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Last updated 9/16/06
Finding The Right Monologue
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What Is A Monologue?

Monologues are usually drawn from scripts of however many characters may be part of the scene, but in which you the person auditioning through the monologue is the only one talking at the time, while they are listening. Your chosen monologue is not from the production you are auditioning for, and so it may represent a rare moment in acting when you supply your own direction. Monologues have certain characteristics and rules of thumb that make them suitable for use:

• A monologue should have a beginning, middle and end, and that may require joining dialogue that has been separated in whatever work is being used by the dialogue of other characters or even stage direction. The idea is to come up with a short, stand-alone playlet.
• Good monologues happen when a character speaks directly to another character. Monologues in which the actor speaks to the audience can also be used, but their is a danger that the piece might appear to be a stand-up comedy routine or sermon, which might not translate into a test of acting capability.
• Learn the best points within the monologue to apply intensity, since monologues that start at an emotional high point set a certain challenge for the duration of the monologue (and so should probably be avoided), as well as monologues that remain on the same emotional level for the duration.
• Just like in a regular length production, understand the given circumstances of what you will be performing. What is the character’s immediate goal within this playlet? Obstacles, which can be people, disabilities, psychological, etc., are a key to revealing what a character is doing. What year, what country, what strata of society does the character occupy? The given circumstances of the play can help determine the carriage of the character during monologue performance, as well as the amount of movement and pace of delivery.
• Identify the relationships the character has and how the character relates to the other characters in the world of the playlet.

At the Audition

When you are being seen by auditors, you want to show as much of your ability as possible. Simply telling a story prevents this from happening and does not allow you to work with your full strengths as an actor. By choosing material that consists of events that are current if not immediate within the playlet you can create a sense of urgency, or the character’s need to communicate to communicate right away to the other character(s) in the scene, and this can help to demonstrate acting range.

Plays usually are the best source for monologues. It is also possible to find material from novels, nonfiction, articles, poems, and songs. But primary to keep in mind in the selection process is that the material must have a built-in relationship complete with needs and conflicts in the dialogue. There might not be a problem coming across such material in novels, but nonfiction, articles, poems, and songs do not usually contain conversation between two people. The piece should play for one to two minutes, and of course it’s always to have several monologues on hand.

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