This week I will be auditioning for a number of schools in New York! I’ll be doing NYU, DePaul, Point Park, Emerson, Hartt, and Rutgers. I was just wondering if anyone has done these auditions before and knows how each school is about their timing on monologues. So far my schools have been lenient but I know DePaul asks for one monologue two minutes and under and mine runs at around 2:03. Point park and Hartt ask for two one minute monologues which mine can run a few seconds over as well. Does anyone know how strict these schools are on that and if a few seconds will matter?? I would also just love to hear about the auditions in general!
I don’t think a couple of seconds will make much difference, but I’d still try to be under rather than over. Isn’t there a sentence you can cut somewhere?
Agreed. I seems worth it to cut a sentence or two to be sure that you are following the rules. Many schools have some flexibility (esp where it is a matter of seconds) but those that are strict are REALLY strict.
I’m by no means recommending this, but just sharing my experience…all of my monologues were a little over 2 minutes last year. I used the same cuts for every school. I was never cut off. I auditioned for most of the schools on your list.
CMU says one minute each. Are they strict?
If a program asks for the monologue to be under a certain time, and you go over, you are sending a message that you cannot follow simple directions. Which is not a message you want to send, especially as an aspiring actor. Just because they don’t cut you off, doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. They have strict time limits because they are seeing many people each day and want to give each person their fair time, and keep on schedule. It’s inconsiderate to disregard their request.
I would never advise going over. Cut a line or two instead. You may think the monologue cannot be cut. It can. They will be able to see what they want in the first 30 seconds anyway. Good luck.
I auditioned for CMU on Thursday and ended up doing four monologues, all about a minute and a half. They’re definitely not strict.
I agree with @connections -just because they don’t cut you off doesn’t mean they approve of you going over. Following simple directions is part of the audition. I would never recommend going over the stated time limit.
I think that if CMU asks you for additional monologues, you should not worry about how long they are. Your first two , though, should fit the guidelines for all the reasons @connections mentioned. If they’re asking you for more, they’ve already decided they want to spend more time with you.
Marymount stopped my son. We think they started timing when he looked down, rather than when he looked up. This monologue has never gone over. But they were nice about it–didn’t feel like it affected the audition but who knows.
I have an opposite question about monologue times. Let’s say a school says “monologue of two minutes.” If you did a one-minute monologue, would they penalize you for being too short? We know they don’t want you to go over, but what about going under?
No, they can tell if they want you in 10 seconds.
Thanks! So if some schools on the list ask for a one-minute monologue, some ask for a 90-second monologue, and some ask for a two-minute monologue…it would be acceptable to use the same one-minute monologue for all three?
I ask because my daughter is a junior and is currently picking out monologues for next year. It would be great if she didn’t have to have three separate sets of monologues or three separate cuts of the same monologues. (I joked to her that for the two-minute schools, she could always use a one-minute monologue and say it…very…slowly… LOL)
@actorparent - no matter what you are going to need a variety of monologues. Some schools want a classical, some want modern, some longer, some shorter.
We had to do 2 different cuts of each piece–2 of our schools even wanted 30-45 second pieces. Sometimes, if it makes sense within a piece, you can simply stop earlier or start later.
@toowonderful, yes, she knows she needs both classical and contemporary monologues as well as contrasting ones for both. I’m just wondering if she needs three different “cuts” of each monologue for timing purposes, or if it’s acceptable to use a shorter monologue than what’s asked for.
@remartin67, I like the idea of stopping earlier or starting later! That’s definitely much easier than trying to find lines in the middle to cut, and then having to REMEMBER which lines to cut when performing the monologue for different schools (which is what I was concerned about).
Way too late for this year, but anyone prepping for next year… Don’t worry if you’re a little over. If you’re good enough that they would consider you, they won’t care about the time. If you aren’t what they are looking for, following directions well won’t help you.
@SRWard - I would be careful with that advice, in fact I disagree with it … there are schools (Michigan leaps to mind) who are real sticklers for rules… I have read here that they won’t even watch the prescreen if the time is over… their logic being if you cannot follow instructions that says something about your teachability and respect.
@SRWard, I have to respectfully disagree. I don’t think anyone can know that the auditors ‘won’t care about the time.’
The process is not cut-and-dry; there is not a single ‘good enough’ talent they’re looking for. It is a complex process. They are looking for multiple qualities.
But one of the qualities they will look for is your ability to take direction and follow instruction. You do not advertise yourself well if you can’t even follow their simple instructions of following a time limit. By “not caring” about following directions, you are essentially saying that your time is more important than all the other auditioners’ times. The auditors run a very tight, exhausting schedule, and if everyone decided to “not care about the time” then their schedule would be impossible.
Sure, it’s possible they won’t care. And I’m not talking about a few inadvertent seconds. But I certainly would worry about being ‘a little over.’ Why on earth would you risk it? The process is very competitive. All things being equal, why would they choose someone who can’t follow directions and is inconsiderate to others?
Well, agree to disagree. If they ask for two and you give them three, some people might be annoyed. Some might not. Art trumps rules most of the time. My son just did all the major programs and confirms there was no evidence at all that anyone was watching the time to see if he was 10 seconds over. But to each his own.