<p>So I have two great monologues that i've been working hard on and I cut them down to fit within the time limit, but when I added my acting to it instead of just reading it, it became longer than the 1 min time contraint. I really can't cut them down any more than I already have, so i was just wondering how big of a concern it is.</p>
<p>They both tend to go about 25 sec over 1 min when i do them, but thats also without my tendency to speak faster when nervous which may happen at auditions. Do you think I'll be ok with this?</p>
<p>No, you really need to time your performance to meet the time limits. They give time limits for a reason and expect you to follow the guidelines. Yours is too long and almost by 50%. </p>
<p>This is a competitive process and you don’t want the lack of following directions to derail your chances. </p>
<p>Some schools use a timer. Some schools are very strict about it. Some may give a little leeway like going five or ten seconds over but certainly not as long as you just said. But again, some may cut you off after 60 seconds. </p>
<p>Trim the monologue down, rather than speeding up your presentation of it. Find any unnecessary sentences you could eliminate without losing meaning.</p>
<p>The issue with that is that I’ve already cut them down and I can’t find any sensible things to continue to cut. One is in iambic pentameter and to cut that one in any place that would make sense for the monologue would disrupt the meter. </p>
<p>I feel like i may be adding seconds by hesitating on a line or things like that. These monologues did fit the time contraint before and I don’t have time to find and learn new ones.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice and I will continue to attempt to cut, though I don’t believe I’ll be able to.</p>
<p>Never mind! I just realized my first audition doesnt have the same time contraint so for that, I’m all set. i can work on getting them within the time restraints for later auditions, but without the time crunch now I feel so relieved.</p>
<p>Good luck getting them down. I do know that some schools will cut you off if you go over the time limit, so you could miss out on doing the best part of your monologue.</p>
<p>I have the opposite problem. Pace says to have monologues that ae 2-3 min long, and the two I have been using for my other schools are both at about 1.5 min. Is this ok?</p>
<p>As long as your monologue is well acted and well prepared I don’t think the length of your monologue should matter. When I was auditioning my Shakespeare monologue was only about 45 seconds longs and I was still accepted into programs, haha. If you really like those monologues and feel comfortable with them I wouldn’t change them due to longer time restraints.</p>
<p>I don’t think having a “too-short” monologue is a problem as long as you feel you can show your abilities with it. They limit the length purely because they have so many people to audition and time is limited. They basically want something that shows them your range as an actor. If you are comfortable with what you have, I say go with it. However, if you are worried, you can always call the school to get some input. Good luck!</p>