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Advice for choosing a monologue – what not to pick
When you have to audition for drama school you are asked to choose an audition monologue, a speech which will show off both your acting ability and potential to a panel. It can be overwhelming when it comes to choosing a speech, there are so many out there, so many to choose from and what you choose can make the difference between you getting a recall or not. The stakes are high!
It’s important to note that since drama school I have only ever been asked to prepare a monologue for one audition in twenty years working as a professional actor. So, believe me when I say, your monologue picking days will soon be behind you!
Here are some of my guidelines on what not to pick!
Choosing a Monologue – an Actor Hub Guide
Remember a panel wants to see your potential. They are not looking for the finished product, they want an actor who they can work with and develop. Follow these tips on what not to choose and you should be on the right path.
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PopularityDon’t choose a monologue based purely on it’s popularity. This is a sure sign to a panel that you haven’t put a lot of thought into your choice.If you do a popular speech you are going to be compared to anyone who has done that speech before. More often than not you will be compared to one of the greats who delivered that speech and made it a popular one in the first place.Look for something unusual which touches you and will show off your strength, skills and potential.
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PropsAvoid a speech which involves lots of ‘prop’ work!If a speech has some absolutely essential prop business then mime briefly what you have to but let go of the rest.Nothing looks more amateur than an actor wandering about miming a telephone or martini glass! The panel will be distracted and you will be remembered as the actor with the pretend telephone rather than the actor who did that great speech on ‘…..’.
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Anger and AngstSo many young actors confuse good acting and emoting with shouting and screaming. Quieter and gentler speeches I always think show off your potential loads more than a lot of anger.A panel wants to see how you talk, they are interested in subtle emotion not how loud you can shout!Angsty speeches might seem interesting to you now but they are overdone and you could just come across as a bit of a shouty, sulky teenager!
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MovementsI always prefer a monologue which isn’t overly blocked and for this purpose I believe in choosing a speech which doesn’t require excessive movement.Choose a speech which you can do with minimal movements.I am not saying you need to ‘just stand there and deliver’, choose some small meaningful movements which can punctuate your speech, don’t move for the sake of moving. A panel wants to be able to see and hear you, not watch you running about.
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Keep it within the time slotThis is vital!Time your speech and make sure it fits in the time slot you have been asked for. Don’t waste their time with a longer speech, the worse thing to happen will be if you are asked to stop.I would always go for less time than they are asking for, it is likely that an opinion will have been formed within thirty seconds of your performance.
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AccentsDon’t choose a speech which is delivered in a dialect other than your own.Use your own voice, a drama school panel wants to know who you are and what they will have to work with.They don’t want to hear your version of a Scottish accent or US accent, without working with a vocal coach it is likely that you will not be delivering a perfect accent and it will end up distracting from your performance.
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Age AppropriateA panel wants to see you acting honestly.If you start acting older or younger than you are then your performance will probably become very gimmicky and disguise your potential which is what the panel wants to see.In school productions you have most probably been asked to play an older role, and maybe you did it brilliantly but in the professional world it is unlikely that you will be cast outside of your bracket.Show the panel you know who you are and where you will fit in the professional world.
If you have a speech which works or worked for you let us know using the form below.
Actor Hub Five Questions – Drama School Auditions
Help others by sharing your advice, knowledge and tips on drama school audtions. We all know how scary auditioning for drama school can be, what monologue should you prepare, what songs should you sing, what will they ask you to do?
Would you like to tell people auditioning today what happened when you auditioned? What were you asked to do? What speech did you do?
We at Actor Hub believe that sharing your advice and tips is great for your soul. As the Dalai Lama puts it “Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”, or if you prefer, in the words of Snoop Dogg “It ain’t no fun if the homies can’t have none.”
Send us your recollections and advice* and we will publish it and share it with students heading off to their first drama school auditions.
*Fill in some or all of the questions. If you would prefer to be anonymous please let us know in brackets after your name. If you would like us to email you when your thoughts go online, and to add yourself to the actorhub mailing list (we never hound you!), please include an email address.
Would you like to tell people auditioning today what happened when you auditioned? What were you asked to do? What speech did you do?
We at Actor Hub believe that sharing your advice and tips is great for your soul. As the Dalai Lama puts it “Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”, or if you prefer, in the words of Snoop Dogg “It ain’t no fun if the homies can’t have none.”
Send us your recollections and advice* and we will publish it and share it with students heading off to their first drama school auditions.
*Fill in some or all of the questions. If you would prefer to be anonymous please let us know in brackets after your name. If you would like us to email you when your thoughts go online, and to add yourself to the actorhub mailing list (we never hound you!), please include an email address.
Actor Hub’s Recommended Audition Monologues
If you want to suggest a monologue for these lists or ask about our choices get in touch with me via Twitter
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Choosing a monologue for an audition? Here are the Actor Hub picks of the best men’s classical and Shakespearean monologues.
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The Actor Hub list of classical and Shakespearean audition monologues for females for drama school auditions and theatre castings.
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Auditioning for drama school? Here are our favourite ‘modern’ audition monologues for females
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Our picks for drama school auditions – modern male monologues. Keep checking back as we constantly update this list.