<p>I Know that the finding a good monologue is one of the hardest things to do, but also the most important. Does anyone have any suggestions to where to look. My S needs has quite a few good Shakespeare ones but needs a contemporary and a comedic.. He is 15 so some of the adult ones won't work.. Any advic is welcome!</p>
<p>Is he looking ahead toward college auditions, or is this for auditioning for plays?</p>
<p>If the latter, he should choose comedic or contemporary monologues that are similar in tone to the part he’s auditioning for.</p>
<p>For college auditions, you need monologues from published plays, and you need to be very familiar with the whole play. Many kids work with a coach or drama mentor to help them find monologues.</p>
<p>When it comes to auditioning for youth productions, there is more leeway, and a monologue from a monologue book might be all right.</p>
<p>Finding monologues that are right for you is consistently a daunting and difficult task for actors. Throw the words “comedic and dramatic” out the window. Almost anything can be played either way, its all about how the material communicates with you. Just read plays. And look up new playwrights and read. Plays only take about 2 hours to get through, and you can never ever be comfortable performing a monologue without reading the whole play. Regardless of what you are auditioning for, make sure that the monologue is honest and simple. Dont strive for an emotional climax crammed into 1 minute. Simple, realistic, and conversational (but still with high stakes) is always a good thing.</p>
<p>Personally, I love Adam Rapp, Neil Labute, and David Mamet. They are good places to start. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the great advice guys!!! My S needs monologues for auditions for local plays and he really just likes to learn them. I think reading the plays is the best advice. My S loves to read plays so he can just start keeping his eye out for parts that might work as a monologue. He has an excellent drama teacher at his school that does help him, but she is VERY busy, as you can imagine. He is only a 10th grader but has had to audition for quite a few things that needed monologues and he has an upcoming audition for his schools top theatre group and is VERY competitive. He has a few Shakespeare ones that he has down pat and have won him parts… one funny and one serious.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely what he needs to do is simply read plays! Some publishers to look at are Samuel French and Dramatists Play Service. Also, a rule is to ALWAYS get a monologue from a play, not a monologue book!</p>
<p>For Shakespeare, I would recommend several books by Simon Dunmore:
- Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Men
- More Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Men
- Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women
- More Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women
(Mr. Dunmore also has a website, which lists overused Shakespeare monologues. You can find the website on google.)</p>
<p>Modern/contemporary monologues are bit more difficult to find – especially those that are not overdone. For example: Although “JakeRoku” likes playwrights Adam Rapp, Neil Labute, and David Mamet – many of those authors have monologues that are overdone lists. </p>
<p>The trick to finding a good monologue – one that is age appropriate and not overused – is to find an author that you like and investigate his/her less popular works. For example, if you like David Mamet, you should avoid his most popular works as they are overdone (Race, American Buffalo, Glengarry Glenn Ross, Speed The Plow, Oleanna, A Life In The Theater, Sexual Perversity in Chicago etc). Instead, search out “One Act plays by David Mamet” and you will find such treasures as: Edmond, Keep Your Pantheon, The Frog Prince, The Pet and The Rent, Bobby Gould In Hell, etc.</p>