Types of Theatrical Monologues

Video Transcript

"Good day. I'm Dr. Charles Grimes, and I'm speaking today on behalf of Expert Village about finding a theatrical monologue for use in auditions. As an actor, you should always know what kind of play you're auditioning for. You may have a set of three or four monologues that you do, but you need to offer something about your own commitment to this process by investigating what is this play that you're auditioning for, and realizing what kind of things that will be expected of you as an actor if you do in fact get the part. So do some research on your own, and look at plays and investigate the kind of play you're auditioning for. Is it a tragedy? Is it a comedy? Is it a satire? A comedy of manners? Is it a theatre of the absurd? Even look at some pictures so that you can know what this play might look like and what kind of people they're looking for. Here's an example. We have a Brecht Ian Theatre, Pullocal Theatre, and look at how much energy the actors have in their bodies, and how frontal they are to the audience. That's the kind of play you're going to be in if you're auditioning for that play. Know it and share the artistic vision that this company or this director is trying to work on. You might also see that you're doing a tragedy, and here your face will be covered in a mask in which case, your voice work must be excellent so that you can be heard through the mask. These are all good things that you know. The director may tell you about them during the audition process, but if you know already what he's going to tell you about the play, then you've put yourself one cut above everyone else there in the audition. And you've shown yourself as being a person committed to doing this job and getting this job."