said...

....i just want to have a copy of"birthday gift" and "vendetta"...

pls.... as soon as possible....i need it....

m.salvino@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

could i have a copy of a birthday gift i really want to hear it! it sounds beautiful.... please send it to me quincherville@yahoo.com
tnx ....

Anonymous said...

...i love your piece..hehehe,,,kip up da good work.

Anonymous said...

where can we find the piece of "please smile"...????

bianx said...

do u have the copy of last christmas or a birthday gift ?? :)
send it to misz.bianca@rocketmail.com

tnx a lot !!

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Anonymous said...

please give me a copy of "please smile" / "a birthday gift" / "vendetta" / "last christmas" any of the four but i preffer "please smile" most..im begging you all i need it now or even tom. please please can someone give me??? :[
you can email me: Kezia_14@yahoo.com
please im begging all of you, i really need it. T_T
thank you for the very good person who will give me the copy: you are an angel from heaven..hihi..
:|
tnx,, & PLEASE?!

Anonymous said...

I have been searching google for the declamation piece,Please Smile. It was my winning piece when I was in grade school and HS. Thing is I forgot already. LOL..that was a looonnng time ago. I need a monologue for an audition here in the states. Do you have a copy?

Anonymous said...

Oooppppsss...here's my e-mail address: billcristina@yahoo.com
Thanks!!!

That piece was unbeatable. If you can execute it properly. Everybody in the room cried everytime I performed that piece. :)

Czarisse Oquias said...

hi umm im a 2nd year HS student and i was wondering if u could give me a copy of the birthday gift and please smile? its really needed.? so please.? my email is czarisseoquias15@yahoo.com so you would be really a heaven-sent blessing if you can, thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

your choice of pieces are really interesting. if it's not a problem to you, can i ask for a copy of these pieces: birthday gift, please smile, vendetta and last christmas. my email is: purplesandstone_08@yahoo.com. i'd be forever grateful. :)) thanks!

Unknown said...

cant you please email to me the copy of last christmas , please smile and a birthday gift !!.. please i really need it thank you ! heres my email cjoi_guingab@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

where can i find PLEASE SMILE.. pls pls pls... i badly need it

Lexi.Chui said...

Hello Guys ! Can you please email to me, the Declamation piece copy of Vendetta , Please Smile and A birthday Gift , Thankss . just email me at lexi_lubss@yahoo.com , thankss again i really need it so much, please email me as soon as possible .. thank you very much :D

Lexi.Chui said...

Hello Guys ! Can you please email to me, the Declamation piece copy of Vendetta , Please Smile and A birthday Gift , Thankss . just email me at lexi_lubss@yahoo.com , thankss again i really need it so much, please email me as soon as possible .. thank you very much :D

Anonymous said...

Hi. Can you send me a copy of Please Smile and Last Christmas. Urgent lang po. :) Thanks.

Glydel_14@yahoo.com

WorldAtMyFeet said...

Please send to me those pieces. Pleaaaase, I really need it. kayelorr_39@yahoo.com

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Anonymous said...

These are wonderful examples. Thank you for sharing. Please post copies of 'Please Smile', 'Vendetta', and 'Birthday Gift' to me for they are very interesting. Please. Thanks.