<p>I understand why asking what people did fo ran audition doesn't make sense but I was wondering HOW people found their material. I'm going nuts trying to find stuff. I've been to the library looking though scripts and anthologies and I'ce been to barnes and nobles trying to find stuff but I can't find any material that I really think works for me. Is doing stuff from shows you've been in kind of a no no or is that ok? Did most of you find the monologues you did just by looking and looking or was it material you had done or seen done? I have my songs ready good to go but I can't find any monologues I really like fore the life of me.
Another quick question is that they don't want the characters you portray to be too different from you so obviuosely something like Tevya (sp?) from "Fiddler on the Roof" would be a bad choice but is someone like Murray from "A Thousand Clowns" still pushing it? How do you know when the character you're thinking of doing in you monologue is too different.
Any kind of advice or words of wisdom on the matter would be cery helpful. Thanks!</p>
<p>just keep sitting in those libraries and bookstores and reading. once you find something that might work, photocopy it...if you want to use it, read the play</p>
<p>i think doing something from a show you've been in is kind of a nono, but if it shows you off amazingly, then it might be right to do it.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding. At least I know now that there isn't some really simple way to do it that I'm completely missing. I'll just keep plugging away.</p>
<p>yup, you're doing the right thing =)</p>
<p>I made an appointment with CoachC!! Haha yes its true, OUR CoachC. I worked with her and her accompanist in NYC and they picked out some great material and gave me a fun little acting lesson. Another way to find material is to listen to random CDs of different shows you have never heard of. Listen breifly to each one and write down songs that catch your ear. You may discover the one song that will put you on a whole different level audition wise. Good luck!</p>
<p>start with what you like, and then find more of what those composers/authors have written.</p>
<p>Hi, We are not far from NYC and I'm wondering if you could tell me how to reach Coach C?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>You can private message coachc or e-mail her from her name on this site. Good Luck!</p>
<p>AppleGate:</p>
<p>Don't worry....You have the same problem every other actor in the world has... finding good monologues that work for you will be a thorn in your side for a long time. Join the club, and don't be so frustrated. </p>
<p>It sounds like you are doing all the right things... reading lots of plays, going to the library,looking through bookstores, watching plays. I've read a million plays over the course of my life and still have to search for monologues.</p>
<p>Here's something that works for me sometimes...Sometimes you can find great monologues by piecing together lines from a two characters that are engaged in dialogue.... taking the other character's lines out, and creating a monologue... This can be tricky, but can bear great fruit. It can be that monologue that the auditioners haven't heard, that you might be looking for....</p>
<p>My thinking about finding obscure monologues just for the sake of them being obscure is different than many coaches/teachers. I have sat at auditions and watched student after student come in one after the other. What I want to see, and what I look for, is someone who is connected to what they are saying, someone communicating thoughts and emotions, someone who is making strong choices and is committed to them, and someone who is taking chances/risks. Also, someone that has chosen something that is simple and unencumbered by too much going on... both emotionally and physically</p>
<p>There are lots of lists of overdone monologues, and probably most of them are indeed overdone....but ten people can come in a row and do the same monologue and I can be engrossed in all ten of them, or I can be totally detatched from all of them. I am not auditioning the monologue, I am auditioning the performer. It is your job to make yourself so compelling that the auditioner has no choice but to watch you.</p>
<p>I don't think the people who are auditioning you should expect to be "entertained".... they are auditions. Besides, there are probably good reasons an obscure monologue is obscure. Most people who teach at the college level have probably read and heard almost anything you can go in there with. The same with songs..... you can sing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" and if you are compelling, it will be a great audition for you.</p>
<p>I don't feel there is any reason what so ever that you cant come in with a monologue from a role you have done. Most of you auditioning are 17 years old, I hope the people auditioning you don't expect you to have the resume of someone 55.</p>
<p>I hope this has helped a little bit.</p>
<p>ALL of you responses have been really helpful. I'm still on the look out but I'm getting closer. I do have one good shakespearean piece for the auditions that require or like him or Shaw and other such monologues. It's just nice to know I'm on the right track.
