[BroadwayObssessed]

Ok, I've always auditioned for Youth theatre musicals and pretty much that process is "Sing your song (usually from the play), if they like your voice you'll read from the script for them, and then you'll learn a small dance. But now I'm thinking I want to try out for a bigger scale audition, but I have no idea what a monolog is... can someone please explain that to me?

Sorry if this is already a topic, I looked at the stickies at the top of this forum and I looked at the first 5 pages and I couldn't find anything.

[star2ballie]

[ConverseSneaker]

A monologue is a long speech that one character speaks on stage, Shakespeare tends to write lots of them in his shows.

[BroadwayObssessed]

I know it's like when a charactor is talking to themselves, but what do you do for auditions, do you memorize on and recite it at the auditions, and do they have to be a certain length?

(sorry for not being for specific in my first post)

[actor]

Most auditions will give you a time limit eg. 3 mins.

You just look for a good monologue from a play or musical, one that you think relates to the part you are auditioning for, and just memorise it. Plan what you are going to do. When to pause, how to express each line, facial expressions, body and hand movements etc.

[BroadwayObssessed]

oh, I see! thank you guys for the help!

[MaryMag]

Yup. You gotta memorize your monologue. And I would recommend using a monologue that's less than 60 seconds long. Even when the notice says 1 1/2 minutes or 2 minutes (and I have yet to see a notice that wants a monologue any longer than this), I still stick to a 45 second or 60 second monologue. Cuz there's other stuff in your auditioni that's gonna take up time - such as your introduction, the time it takes you to center yourself and get into character for the monologue, etc... so you gotta figure that time into your monologue cuz you don't want them to cut you off in the middle of your monologue if you're just getting to the good part!

And as I've said before, I've never had a casting director say, Oh geez! I really can't decide to call you back or not unlless I hear you act for another 30 seconds!

Their decision is usually made within the first 10 seconds, I think.

[music is my life!!!]

if you're looking for a short and snappy monologue that's fairly easy to learn (i learned it in a day) may i recommend (from midsummer night's dream) snug's monologue as the lion in the play within the pllay? it's so much fun to do and easy to learn.

[Musicalluver]

It is important to remember that a monologue is not just "a character talking to themselves" that would technically be a soliloquy( example Hamlet "to be or not to be...") What makes monologues so great is they are directed to somebody else. That means you can take a scene with two characters, cut out the other character's dialogue and you have a monologue. Be careful because this doesn't make sense in some cases, but in others it makes the monologue more dynamic.

-An example of cutting out another character's dialogue is in the Musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" There is a cute scene between Linus and Lucy where Lucy talks about how she wants to be a queen when she grows up. I just cut out Linu's dialogue and it makes for a good monologue. There are a few good comedic monologues in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.

Look in your local library or bookstore(such as Borders) for books that are filled with monologues.

Be careful to to use monologues that were just written as ...well...monologues. These tend to be told as stories and are not as engaging as monologues taken directly from plays.

good luck with your auditons!
: )

-Musicalluver

[MsDivaKate]

I have a wonderful book that not only explains monologues and why they are necessary but instructs you what to consider when selecting a monologue, what to consider before performing a monologue and even how to cut down a scene to create a monologue (such as the example of the scene with Linus and Lucy from YAGMCB).

Its: The Perfect Audition Monologue by Glenn Alterman.
I got it at Borders.

[Bianca.]

[Vice]

I personally love the Red Baron monolougue from YAGMCB.

[jazzygirlsings]