Monologue Questions

I’m a high school junior and I’m planning to apply for some summer programs. I have a few questions about monologues. First, I’ve heard that it’s ok to turn a dialogue into a monologue by cutting out the other character’s lines, as long as the whole thing flows like a complete thought. Is this true? Can I even cut out some of my own character’s lines in creating the monologue if the stuff I want to delete would make it confusing or too long?

I keep reading articles that say you should have a “personal connection” with the material you choose. So far, I’ve been striking out except for this one play that I found. It was published by Samuel French, but it’s older and from what I can tell, it was never really produced much. I don’t think anyone would recognize the playwright’s name or the play, and it’s not some amazing piece of work, but I think the material that I want to use would make a really good monologue. Does that make sense? Or should I choose something from a play (or at least a playwright) that is more well known?

It’s fine to cut down a monologue to make it shorter and have it fit the time (the one exception being Shakespeare - I wouldn’t mess around with that!), and it’s fine to use an obscure monologue. It might even open a conversation with the auditors, asking what play it’s from and what drew you to it.

^Agree. D has modified plenty of scripts to make a monologue work. She also auditioned with a monologue from a play not often done and was asked about it in the room twice. She even cut lines in her Shakes monologue to meet time demand.

Yes, it’s all fine. As long as it’s a published play it doesn’t matter how popular it is. Probably refreshing that it is not actually.

Thank you @actorparent1 @yellahamma @NYDreammom. I have a few more questions. I know that you are not supposed to do a monologue using an accent, but does that mean you shouldn’t use a monologue from a play where the character would have an accent when the play is performed. Like a British play or a play that’s set in the deep south. Or can I use it as long as I perform it in my regular voice?

As far as Shakespeare monologues, I’m finding that many of them are actually soliloquys or are not age-appropriate or are very popular/overdone. What did you/your kids do to find a Shakespeare monologue? Thanks in advance.

@PlayOn For Shakespeare age doesn’t matter and it’s better to not do a popular one. Just read through his material and you’ll find something.

As far as your first question, just use your regular voice.

@NYDreammom , thanks. That gives me a lot of options. Do you know if the “age doesn’t matter” advice also applies to other classical playwrights or is it limited to Shakespeare?