<p>I was wondering if anyone could help me. I have been searching for contemporary monologues for what feels like forever. I just can't find any that feel right to me. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I plan on auditioing for NYU, Rutgers, CMU, OCU, OU, and possibly others. Any and all help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Is there a contemporary playwright that you admire? If so, you might want to read through their work and see if things jump out at you. For example, my D really likes Neil LaBute and Rajiv Joseph, so she read a variety of their plays to look for inspiration. </p>
<p>It’s a lot harder for the young men than young women. Here’s one to check out – One of the recent MacArthur Foundation grant recipients wrote a play called “A Bright New Boise” with a role for a teenaged boy in it. Takes place at a Hobby Lobby store, which makes it topical too! Won an Obie award. My son put together a monologue from that play for his college auditions. </p>
<p>I like this one: “Like a light bulb / Antay Bilgutay”. I also know of a guy who used a Jack Black monologue from School of Rock. Is it from a play? no. Did it work out for him? yes.</p>
<p>@prodesse - just a random - and honest - question, why would say it is harder for guys? I had read somewhere a long time ago that 75% of theater roles were male. </p>
<p>I’m sure 75% of theater roles are male, but they are mostly NOT written for teenagers. College admission auditions are different from high school auditions in that you are required to choose monologues from plays with roles that are age-appropriate. Quick, think of ten good dramatic (not comedic) roles for teenaged boys. Can’t think of that many? How about five? And that’s your “overdone” list right there. </p>
<p>The serious theater programs state clearly that they want to hear monologues from actual produced plays, not from movies, or ones posted online that were written intentionally as audition monologues, or monologues requiring accents or dialect. Some have mentioned in workshops that they really don’t want to hear a ton of swearing either. </p>
<p>At one audition my son got called out for choosing a monologue for a character who was too old. They had a discussion about it, my son asserting that the character is a college student and at age 18 he was within the range of plausibility. At least it proved he had read the entire play! He did get admitted to that school.</p>
<p>It may be too hot for now, but there are some amazing teenage male monologues in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. </p>
<p>That’s a great example of a dramatic play that has comedic elements. I think the “rule” about avoiding shows that are currently on Broadway, applies to songs rather than monologues. I could be wrong, though – what do other people think? This might be a good question to ask in someone’s next “How to Audition” workshop!</p>
<p>^I’d also read/heard not to do a monologue from a show that had been performed recently at the school where you’re auditioning…my son broke that rule (with a monologue that was also a somewhat older character) and got into that school. I agree with Prodesse that the “rule” is probably more applicable to songs/MT than to monologues from straight plays. One of those risks that’s worth taking if it’s the right monologue for you.</p>
<p>There were also some very fine young man-ish monologues in the Cripple of Inishmaan if recent Bdway plays are allowed. </p>
<p>oh, i feel better reading this thread. i thought it seemed hard to find good guy moonologues for their age group. </p>
<p>I think “great” but “not overdone” monologues for teens are challenging to find for boys or girls- after all, most great theater is about adults, not teens</p>
<p>Here’s a suggestion…go to the schools’ websites that your are interested in and see what shows they have put on over the past couple of years. That will give you an idea of what roles they will be casting. Then go and find works by those same authors and maybe you will find a monologue that suits you. </p>
<p>My S says the monologues from “This Is Our Youth” get done a lot and maybe too much. (also currently on Bdwy and with adolescent male parts, FWIW)</p>
<p>Finding good monologues is the hardest part of the whole college audition process. Many students use an audition coach to help them find monologues. My son’s coach loaned him a whole pile of great plays to read and choose from.</p>
<p>It is acceptable to turn dialogue in a play into a monologue, provided the other character doesn’t say much and the piece still makes sense.</p>
<p>One of my son’s monologues was a young guy talking to a therapist. In the script there were replies by the therapist, but my son omitted them.</p>
<p>Check out British play writes Simon Stephens and Dennis Kelly. DNA by Kelly has at least 3 male teenage monologues.</p>