<p>Hi guys! This is my first post on college confidential, so sorry if the thread I started was wrong or anything. Anyway, I have some questions about monologues. I am about to start my set of musical theatre college auditions and am still desperately trying to find monologues (I know, I know--extremely last minute). Now, I found one that I do like and can do well, but I have a couple reservations about it. </p>
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<li><p>It is the character Savage in "Savage in Limbo." In the play, she says "I feel fat" in one line and her friend says "you're not fat, you're just close to fat" or something. And looking up scenes of the show from different theaters on youtube, Savage usually is curvy at least. I am very very tall and skinny. Can I still do a monologue as the character of Savage if in this particular monologue, I feel like I fit what the character is saying?</p></li>
<li><p>There are a lot of the word "f***" in it. I have read various contrasting opinions about this, but is it okay to swear in monologues for college auditions? Part of me feels that they would want to see you as raw and real as you can be, which swearing could help if it's called for in the piece, but part of me wonders if it's offensive. I would appreciate responses from people who have recently been through the audition process and maybe used a monologue with swears who have some insight.</p></li>
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<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about not actually being fat. Lots of people of all sizes feel fat sometimes!</p>
<p>Generally speaking, it is better not to use a college audition monologue that relies very heavily on swearing. A little bit is all right.</p>
<p>Good luck to you. There is also a Musical Theatre forum here on CC that you might visit to read through some of the archived posts about monologues.</p>
<p>The general rule for all auditions is that if auditioners feel as though they are trying to be offended or shocked, it distracts from your audition, and you as an actor. Just be yourself and you will shine! Break a leg.</p>
<p>As far as the cursing goes- it definitely depends on the school. For any school with a religious affiliation (TCU for example), you may be better off censoring your monologues. However, most schools are completely fine with it.
I’ll be attending NYU Tisch in the fall, and one of my monologues said f*** and s*** several times. Auditors generally are fine with it, as long as you are.</p>
<p>That’s a good point about swearing. Make sure that you are actually fine with – in other words, that swearing comes off naturally. For the longest time my daughter struggled with swearing in a monologue or a scene because she’d become self-conscious about it.</p>
<p>I would not do an audition with cursing, particularly repeated cursing; it’s just too risky. This goes for non-religious schools as well. Yes, course course, you may get a panel who appreciates the artistry for its own sake. But you are risking a member of a panel being offended, and that easily may impact your chances. The chances of getting into any program are very small–why <em>lower</em> your chances?</p>
<p>A deeper issue is that you seem to have chosen your monologue without having read the play? At least, it seems so to me because you weren’t aware your character was fat. If you haven’t done so, make sure you read <em>any</em> play in full that your audition is from. I have to disagree with posters–I also think it’s a mistake to audition for a character who is fat when you are skinny. It’s just insulting and distracting. You wouldn’t be cast in an actual play, so why would you audition for it?</p>
<p>My advice is if you haven’t already started serious practicing for this monologue, I would really recommend another one, even though you like the monologue. Good luck–</p>