Choosing monologues for an audition can often times be more stressful than the audition itself. Here are some guidelines to consider when choosing a monologue:

1. Choose your monologue well ahead of time. If you are asked to do more than one monologue, find a contrast! Remember, contrast can be shown in age range, style, genre, tone, energy, and time period. Don't feel like contrast means strictly drama vs. comedy.

2. Time your piece(s)! If you prepare a brilliant two and a half minute monologue but the audition notice said "two minutes", your audition will be cut short, you could appear unprepared, and your shot at making a good impression could be jeopardized.

3. No narratives. No STORIES. Just because a character has a long chunk of text that doesn't mean it's a good monologue.

Look for pieces where the character is directly trying to interact with another character. They're out there; keep searching!

4. If you have to splice lines together, keep the thought intact! If your monologue consists of many different lines from a scene, you don't have to add in pauses where the other character's lines would be. Just plow through! Keep the thought intact! Find different inflections to help convey that you "heard" the other character, but don't waste any of your precious time in front of directors waiting for a scene partner that isn't there in the first place.

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Author Resource BoxLife long student of the stage. Writer, director, actor in film and theatre.Read Cherie Julander Profile