Now that you understand the sense and meaning of your monologue, it’s time to think about the characters intentions. What is the character doing? What does the character want? Or as Declan Donnellan says, what does the character need? Since you can’t act a long convoluted answer, think carefully about what the character wants and decide on a simple yet interesting verb that clearly answers that question.
By knowing the objective, what it is you want, what you are fighting for, what it is you need (there are many ways to say the same thing) you insure that the character is doing something. That way you are pursuing a goal rather than just reciting words. Remember, words are action.
If the objective is the WHAT you want, then the character’s approach, strategy, or tactic for pursuing that objective is the HOW. It is the HOW, the strategy that begins to reveal the character and your particular approach to character.
Work your way through the monologue and determine the objective or objectives. If there is only one in the monologue, then determine where the character changes strategy or makes adjustments. If you don’t make changes, you run the risk of flattening the monologue out by doing the whole thing using one objective, one strategy, and one tone of voice.
When you do your monologue you have to make it clear that you are talking to someone and that you are also responding to that person’s reactions. To do that you should imagine what the other character is doing. How he or she is responding to what you are saying?
By noting these responses, you can decide how your character responds to them. This might lead you to new strategies or make you adjust what you are doing to continue your pursuit of the objective. If you don’t imagine what the person you are talking to is doing, you will always talk as if he or she is getting and accepting everything you are saying with no struggle, with no conflict.
Naturally, you have to be aware of the given circumstances, the relationship to the other person you are talking to, and your character’s attitude to all of these things. With those things clearly defined, you can put the monologue into the correct context and shape it to reflect that information. Again, this keeps you from flattening the monologue out and just reciting lines.
Remember, this is your audition. Directors, producers, and casting agents aren’t looking for a good piece of writing, they’re looking for an actor who can take a text and breathe life into it.
