<p>I guess I'll just cut straight to the point: I'm auditioning next month to be a Theatre major at my college, so I'm pulling my hair out with the monologue search. So far I've found two that I really like and a few others I could use for back-up plans. The problem is that both will need a lot of editing in order to fit the guidelines for my audition. Monologue #1 is a set of dialogue, so I would need to cut out the other character completely. Monologue #2 is just very, very long.</p>
<p>Basically my question is if there is any specific way I should go about doing this? For Monologue #2, I really love the middle section but I don't know if it would be okay for me to skip a few paragraphs so that I could perform a certain one. There are also a couple lines briefly mentioning inappropriate content (ie. sex), which I know is usually not a problem for college theatre but I don't want to risk it for an audition this important. So, am I allowed to just completely edit out a couple lines here and there?</p>
<p>Looking forward to hearing your advice. Thank you!</p>
<p>It’s so hard to say “Yes” or “No” without knowing exactly what is going on.</p>
<p>It is completely normal and expected for folks to edit their monologues to meet the requirements of the audition.</p>
<p>You MUST meet the requirements, so don’t even think about using these monologues without editing.</p>
<p>But why do you like these monologues? Do you like the idea of playing the character, and what the character is going through? That’s important for a monologue. If on the other hand you are just interested in saying particular words, maybe that’s not a good choice.</p>
<p>In terms of the sexual reference, you have to really think about whether you are a mature enough performer to handle the material. You also need to think about why it is there. If it is only there to “shock” the audience, it’s probably not a good choice for an audition monologue.</p>
<p>I really enjoy the entire monologue and the character. I can completely relate to the character’s panic and overreaction, which is what caught my eye to start with. I want to do the middle section because I think I can perform it best. I love the entire thing but I only have 2-3 minutes to perform this and my other monologue, so that’s why I was uncertain about editing it.</p>
<p>As for the sexual reference, I don’t think it’s there just for a shock factor but I’m not sure if that’s the way I would like to end my audition. I think I may ask one of my Theatre professors how they think I should handle it before I audition.</p>