Top 10 Monologue Tips

Written by: Dave Andrews

Every actor hates auditions. It s the most awkward feeling standing up there in front of one or several strangers and pouring your heart out for a role, knowing that you re only one of 50 people doing it. Sometimes in the auditioning process though, you don t have to feel quite so awkward. You won t be simply one of 50. You can be unique. That time is when you re allowed to do a monologue. This is a rare opportunity to actually make the choice yourself on exactly what you ll be portraying to the producer, director, casting director or whomever you happen to be auditioning to. Here are some crucial tips for choosing and presenting your monologue. These monologue tips will help you land the role. 1. Choose your monologue carefully. You have tons of time to choose the monologue. In a cold read, you may have 15 minutes to prepare for an audition, you may have five. You may even get lucky and have an hour or a day, although this is not common. With a monologue however, you have all the time in the world. You can take days, weeks or even months searching for the right one. Then you can take just as long learning it and making it a part of you. A good monologue will allow you to portray a wide array of emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, guilt, etc. Choose one that not only complements you and your abilities, but allows you to really lay it on the line. 2. Give it some gusto! Have energy in the presentation of your monologue. Too much energy can be irritating, but you won t find any producer or director who thinks that not enough energy is better than too much. Having to tone it down is better than having to step it up a notch, so give it your all. That having been said, keep the energy up, but the volume appropriate. Sometimes you ll be auditioning on a huge stage and at others you ll be auditioning in someone s office. Even for the loud parts you need to keep the volume appropriate to the venue. 3. Move around! Whether you re on a stage or in a smaller setting, you need to be able to move around. How many people do you know in real life who plant their feet in one spot and stay there for a minute or two without moving while they re shifting from sadness to happiness to anger, etc.? None! When you re emotional, you move, and that needs to be reflected in your monologue. If

there s a part where you need to sit in a chair, fine, but do NOT sit down for the entire monologue. You need to be mobile. Again, keep in mind that they ll probably be seeing 50 other people today. Don t be boring.

4. Face the people you re auditioning to. Don t face the side wall and give them your profile. If you follow tip number three, you ll obviously be moving around, but keep your focus forward, toward those you re presenting to. 5. Don t audition to one person if there is more than one person in the room. Even if the monologue is intended for one person, which most are, don t ignore anyone. It s all too common for an actor during a monologue to hyperfocus on one person and give their monologue to that person. Don t do this! It will make that person uncomfortable and the others in the room feel ignored. Neither is a good thing. Instead of talking to one person, give the monologue as if you re talking to a group of friends rather than one. Make eye contact with each of them, or at the very least, don t focus on one of them. Feel free to look very close to them without actually making eye contact. You re not supposed to be acting WITH them, but TO them. You don t want them to be part of the performance. This is your time. 6. Get up close and personal. I don t mean to get in the auditioner s face so they can smell your breath, but don t get too far back either. They need to be able to clearly see your face and the emotions you portray. This is especially important on a large stage setting where you can move around quite a bit. 7. Keep it fresh! You don t want to choose a monologue that they ve already heard 20 times. This is an invitation for them to directly compare you to others who have come before. For your monologue, you need to be both modern and unique. Don t choose a piece that s out-of-date and don t choose one that they re likely to have heard others do. 8. If you mess up, keep going! You ve picked something fresh, remember? That means that they don t have these lines memorized. If you flub up, just keep going and stay in character. They won t even know you messed up. People in real life mess up when they re talking, so if you keep going, they ll think you re just a great actor and that was part of the act. Above all, never EVER apologize! I mean

never! Act as if everything went exactly as planned. They won t know the difference and they don t want to. 9. Be a professional! Act like you know how to audition and you know the rules of the game. If you re a pro, you ll have a professional headshot, but even if you re new, you ll still have a nice 8 x 10 that meets the basic definition of a headshot. Have a rsum with the headshot, typed with the spelling checked, double checked and triple checked. If you have no experience at all, at least provide a cover letter, again typed and spell checked.

10. Know when to say when. There are two words that will always come out of the mouths of the people auditioning you: thank you. They re not just being polite. In audition speak those words actually mean we re done, so leave in a polite way. Once they say that, don t waste any more of their time. It doesn t mean they hate you and it doesn t mean they love you, it just means the audition is over. They re busy and that s their cue to you that it s time to move along. Thank them and head out the door with your shoulders high and a smile on your face. These monologue tips cover the most important aspects of monologue choice and execution, as well as pointing out the most common mistakes made by actors of all levels. Take them to heart! As a person who used to be the auditionee and now is the auditioner, I can tell you that following these tips can make or break you chances at getting that part.

