<p>This monologue search is a challenge. I have a question. My son has a monologue that is the right length but is overdone. He has another option but it runs a little short. He loves both and is resisting looking for others. Does any one have an opinion about overdone verses short and sweet?</p>
<p>Avoid overdone. If the folks in the room have heard it a lot they’ll tune your son out. Go with the shorter one and recall that, where appropriate, pauses and rests between lines actually enhance the material. And thus his short but sweet one may not be as short as he thinks.</p>
<p>Short and sweet wins hands down. Not even close.</p>
<p>My S is just entering the audition season so this response isn’t based on actual experience. But I would be more concerned about going over the time limit than being short. </p>
<p>Its a hard call on overdone, as much as you want to stay away from them you don’t want your S walking away with doubts he should have stuck to his original selection. I stayed out of the artistic selections. However I’ve heard over and over about the Tuna Fish monologue being waaaay too overdone to use.</p>
<p>Short and sweet. Most instructions for monologues are for them not to exceed a specified time so it’s perfectly fine to be under.</p>
<p>I agree that finding monologues is incredibly hard! Especially when you factor in ‘age appropriate’ and ‘not overdone’. The internet is really not much help. So, it comes down to time… and resources… which we all have so much of… LOL! The HS drama teacher loaned us a couple of books filled with depressing, angsty monologues (she loves that stuff) that are so NOT my S. So, I’ve reached out to an actor friend in NY for suggestions. I think this is the hardest element…</p>
<p>The thing about it finding “age appropriate” and not “overdone” monologues follows these kids after college also. It’s kind of funny because they spend so much of their college career working as a variety of “ages” in their productions and then senior year they are required to find and perform age appropriate monologues for the “real world.” (Or sooner than senior year if they’ve auditioned for summer stock.) </p>
<p>There’s always a balding, chubby college guy who always gets the role in college as the father or authority figure but when he’s ready to graduate he needs to step down (so to speak) to perfecting a 20-something audition. Sometimes these are the kids who wind up with the hardest situation because they’ve never had to play their age!</p>
<p>The biggest difference between then and now is that by the time they are seniors in college they know far more than you do and really don’t want your help or input at all, and that’s a good thing!</p>
<p>Good luck to all during this stressful but bonding time.</p>