<p>Now that school is winding down and summer is starting, let me just offer a friendly bit of advice. If you or your d/s are auditioning in the Fall ... please USE THE SUMMER to get ready. Start reading plays, looking for monologues, going through songs.....etc. You don't have to kill yourself the whole summer.... enjoy your time off, but spend a 4 or 5 hours a week working on finding material for your auditions. ESPECIALLY monologues. It is harder to find a good monologue that fits you, than a song. Read Plays. You should have three monologues ready, or at least chosen, by the end of the summer. Start researching songs too.</p>
<p>One more thing... if you have the energy, I advise everyone who does not play an instrument or does not read music to take a MUSIC THEORY class this summer. Even if it's one day a week. As a vocal coach, these skills are sorely lacking in most of the young adults I work with. If you don't know the basics of Music Theory this summer is a good time to start. You will have to take Music Theory in most musical theatre programs and in my experience the more you know before you get there the better. Some of these theory classes can be VERY difficult if you don't know the basics.</p>
<p>this is fabulous advice. i've been reading plays on my own for years, but just for my own enjoyment...it's been kind of haphazard- just borrowing plays from the library whose titles/authors i recognize, or whatever. is there a better way to go about reading shows for monologues, or should i keep doing what i'm doing?</p>
<p>It's wonderful that you're picking up plays to read. Don't stop! But if you're specifically looking for monologues, consider picking up several monologue books. Then if you find one that you particularly like, you can pick up the whole play and read it. You'll save a lot of time that way.</p>
<p>Be sure that you are looking for roles that are age-appropriate; most colleges request this for audition pieces.</p>
<p>My daughter is lost when it comes to monologues. She checked out many, many monologues from the library last winter and did not like any of them. She went on line and printed out a few and was not happy with any of them. Does anyone have the name of some books that actually contain good monologues? I would like to purchase a few for her to read, but finding a good book seems like finding a needle in a hay stack.</p>
<p>It seems to be a rule of thumb to not get monologues from monologue books.
Reading the whole play, so that she would have a complete understanding of the character is what is recomended. I know it takes longer, but I guess it makes quite a bit of difference. I know there are several threads about monologues on this site, as I recall there are some specific recomendations.
Good luck.</p>
<p>That does seem to be a consensus. But S started with monologue books. When he found the ones he liked and that seemed to fit we went and found the play and reviewed it. Most of the books do give some semblance of the context.</p>
<p>If nothing else, the books can give you some sense of what a cut should look like.</p>
<p>Books with monologues which are taken from complete plays (as opposed to being self standing -- for want of a better word -- monologues) can be a helpful resource to get a student started. Then, if the student finds something intriguing, he or she can go out and read the entire play. That said, the best way to find monologues is to read, read, read, read PLAYS! Yes, it's time consuming. But it's the best way.</p>
<p>Another interesting way to start your research: go to the video store and rent some movies that are based on well-known plays -- there are lots of them. Yes, usually the script has been edited or revised -- but it's a good way to find a storyline and characters that you enjoy and can relate to. If a movie arouses your interest, you can proceed to the next step by picking up a copy of the original script. I often recommend this approach to students who are more visually oriented.</p>
<p>At the top of the main MT page is a link called books and other resources for MT students...Click on that, as it has sources for scripts. One place to look is your local library, or if there is a college or university nearby, try their library.</p>
<p>One caveat about looking at scripts to find monologues. Make sure the script you have is of the actual play and not the screenplay. Many, if not most, schools will require monologues to chosen from published plays. When my D was preparing audition material for college admissions, many moons ago, she received excellent advice from a family friend who has been in the theatre biz for a long, long time. He told her to, first of all, think of every play that she'd ever read, seen onstage, or performed in, and chances are that she'd find what she needed. </p>
<p>All kids who are interested in pursuing a career onstage should be familiar with lots of plays. If they're not, they should truly get busy and visit the library and start. With all the kids we've met through the years who have gone through this process, there really have been very few who were not familiar enough with many plays to at least make a start at finding appropriate material for auditions. </p>
<p>Lots of kids who started when my D did, she included, arrived for freshman year with their collections of plays. Just like kids should be developing appropriate musical repertoire during this process, they should be doing the same with monologue material. Script analysis is going to be a part of their education, once in college , so if they are not familiar with reading plays, they are going to be at a distinct disadvantage. Reading plays, and being able to intelligently analyze the script, is a talent that is developed. Even avid readers of books will find that it takes some time to become comfortable with material in the form of a play. If your kids are not familiar with reading plays, I would strongly recommend that they spend some time over the summer visiting the library, or the bookstore, or amazon, and start their collection, if they don't have one already. :)</p>
<p>On a similar note, they should be making an effort to see as much theatre as is possible. I'm sure they've all probably done this all through their high school years, but it's helpful to continue it through the audition process . Much is to be learned from watching other actors onstage.</p>
<p>My D. has seen many musicals and has performed in many musicals, however she has not been involved in many straight plays. I assume she can find some monologues from musicals also.</p>
<p>Last year another CC mom suggested a monologue catalog book. There are several (check the book/resources thread that anotherm-w-q refers to). Basically in these catalogs (my name, not what the book is called) various characters and the associated play are listed by the type of monologue. Catagories include gender, age range, type of monologue, etc. These books do not include the text of the monologue, but serve as a listing or catalog of what is available. That helped to narrow down the age range component and gave my S some plays to go look for.</p>
<p>Chelle -- No, your D should not use a monologue from a musical. Many schools specifically request that you use plays, not musicals. In addition, most musicals do not have the depth of character and emotion that you will find in straight plays.</p>
<p>Reading all the good plays ever written is a life long journey.
I am almost 50 and I can think of 50 plays that I want to read and haven't had the time to... And I've read hundreds of them.</p>
<p>How many entire plays can someone who is 17 be expected to have read?</p>
<p>I still reccommend monologue books for students. I don't see the issue with them. You look through them, if there is something there that looks interesting... take a deeper look at the entire play. If there is nothing in the book for you, move on to the next one.</p>
<p>Secondly....Students should not hesitate to ask for help and suggestions from the older and wiser. Find a mentor. Find a coach.</p>
<p>If you have a good bookstore... Barnes and Nobel for example.. find some books (plays and monologue books) and sit at a table and look through them! Books at Amazon are cheaper, but you don't get to look through the book to see if there is anything in it for you. Still, ordering a few monologues books from Amazon is a good investment.</p>
<p>I must tell you that some schools DO allow monologues from Musicals. NYU is one of them. Check that out. I must respectfully disagree with "onstage" about monologues from musicals being too light weight. Good monologues from musicals do exist, and often "deep" monologues are not better. </p>
<p>Very importantly always remember this ............these kids auditioning are 17! They have the life experience of someone 17. Pick something simple, honest and straight forward. Being too rigid, and making things more complicated than they need to be will lead to stress for both the student and the parents. Keep it all simple. </p>
<p>I am not trying to push any service here.... but every student auditioning needs a professional coach for monologues and songs. There is too much competition to be underprepared. I work hours with each monologue my students prepare.</p>
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I still reccommend monologue books for students. I don't see the issue with them.
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<p>I agree with your premise IF the monologue books are strictly monologues from plays. Too many of the books have stand-alone monologues that aren't from anything.</p>
<p>I think some people consider using monologue books as similar to reading the Cliff's Notes of books - they may have their limited uses, but it won't take the place of reading the entire work. Also, I believe some people see using monologue books as "the easy way out", instead of doing the hard drudgery of cburning through scripts.</p>