How to Choose an Audition Monologue

When auditioning, if you aren't engaged in cold reads or specific scripts, you are generally going to perform a pre-selected monologue. Monologues are long speeches performed by one character and are designed to show ranges of emotion. Choosing the right one to purvey your specific talents can be a tad difficult, since not every long speech is created equally. Here are some tips to aid in your selection.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Do not automatically search for monologues that allow you the opportunity to yell or get angry. Though this may seem sexy, subtlety is an important acting characteristic as well.

2. Think of plays or performances that spoke to you. It could be Forrest Gump's monologue to his deceased wife's grave, or Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet going insane. Anything you have seen that really captivated you already has the potential to captivate others.

3. Once the search is narrowed down, read through your choices.This is a key step most people skip, which can hurt them. Quite simply, some struggle with certain words or phrases and choosing a monologue that amplifies these struggles is not beneficial.

4. Read the monologue out loud with no inflection whatsoever, just to get accustomed to speaking it. Repeat this with the other choices before arriving at the final option.

5. Once your choice has been made, read the entire play or script. How else will you know the context in which your monologue is being delivered?

6. Re-read your specific monologue, this time marking down notes from the context of the play as well as your own acting/inflectionary notes.

7. Be active. Don't stand still and recite words. If an acting agent or casting director is willing to directly take the audition, engage him and make him feel as if he is in the scene.