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.
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.
@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?