JME1992

Hi

I had a question that I was hoping either parents or current students in BFA programs could share their insights and opinions on. In terms of choosing monologues for auditions, do you think it's better to choose a monologue from a play that is generally well known and that the auditors will undoubtedly recognize? I mean obviously we should choose work that we connect to and enjoy acting out, but would you stand out more to the auditors if you choose a well known character from a famous play? Or does it not really matter in the end?

JME1992

Also, do you recommend choosing a monologue from a monologue book (and then reading the whole play) or do you think it's better to choose a good play and then look for good monologues from that play?

glassharmonica

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've heard, it's the opposite. You're supposed to find a monologue (from a published play) that is not considered to be over-used. I'm still not sure how the auditor is supposed to know if you're reciting the correct text if the monologue is unfamiliar to him/her.

JakeRoku

The auditor doesnt care if they know the show or not. And generally they wont care if you get all the words right either. People edit parts out of monologues all the time. Something people dont want to see is a monologue that they are familiar with a very famous and talented person performing done by Student A. And the goal is never to please with the material, but with the delivery. It has to be honest, and the monologue really has to speak to you.
Show yourself in your audition. The auditors dont want to see a character that you can play, but they want to see who they will be working with, and how honestly you can perform.

NJTheatreMOM

JME1992, most plays don't have good monologues in them. That is why the search is so tough.

Monologues in monologue books tend to be overused, and of course some monologues in books are ones that are not actually from published plays.

The best thing to do, if you don't have a coach or other mentor to help you, is to search for plays with characters who are the correct sex, and also the correct type and approximate age range, and then read those plays and search for monologues.

As JakeRoku said, people edit parts out of monologues to get them to the right length, etc. One helpful trick is to find a DIALOGUE in which what the other character says is not that important and edit out the other character's lines. This is perfectly acceptable and is done a lot.

Pay attention to JakeRoku. He gives very good advice.

FLVADAD

Choose a monologue, whatever it is, or wherever it's from that helps reflect your best strengths.

Generally, unless you really have it nailed, it's probably best to avoid the most popular monologues since everyone has seen them a million times. Instead of just focusing on you they may be sitting there comparing you to their favorite interpretation done by someone else. You really don't want that.

mommusic

^Right. Or they will be judging your imitation of the famous person, and not YOU in the part.

mommafrog

Avoid trying to shock with language or subject matter. Yes, they know those words, but they don't necessarily want to be blasted by them. Remember, you've only got about a minute to make a lasting impression -- so consider the emotional impact (and believability) of the piece(s) you will be using. Make sure the auditors can see you in the words you say -- this is not the time to do that funny mid-life crisis monologue if you're 18!

Some schools post a "do not use" list (this is more common with songs for musical theatre auditions, but you may sometimes see it for plays). Some also give pretty strict guidelines about what they (generally) want to see -- eras, Shakespeare yes or no, etc. Read carefully each school's audition rules, and follow them!! If there is a time limit given. be aware there may be a stopwatch in the room...and they WILL stop you, midword, if you get to the end of the time.

Be confident, be prepared, but be yourself...and have fun. After all, an audition is a performance. The auditors want you to be amazing! Enjoy, and break a leg!

popcharlie93

Yeah, it's generally best to find more obscure monologues. Like an earlier post said, they will simply compare you to the famous actor doing the monologue or a better actor who might have done it at an earlier audition. They might also be a bit tired of seeing the same piece. Surely, the judges roll their eyes every time someone chooses Wicked for a musical piece.
Additionally, when I present judges uncommon plays, they usually smile. I think they find you to be more well-rounded and versed in your theatre studies, you're not just someone who picked up The Crucible or The Glass Menagerie.

Good luck with your audition!

gibby

Google "overdone monologues" and you will find lists of famous speeches and songs to avoid. You can also find the same thing on facebook.

The reason you want to avoid famous speeches is because professional auditors have seen these monologues so many times that they can practically repeat them verbatim.

NJTheatreMOM

Wow, gibby, that was a terrific suggestion about googling "overdone monologues." Seems obvious when you think about it, but it never actually occurred to my son, so far as I know. Doing so brings up some great results.

A quote from one site:

"A true artist wants to find the best material – is interested, just plain old interested. And that I can tell right away. If an actor comes in with a new piece from a great, hot playwright that not a lot of people know – I'm extra aware of that person – I'm interested in what they're about.”

Olipond

IMO: And to answer your question: NO. Find something unique, or better yet, write your OWN! (When I was young, I used a favorite passage from a book)

Mother of GG

Agree here with NJ Mom, ( I hear your son is directing my daughter in December...) She used a lesser known piece that her Forensics coach had discovered and it allowed her to show off her "brainyness" when they asked her questions about it... That is her, not everyone is brainy or has a coach...The bottomline would be show effort, show passion, show enthusiasm. When a newer piece is used that is clear without shouting it out...

JME1992

Thank you everyone for your great replies!! They are so helpful! I was thinking that the more unique/not overdone the better but I spoke to one of my drama teachers the day before I posted and he told me to choose extremely well known ones so they'll be able to compare you :/ I have a few other drama teachers and to be honest I'm not really going to be looking for advice from him anymore....Thank you all so much for your replies!

I have another couple of questions :

First, regarding what another post in this thread said, are we allowed to write our own monologues? I always thought we had to choose some from real published plays....

Second, in terms of having to do a song at an audition, does the piece of music have to be from a play or can it just be any song?

Thank you all so much!

NJTheatreMOM

JME1992, you need to check each college's requirements very carefully. Almost all of them require a monologue from a published play for the college audition.

As far as a song requirement at an ACTING audition, it can be any song. They just want to hear the timbre of your singing voice. In the case of an untrained speaking voice, the singing voice can give an indication of what the speaking voice is capable of. That part of the audition (at the few schools that require a song) is nothing to worry about; just, as always, let your personality show through.

(Of course, choosing a song for an MT audition is completely different....there are huge long threads in the MT forum that discuss the subject at great length.)

Mother of GG -- yes, your daughter was my son's first choice for his one-act in the Director's Project! Interestingly, he was cast as a child in another student's one-act.....the second time this semester he's been cast as a child! At least your D gets to play a mom, lol.