My son has analyzed the various monologue permutations and combinations that the BFA acting programs want for their auditions. The longest seem to be 2 minutes, and others want 90 seconds or a maximum of 1 minute. Does anyone have experience on how to best trim a 2-minute monologue (Shakespeare, contemporary, etc.) and yet have it still cohesive?
we did it by trial and error with a stop watch. In one case, there was a dramatic climax about a minute in, so we stopped it there. In another, there was a lot of exposition on the front end that could be cut.
You can assume that auditors will know the play and that there’s more. As long as it makes sense and showcases your kid’s skills, it won’t matter where you cut. (I’d do it all in one chunk though, rather than excising a line here and there.)
If you’re cutting a Shakespeare peace and it’s in verse, be careful that you’re not cutting in the middle of verse lines or messing around with rhyme schemes (if there are any).