<p>I actually have a question not a reply. My son is a junior who will be auditioning next year. He can do both comedy and drama. If schools only want to see one monologue, should it be a dramatic or a comic one. Does anyone have a feel for what the judges like to see more of?</p>
<p>Tarhut...since you asked..... the biggest insight I have for everyone auditioning at colleges with monologues is be prepared....be overly prepared.
The only way to do this is to get professional help. No one on this board will be able to tell you what monologue you should do without knowing you well. I carefully go through at least ten monologues with each of the students I prepare...We end up with three, or sometimes four....lots of colleges have different audiiton requirements as we all know. You should have two contrasting modern monologues, and one classic. That is the bare minimun. </p>
<p>I spend at least 16 hours preparing each student. Four or Five hours on each monologue if not more. This doesn't count the time the student has researched what monologues to bring in. As I stated above... the best way to find monologues is reading plays, seeing plays, searching through monologue books (which I think is a perfectly good way to find a monologue), and/or finding someone who can help you. </p>
<p>The people at the colleges who are auditioning students can tell in two mins. who is properly prepared, and who isn't. It's not to say they won't accept someone who has a lot of raw talent and is not as well prepared. They will, but we are all aware of the intense competition for slots.</p>
<p>To answer the question above about doing the comedy or the dramatic monologue...pick which one works best. Pick the one the student is most comfortable with. It is good you are starting looking around early. The earlier the better.</p>
<p>Simple and honest monologues are always, always better than too much. That's what colleges are looking for. Simple and honest. Be Connected to what you are saying. Communicate.</p>
<p>Please do not underestimate the value of working with a professional on your monologues. You should also be working with a voice coach/teacher, and have someone staging your musical numbers as well.</p>
<p>Of course this is all just my opinion, but I hope it helps.</p>
<p>Thanks Tom,</p>
<p>I often get asked about what colleges are looking for and, of course, I don't know. I trained in college and then I was working and too busy actually learning my craft on the fly (because what I learned in college was barely useful) to spend any time looking into what colleges want. I remember the rumors from other actors about what this or that college looked for and what they would absolutely reject, but they were just rumors.</p>
<p>I think everything you've said makes perfect sense. I would add a few things, however, and hope you will correct anything I've got wrong.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The vast majority of young actors think that "you either have it or you don't," and that acting is about learning lines. Being a quick study is useful in the rehearsal process because it gets you off book with ample time to do the work you must do to fully realize the character. But the quickest way to ID a person who knows nothing about acting is when they come up to you after a show and say, "How did you ever learn all those lines?" One might as well ask a painter, "How did you ever learn all those colors?"</p></li>
<li><p>It is most bizarre, but my wife and I have helped numerous young people with their audition pieces. They leave much improved, go on to audition for their high schools or other theaters, get the parts, and never show up again. More often than not, when we go to see the show, they are not very good. They have been cast in roles they're not ready for based on the coaching they got for the audition. They COULD have done the roles well, but they seem to think that all that coaching they got for the audition was just window-dressing of some sort, and that they're actually better actors than they are. </p></li>
<li><p>Acting is the oddest art in the world. One is inside it and cannot see it. It is as though a blind painter were trying to create a masterpiece or a deaf composer a symphony (OK, there's one person who could). One learns, over time, how to create inwardly what works to create the proper illusion outwardly, but it's never perfect. All actors need a good, critical eye on their work.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the feedback.</p>
<p>I don't want to correct anything you say, but I will give my opinion. I say that in almost every post... anything I write on this board is my opinion, and I respect the opinons of others...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Learning/Memorizing lines is a part of the rehearsal process. As you are working on what is going on in the scene, and you are working with other actors.....the lines should be learned almost organically. You can probably learn more than half of your lines this way. The other half you have to sit down and memorize.... especially monologues..... I don't encourage actors I am directing to learn lines before we start rehearsing. It's working backwards. </p></li>
<li><p>You leave out one important ingredient in the equation... The Director... if your students are great at an audition and then are awful during performance because they weren't getting coached... that could be the fault of the director. Once he starts rehearsls....he beAlso.....It's not a good idea at all to coach someone who is currently in rehearsals for a play that is being directed by someone else.</p></li>
<li><p>I agree that actors need a good critical eye to help guide them in a role. That being said, you are your own instrument, and good actors do develope good insticts about what they are doing on stage. A singer is the same way.. it's more about placement and technique and less about listening to yourself. Actually listening to yourself as a singer or an actor can be very distracting and a big mistake.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That's all....:)</p>
<p>Tom:</p>
