Choosing a monologue

By kirsty harragan - 10/01/2020

Choosing a monologue

You may be required to perform a monologue of your choice during your audition. You must prepare your monologue and practise it before your audition day. But firstly, you must decide on a monologue; this can be a hard decision and you want to pick a piece you can perform to your best abilities and impress the panel! Use these tips to help you in deciding which monologue you should perform:

It should be entertaining: No one wants to watch a performance that’s boring or has been performed 100 times. Choose a piece that you love to perform so the judges will love watching you perform it. To be successful, you need to stay within their attention span.

Read the whole play: You need an understanding of the play so you can properly get into the character’s shoes. You may also be asked questions, such as why you picked that monologue, so make sure you know it back to front.

Leave the accent: The judges want to hear your real voice so there is no need to put on an accent in the hope it will help you to stand out. It just distracts the judges from your performance as they are focused on accent maintenance.

Consider length: You don’t want your monologue to be too long as the judges will get bored. Follow the 2-minute rule and make it no longer than this (unless requested otherwise). The first 30 seconds will be important to hook them in and keep them wanting more so make it good!

Choose a piece that reflects you: First impressions matter and the panel will want to find out about you as a person. Show them who you are through the monologue you choose and consider choosing a piece that’s performed by someone a similar age to you.

Include a shift in emotions: You want to show your acting skills so make sure the monologue you choose shows a shift in emotions rather than just one. This allows you to show off your talent and make your performance more interesting.

Think about the audience: Think about who you are performing for and what style they like when deciding on a monologue. Match the role with your monologue so the panel can imagine you in the role.

Research: Go to the theatre, read scripts and do your research. Find out what monologue is best to represent you. Try and find a monologue that is well-enough known for the panel to know the back story, but not over-performed.

Practise: You need to know your monologue inside out so you can perform it confidently. If you are unsure of what any of the words mean, learn the meanings. If you mess up, you must be able to continue without needing to start again.

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