<p>Well, yes, if you really don’t have the time.</p>
<p>But a professional stage actor has a large number of monologues they can do for audition, like 7 or 10. One website I know recommends 20!</p>
<p>If a school really does say they “prefer Shakespeare” then they are expecting to hear something they have heard a million times before. This certainly makes it easier to compare individuals.</p>
<p>For example, Central School in London has a list of Shakespearean monologues they want applicants to choose from.</p>
<p>But if it doesn’t say something like that, the “default” is to assume that the auditors would prefer NOT to hear something they are sick of.</p>
<p>The best plan is to choose a monologue from the Central list, for Central and all the schools that prefer Shakespeare, and then prepare something from a different “Classical” author for the others. And MAKE the time to do this.</p>
<p>Also, although I suppose it happens more at professional auditions then college admissions auditions, you might be asked “Do you have another monologue you can do for us?”. Having some backups is therefore a good idea.</p>
<p>Your points are excellent. It depends on the situation. I wish my D had had more monologues, for those reasons, but I wasn’t the one auditioning.</p>
<p>I don’t remember all of the exact requirements, but I believe most of her 6 schools simply wanted “contrasting” monologues, a couple maybe wanted classical, and at least one of those preferred Shakespeare. She had other contrasting monologues than the Shakespeare, for the schools that were OK with two contemporary pieces. </p>
<p>While we’re kind of off topic, I’ll also say that it’s frustrating that schools often want very old classical pieces, or very recent contemporary ones. My D found many made her very unsure about using Shaw, or Wilde, or anything from about 1800-1960. That was a shame, because obviously there is a ton of material in that century and a half, and really much of it was what she was familiar with and suited to.</p>
<p>Now that she’s in college, of course she’s developing a skyrocketing appreciation and understanding of a broader range of plays, particularly contemporary ones. I guess that’s just the irony of life, or at least of this process. Sometimes, though, I wish theatre auditions were like music ones - everyone’s heard the music pieces before, but all they care about is the interpretation. And they are very clear about what they want to hear.</p>
<p>off topic, but don’t be too hasty as pigeon-holing cressida as evil! there have been plenty of well known productions that have shown her to be a victim of her circumstances–that she does what she must to survive once she enters greece as a trojan woman. to agree to be diomedes’ lover to possibly avoid being raped by any of the other greeks. and troilus practically pushes her to be unfaithful by so aggressively accusing her of doing it before the chance even presents itself.</p>