Thanks so much everyone!</p>
<p>I don't know if this is the right thread or not, but I just saw a play that had a great Monologue for a 17 year old male actor....It's called Rabbit Hole written by David Lindsay-Abaire .It's the letter the boy writes. Powerful.</p>
<p>Regarding TomBFAcoach's comment 'Sometimes you can find great monologues by piecing together lines from a two characters that are engaged in dialogue.... taking the other character's lines out, and creating a monologue... This can be tricky, but can bear great fruit. It can be that monologue that the auditioners haven't heard, that you might be looking for....' (sorry haven't figured out how to use the box thing)</p>
<p>my d did this for one of her college audition monologues and it seemed to work well for her. She got good feedback at some of the auditions regarding her monologue choice. Of course, most of the time, you don't get any feedback, so we can only guess that it seemed to work well for her.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: this question about material is NOT for college auditions. But my D, a high school junior, is hoping some of you can make a few suggestions as to uptempo (fun, upbeat) songs for an ingenue type soprano/mezzo mixed belt singer (I am sure I am mangling the terms, but I at least am including them all!) This is for a school "scene night" in which the acting majors present musical theater numbers and scenes. My D's book is lousy with ballads, but she has a dearth of uptempo songs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, though I know it is tough to suggest songs for someone you don't know.</p>
<p>I don't really know about all those terms either, but my D (soprano) and her friends have done I Enjoy Being a Girl, My New Philosophy, Born to Entertain, Show Me, Popular, Can't Get a Man with a Gun, Little Girls.....to name a few.</p>
<p>you could look at "shy" from Once upon a matress and "I'm not at all in love" from the pajama game</p>
<p>It definitely is difficult to suggest songs for someone I have never seen perform. I have no idea her type so these could be totally wrong. But if you want just a few ideas, she can look into and check out and see if they are remotely in the ballpark...</p>
<p>I'm not going for the unique here because this is a performance, not an audition. Some are even overdone. I am just doing a quick brainstorm of some songs that come to my mind that she could use in this situation. </p>
<p>(you can go to Amazon.com and click on songs from an album and hear a little snippet and get a teensy idea, if you don't already know the song):</p>
<p>Other Side of the Tracks from Little Me (a bit of a character song, some humor)
I Want to go to Hollywood from Grand Hotel
Forget About the Boy from Millie
Waiting for Life to Begin from Once on This Island
I Have Confidence from Sound of Music
Always a Bridesmaid from I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Summer in Ohio from Last Five Years
Here I Am from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
I Can Cook Too from On the Town
Always True to You in My Fashion from Kiss Me Kate
Lights of Broadway from LaChiusa's Wild Party
You Can Always Count on Me from City of Angels
Taylor, the Latte Boy
All For You from Seussical
Alto's Lament (humorous)
I Hate Men from Kiss Me Kate
Oh My Feet from Most Happy Fella</p>
<p>That's it for the moment for starters....</p>
<p>I'm currently in the process of looking for monologues to use. Should the piece be from a popular or well-known play? I'm just afraid that the piece i pick is in every monologue book lol. I was thinking of using mabels "tommy" speech from An ideal husband, but it turns out it's a very popular piece :(</p>
<p>My IB Theatre Arts teacher helped me alot when finding materials she sent emails to all the teachers she knew from the theatre arts workshop so you might want to ask your teacher the same. after all it doesnt hurt to ask for help</p>
<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I am a senior and planning to audition for several musical theater programs. I have some questions about audition material:</p>
<p>How important is it to have a monologue which is specific to your age range? And if so, what would that general age be for me, a 17-year-old male.</p>
<p>I'm thinking about doing a song from "Newsies" for my audition. Is it okay that this is from a movie, or do audition songs strictly have to be from stage musicals?</p>
<p>Anyone have any suggestions for good ballads for the highish baritone (I'm considering "Hey There" from pajama game.)</p>
<p>Hope somebody can help. Thanks!</p>
<p>I think it is okay to sing a song from a movie. Newsies is probably fine... obviously you are a man.... but women should stay away from Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Pochahauntas songs.</p>
<p>In what key do you do Hey There? I have heard it more often sung by high tenors.</p>
<p>Baritone ballads:
Her Face (Carnival)
If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot)
If I Loved You (Carousel)
I Won't Send Roses (Mack and Mabel)
Lonley Town (On the Town)
Private Conversation (Side Show)
Sometimes a Day Goes By & I Don't Remember You (World Goes Round)
This Nearly Was Mine (South Pacific)
They Call the Wind Maria <a href="Paint%20your%20Wagon">pronounced mariah like mariah carey</a></p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>