WIFE TO A FAMOUS MAN

A monologue from the play by Gregorio Martinez Sierra NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Plays of G. Martinez Sierra. G. Martinez Sierra. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1922.

MARIANA: I want you to stop talking. You always lie like a newspaper--it doesn't matter what sort of tale you tell, no one's going to believe you. But ... just you look out. Your luck's in for the minute, isn't it ... and you think you're such a fellow just because a few pesetas have fallen on you out of the sky. Make the most of them while they last. I'm used to earning what I need for myself and my children. It's little enough and it's hard to come by ... but it makes me a queen in this kingdom anyhow. My kingdom's my home. And don't forget this. There's never been any man let come in it but you ... I love you a long sight more than you deserve to be loved. But let's have this clear ... there aren't going to be any women in the case but me either. And if you're not agreeable to that ... well, there's lots of room in the world for us both, and it's easy to take the train as to buzz through the air. Off you go then ... and we'll meet again on Judgment Day.

Dramatic monologues
Do you know the book 'Dramatic Monologues' by Colin Mortimer (CUP)? A great little book with 24 monologues & accompanying questions &, of course, the tape. The back cover says that 'the monologues are designed to increase students' responsiveness to implicatory language by helping them to listen intelligently & interpret what they hear.' Each monologue is centred around a situation - e.g. a bank manager talking to a client whose newly wed young wife is spending all of his money, a couple stuck in a lift, someone in authority sacking an employee, a convict asking to stay in prison over the Xmas holidays rather than being released the day before Xmas (my favourite) etc.... There are somehomemade examples on the site. The way I usually deal with a monologue like this is to play a little bit of the monologue (the first sentence or first few words) & then ask the students in pairs to discuss what they think is happening, then another bit, then more discussion & so on until they work it out or we reach the end of the text. If they still have problems, I then give out the text & they listen to the whole text & read at the same time. Then on to the questions, which they answer in pairs & finally we look at some interesting aspect of the speaking skill or language in the monologue. The students are not only using their inference skills to work out the situation but there are very rich conversations taking place when they compare ideas. Listen to the kind of things they are saying & feed in more options for them. A follow up task could be to write the silent person's responses. The book's monologues provide challenging listening but they can be re-recorded to make them easier & you can easily write your own if you want a monologue on a specific topic to fit into your scheme of work.

Examples to accompany the Teaching Tip 'Dramatic Monologues'

Get a colleague to tape one of the following & try out the procedure in the Tip. Change the monologues to suit.

Monologue 1

Well, I wouldn't usually ask this, as you know, but it has been playing up lately..I haven't..er.. missed more than two or three days a year since I started working. I'm not the type to shirk my responsibilities. I prefer to soldier on & soon it goes away. But I must admit that it is uncomfortable.. ...quite severely, at times. A warm bath usually sorts it out. I remember you suggesting that a massage might be beneficial but I've never got round to it. So I thought what with the event coming up & everything...well...er, you know..frankly it is a special occasion & I wouldn't want to miss it. You're going too, aren't you? Yes, it should be quite something to remember. If you'd be so kind, I'll be on my way & not waste any more of your time. It only need be for a couple of days..a cover, sort of....

Monologue 2

Well, you must know the situation. It's been in the papers & now I'm afraid it's time to take some action. As you know, it isn't the easiest of decisions to take & it's as difficult for me as it is for you. But someone has got to do it, just as someone has to be on the other end. One day it might happen to me & really..er..I'm just carrying out orders.... So, I'm sure you'll find something else before too long & I really do wish you every success in the future. You have been an important part of the team, I must admit & if there'd been any other solution you can be sure we'd have taken that but with the situation as it is....Anyway, that's that & there really isn't anymore to be said. ..... I was looking in the paper last night & there are several openings for a man of your maturity & experience. Monologue 3

You must be aware why I've asked to see you. It's not as if this were the first time this has happened....in fact, if my memory serves me well, this is the seventh time and we are getting a bit fed up. We've got enough to do without catching him at it all the time. I honestly thing that it's high time that a firm hand were taken in the home. This is the best solution, really. Do you let him do it at home?...No, I don't imagine that you do. And do you or your husband? No....Well, possibly you could look out for the telltale signs; you know, the smell on his breath & his clothes & see if he has any on him. I mean, seven is quite an early age to start & what with the warnings we're getting these days about it...well, it can't do him any good, apart from anything else. The other boys see him & want to do it too & you know we can't have that. You don't er...give him money each day, do you? Stopping that might be a way to sort this out. Anyway, That's what I wanted to say & if it happens again, we'll have to take much stronger action.