<p>Hey everyone! This is my first post(yay). I am 16, High School Junior with an extensive musical theater background. I am looking at preparing for auditions next year. I've never worked much with monologues, a lot of the auditions I've been to haven't required them, so this is kind of new for me.
ANYWAY....I bought a monologue book, only to read on here that monologues from books are sort of unacceptable. My questions are: A) are monologues from novels acceptable at some schools, or would that be ridiculous? I mean, obviously if it's specified that the monologue has to be from a published play that wouldn't fly, but...B) If it DOES specify a published play(not original material) does that mean it has to be from a Broadway/Off-Broadway play? I perform with a touring troupe in my area and the play we perform has several excellent monologues, but I don't know as that would be acceptable? C) If neither are options, how do I find plays that aren't over-done? In my area, straight plays aren't produced enough for me to go wandering around trying to watch them all. Also, my library has a very small collection of plays, but they are all very old and somewhat overdone. (Our Town, Romeo and Juliet, The Glass Menagerie...) I can order some new plays, but I need to have names in order to do so....
HELP!
Thanks in advance, everyone.</p>
<p>The quick answer is yes… most schools want something from a published play.
One suggestion is to call The Drama Bookshop in NYC. If you give them an idea of the type of characters you should play (age, are you typically the ingenue or the quirky friend, etc… Does it need to be contemporary or something more classical, etc.) they can possibly guide you to some character in plays for you to consider. You might be able to check some of the plays out from your library before purchasing them. Or the bookshop will ship purchases to you.<br>
Another suggestion is to look on YouTube at past YoungArts finalist presentations. It’s a great place to get ideas.
Just remember to choose things that are appropriate to your age and type. Most suggest not doing an accent. Really read and understand the play and the context in which the monologue is being given, and choose something that resonates with you personally. You’re going to be working on it a lot so you need to like it! Also make sure you have a few monologue options prepared. You will want something comedic, something serious and perhaps something classical all memorized, analyzed and ready to present if asked. </p>
<p>^^ What @vvnstar said - if we had it to do over - I would have had my D call The Drama Bookshop. We used a coach, who was enormously helpful in pointing us in the right direction - but before we started with the coaching we had two only semi-successful runs at summer program auditions - and I think it was a combo of poor mono and song choices. If I had known she could call the Bookshop for suggestions - we would have started that back freshman/sophomore year in HS! </p>
<p>That being said - a coach to help point you toward some appropriate monologues is another option that many use, if it’s within your budget.</p>
<p>Rather than calling the Drama Book Shop staff and having the sales staff do your leg work, consider using their online monologue listing, which I’ve posted before (<a href=“http://www.dramabookshop.com/monologues”>http://www.dramabookshop.com/monologues</a>) as a starting point. You can then order the plays that seem appropriate for you. Also, search in the theater/drama majors forum for “monologue”–you’ll find tons of useful suggestions for how to proceed and many lists of plays/playwrights to avoid as well. Junior spring is a great time to start–good for you for getting on it early!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone.</p>
<p>I got this book for my daughter some time ago and when she’s stuck for ideas, she refers to it: The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook, Updated and Expanded Edition: An Actor’s Reference to Over 1,000 Scenes and Monologues from More than 300 Contemporary Plays (in case link is deleted). To be clear, it is not a monologue book, more of an annotated bibliography if I remember correctly. <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823099490/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823099490/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a></p>
<p>If you live closer to the Washington DC area, the American Backstage Company has an excellent selection of scripts and monologue collections. </p>
<p>There are a lot of good discussions on CC about finding monologues. “Books” are potentially useful tools as long as the monologues come from real published plays, and you do read the whole play. Sometimes you can find another monologue for the same character elsewhere in the play!</p>
<p>Absolutely read the entire play and have a good understanding of your chosen character, monologue’s significance, etc. Questions about your monologue choice are often part of the interview.</p>