At some point every actor has to come up with audition monologues. The first and most difficult challenge is finding them. It always takes longer than you think, so actors should be searching all the time for audition pieces. If you see a show that has a great monologue in it or hear about a great audition piece from a friend, get the script, read it, and put the monologue in a file. Then as you need them, you know where to find them.
If you don’t start looking for monologues until auditions are announced, you won’t have the time to prepare. You’ll go into the audition feeling unconfident, you’ll perform badly, and you won’t get the job. So start looking for monologues today.
Generally, you need two contrasting monologues, one classic and one contemporary. This allows the auditioners to see that you can handle classic and modern language. While choosing a comic and serious piece for contrast is the obvious choice, understand that the idea is to show them range. So the contrasting pieces might not be comedy and drama. They might both be from dramas. But the styles should be so different, the characters so different, and the intentions so different that people watching get a strong sense of your capabilities.
If the audition has a time limit, make sure that your entire presentation doesn’t go over that limit. If there is a time limit and you go over it, all they will remember about you is that you don’t know how to take directions.
Think of your audition as your show. It should be staged from beginning to end. Walk into the space, take control of the stage, and give it your all. Don’t worry about whether you are right for the part or whether the monologues are the right pieces. Don’t worry about anything. If you do a great show and aren’t right for any parts, someone is going to keep you in mind for some other role. If you entertain them, they will remember you.
Finally, remember that casting people want to find the right actors for the jobs they have. They want to cast you as much as you want to be cast. So go to library or bookstore, read scripts and start collecting both classic and contemporary monologues today. The better the monologues and the more you work on them, the better your auditions will be.