<p>Thanks. Here are some counter-opinions.</p>
<ol>
<li> The two best actors I ever saw or worked with were Philip Pleasants and Rex Rabold. Both were simply brilliant. Rex died young (I still haven't forgiven him for that), but now has an internship at OSF named in his honor, and is still widely talked about in the same breath with Michael O'Sullivan.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Both Phil and Rex learned their lines before coming to the first rehearsal. My peronal work style is also to learn all my lines before the first rehearsal. By that time, I've also done research on the role, the times (if applicable), the costumes and props of the period, the manners and mannerisms, etc. I will also have read reviews of the original production, secondary sources on the play (if I can find them), etc. If it's Shakespeare, Moliere, Restoration, etc., I will have done all these things plus done research on archaic words and/or the goings on at the time that influenced the inside jokes.</p>
<p>Then, I will go through every scene and decide what's really going on, finding ways to play exposition in as active a manner as I can come up with. Every line will be scored to reflect something active that I want from the line. If there is some particular physical illusion I want to create, I will work on the walk, the lead, the stance, or what have you. More often than not, I'll do this all on video so that I can check it for realism or, in the case of comedia, non-realism.</p>
<p>When I actually get to rehearsal, I walk around with the book during blocking, then I memorize the blocking. Once that is done, I'm off book entirely, and I'm spending my time listening, finding new moments, finding the relationship, changing interpretations, etc. Basically, it's only after I've done the technical work that I switch to method work.</p>
<p>In my experience, it is the actors that depend only on method work in rehearsal who most often fail.</p>
<ol>
<li>Directors vary widely in quality and approach. I see a continuum from "picture director only" to "ubermarionette a la Schiller." Picture directors give you no feedback. You must do it all on your own. Ubermarionette directors will literally tel you how and when to crook your index finger. Most directors are in between. Some are idiots. Some are genuinely useful to the actor. Some know so little about acting that they don't even know how to talk to actors in terms that are useful. </li>
</ol>
<p>Personally, I have actor friends that I know are really good. I run my stuff by them.</p>
<ol>
<li> Of course actors develop techniques, both good and bad. I believe that it is only possible to develop taste for what is good and bad with feedback from a good, critical eye. And I put the emphasis on "good." There is a director at a local high school who teaches his kids to mug. This director has a bad eye.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. As you say, it's opinion. I would add that works best for one actor may not work best for another.</p>
<p>The role of April in Company seems to be a fabulous fit. Thank you very much for the suggestion. I crammed the memorization this weekend and now must focus on acting the part to the best of my ability. Any suggestions on the character or how to make this monologue (or any monologue) most effective?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>musikchik:</p>
<p>I'm glad you like the monologue. April is played best when she's absolutely sincere. It's common for actors, and young actors especially, to laugh at the characters they're playing while they're playing them. You see this a lot with people who play Audrey and Seymour in "Little Shop." The fact is, those roles, and April too, I think, come off much better when the actors really believe in what they're saying. If you have time, rent "Little Shop" and watch what Ellen Greene does with Audrey. We love her because she's so sincere. You might also want to rent the original "Superman" and watch how Christopher Reeve delivers those TERRIBLE lines with such believability.</p>
<p>Technically, work and work and work on those lines, especially just before going to sleep. You need to have the lines absolutely committed to muscle memory. You can't have the slightest fear of going up in the audition, or it will have a negative impact.</p>
<p>Finally, get someone GOOD to help you. Avoid muggers. Do it on your feet again and again and again. Decide what you WANT to happen with every line.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Tarhut</p>
<p>I wanted to reply to your thoughtful reponse to my last post. I do agree if you are cast in a Shakespeare play, or a similar piece with difficult language... it would be best to start memorizing as soon as possible.... Before rehearsals begin. I presumed, for no particular reason, that we were talking about modern plays. I appreciate the way you work as an actor, if it works for you. For me... I still find that dialogue (in modern plays) is much easier to remember when it is done as part of the rehearsal process.</p>
<p>It is true that there are many bad directors in the business. I would hope, for the sake of this board, that colleges are hiring good teachers/directors. I personally know the competition for these jobs are INTENSE. </p>
<p>Again thanks for your comments... you give a lot of good advice.</p>
<p>Best
Tom</p>
<p>help please!!! i have an audition in 5 days and i need a monologue A.S.A.P!! im 16 and can do w/e i just need a monalogue suggestion thanks.</p>
<p>theatrelover03 - 5 days is not a whole lot of time. I hope this is not for a college audition, but I will "spare you a lecture" ;), check out:</p>
<p>Tom I wish we had read this post when my daughter was a Junior. Instead she started looking in September. Must have looked through dozens upon dozens of monlogue books - most of which were monologues not from plays therefore not appropriate for MT auditions. The very best monologues always appeared on the "do not do" lists. Finding monologues was WAY WAY harder than finding songs. I wish she had another 6 or 12 months to have searched. I think your advice is right on.</p>