<p>I am wondering about audition choices for teen monologues. Many seem to involve sexual references, swearing, etc. Should these be avoided completely or are auditioners used to this material?</p>
<p>I had significant worries about this same question. The teachers at my D’s PA school assured me that audition committees are used to it- the BIGGER worry were roles that were not “realistic” for teens to be playing. (say a student wanted to do one of King Lear’s monologues etc) In the end, we worked to find compromise 1 of her two modern monologues had fairly mild swearing (the “s” word) and some sexuality (it was about a young wife having an affair) I will say, the ONLY time she was questioned during the audition process about material, it was about the age of the married character- not anything else. I know other kids did things (with full staff approval) that were far more graphic. Bottom line- Do what feels comfortable and authentic to you. </p>
<p>Seconding what @toowonderful said: as long as the material is age-appropriate to what your D could realistically play/pull off, and the profanity is neither excessive nor gratuitous, there shouldn’t be a problem in the audition room. Both of my S’ monos last year contained “bad words” – including one instance of the “f-word” – but they were in keeping with the character and the tone of the piece. In fact, one of the words (a synonym for “make love” but not the “f-word”) always produced a laugh from the auditors because it was so unexpected in the context of the mono, which was a rant about a breakup that veered from serious to comedic. (Sorry for the euphemisms but I don’t want to offend anyone here!)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the feedback. It makes me feel a lot better about the monologue my daughter has been working on!</p>
<p>I suggest students avoid the following:
-suicide
-rape
-mental illness
-stories about killing animals
-story monologues
-excessive swearing (if it sounds like a gangster rap song it is too much)
-and limit the sex talk (a reference or two is ok. Monologues about losing your virginity, having sex in the backseat of a car, or a detailed account of having sex are not ok. It’s just awkward for the panel, most students are 17-18 years old and we are 30+. There is a lot of other really good material out there that usually shows a better side of the student.)</p>
<p>Students need to read through plays and find sections where one character is talking directly to another and trying to get something specific from that person. If there are interjections here and there from the other character, cut them out and combine sentences to create a monologue. I think the ideal age range of the character is somewhere between 14 and 25 depending on the student. Sometimes that’s really hard to find in published material. If you are running into problems, try the book series Humana Festival (YEAR): The Complete Plays. Many of these are written by younger playwrights and have younger characters.</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>~VT</p>
<p>This thread was helpful, thanks! “Students need to read through plays”, clear and obvious advice but I am wondering about the logistics of this…how do students obtain a variety of plays to read and choose (aside from the one book mentioned above). Are there enough varieties of not-overused plays at libraries? Or do you have to just buy a bunch of plays (honestly I don’t even know how to do that) and start reading? There has to be a way to narrow down your selection before buying, right? This sounds so simple, and like a dumb question, but really, here in Ohio, I am not sure how easily to get my hands on a bunch of plays to start reading through and making a selection. Thank you!</p>
<p>This is where a coach etc can really be a help. The teacher my D worked with last year had a collection of contemporary monologues. (100s really) D chose 4 that she was interested in- then she got the plays (amazon, not expensive) and read those before narrowing it down to 2, one comic, one dramatic. </p>
<p>Classical monologues are easier- at least getting the material is easier. </p>
<p>Libraries DO sometimes have good selections of plays, or at least compilations you can look through for ideas. </p>
<p>@TS0104 we purchased a ton of plays from Amazon.</p>
<p>D found this to be a very time-consuming process. She researched playwrights and actors of her type, went through hundreds of plays at the main branch of our public library, her school’s Thespian library, asked every theatre professional she knew, ordered plays lots of plays from Amazon, read, read and kept reading…and, after almost a year of work, … she ended up using recommendations from a nationally-known audition coach who came up with lots of really great choices that were great fits for her type in a short period of time. D studied those plays (some of which were really hard to find), tested the monologues in front of everyone that would listen, and selected the ones that seemed to work best. Her PA school theatre teachers were really impressed with her final choices.</p>
<p>I agree with @toowonderful, classical monologues are easier to find, d ended up using one that she found (but it was no small amount of work to find it - classical, age-appropriate monologues that fit your type well do take some work). This one may have been easier because d has a special affinity for classical and period theatre (she also loves lots of contemporary theatre, but there is something about the combination of history and verbiage that really sparks her interest in classical works).</p>
<p>She found her audition coach to be a fantastic resource for contemporary plays, many of which only went through short-run print cycles - I felt like I was buying some of these off the back of a truck in a dark alley from a guy named “Vinnie.”</p>
<p>Our D’s audition coach selected her monologues also. I am sure we would have never known about these pieces had we not had her to guide us. But, having said that, another suggestion is to watch old recordings of YoungArts theater winners from the past several years. See if there are participants who are similar in type to you and if they did monologues that appeal to you. There are some great selections. It’s possible you may find song selections here as well.</p>
<p>The Drama Book Shop in NYC will ship anywhere in the US and internationally. They are a very sweet small business - a theater institution that has been there for actors since 1923. Don’t give Amazon the business! Drama Book Shop staff is great on the phone - very helpful and can get you most anything. dramabookshop dot com</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the advice on monologue “logistics!” This is very helpful and appreciated. Glad my D is starting early.</p>
<p>The “Humana Festival Complete Plays” series can be useful since the shows are often written by younger playwrights writing for younger characters. I also highly recommend a visit to the nearest university library (as long as the school has a theatre department). Most have a sizable collection of plays. You can sit down for a few hours and dig through hundreds of scripts and save a lot of time.</p>
<p>~VT</p>