Mitford

My daughter recently started taking acting classes. We love the teacher and D has learned a lot from her. However, this teacher is not accustomed to the college auditon process (this is a non-school related class). So, sometimes, she will say the opposite of things I read here on CC. For example, many of the monologues she has suggested for D are on the overdone list, causing much stress for my already pre-audition-cycle D.

Anyway, D had chosen a contemporary monologue she wanted to work on and was so excited to share it with said teacher. After reading it, teacher kind of dismissed it, saying it had "no objective or obstcles." D has no idea what this means. Can any of you shead any light on this? Is this criteria for ALL monologues? And BTW, having read the entire play myself, I identified the objective instantly. I'm not questiong this teacher's knowledge or talent, as D and I both adore her...we just are confused right now. Do we need to approach the monologue selection differently?

Separate question---D has finally chosen her classic monologue (Shakespeare), but we still don't know if it should be done in an accent or not? I searched the forum and it seems there isn't a definite answer...yes or no????? D can do it either way, however the only way she is interested in doing it is the RIGHT way! So do any of you know for sure???


Thanks!

soozievt

First, consider the acting class as a junior as good training and don't be too concerned with picking audition materials for next year! Right now, your D should explore and learn many monologues and songs and narrow it down in early fall of senior year and finalize at that time. No need to be picking the materials in any final way now.

Generally speaking, most advise to avoid accents at college auditions.

I think the acting teacher was trying to explain that the monologue itself needed to have an objective, and not just the overall play's objective. The monologue itself (standing alone from the play) needs to be dramatically active. There should be some variety in the monologue and then a clear climax or some "point" to the monologue. The monologue has to have an objective that the actor believes in and cares about. There should be some sort of goal that the actor performing the monologue has with respect to the other character in the scene. So, does the monologue your D picked meet that criteria? Can she articulate what her character wants in that monologue? What's the point of the monologue? What does the character care about within that monologue?

Lastly, if the acting teacher is suggesting overdone monologues, it is mostly due to it being an acting class and not meant to be picking out college audition material. The issue of overdone monologues only becomes a concern when auditioning, but not when simply training. So, your D could explain that she'd like to work on exploring possible monologues for college auditions and in that vein, to avoid overdone material as that is a consideration for college auditions.