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Step 1
Choose a monologue the casting people haven’t seen a million times. It’s hard to bring something new to a monologue that’s been performed over and over and agents and casting directors get tired of seeing them. This means staying away from the most popular monologues found in monologue books. It’s OK, and sometime preferable to choose one from a well-known play but try to avoid the major ones, such as Hamlet, Glass Menagerie, Tea & Sympathy and Chapter Two.
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Step 2
Pick a monologue that was written for your gender, age and type. Don't add the challenge of trying to create a persona that does not come naturally to you.
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Step 3
Find a monologue by reading the play in its entirety. Don’t just choose a monologue from a monologue book without being completely familiar with the play. Knowing the character’s background and circumstances are crucial to knowing how to play the character.
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Step 4
Unless told otherwise, choose a monologue that is one to two minutes long. More than two minutes is too much.
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Step 5
Pick a monologue from a play and not some other literary form. While there may be great monologues from novels, you will likely be auditioning for a play, television series or movie. These areas are all in the live performance arena, not the reading realm. Monologues from plays are designed for performance whereas monologues from novels or speeches are not.
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Step 6
Memorize the monologue. Don’t read it from the book when auditioning. The agent or casting director will wonder if you can memorize a whole part if you can’t even memorize a monologue.
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Step 7
Consider having a few monologues ready for different types of auditions. The well-prepared actor has a dramatic, comedic and classical monologue ready.
