A killer audition monologue is a thing of wonder. It immediately separates you from your competitors. It makes an impression that lives on in the memory of casting directors. As they do castings down the road, you will likely end up on their short list of people to be considered. They will call you in for more auditions because they want to see more. A great monologue audition is, in short, a real career builder.
Though I personally don’t use monologues when I’m casting, I’ve always included monologue development in the professional programs that I’ve taught. I want my actors to make the most of these brief opportunities to impress.
Recently an actor who studied with me in the mid-90s scheduled a coaching session. She’d been a way from the business for a couple of years and was intending to return to the fray. Alyssa is a talented performer but she knew that she was a bit rusty. We spent a couple of hours tuning up a monologue from A Lion In Winter. The tune-up mainly consisted of breathing life into the nonverbal world of the monologue because that’s what makes a monologue really work.
Alyssa called me following her audition. She’d had a genuine breakthrough and her audience had definitely noticed. The entire experience had been liberating, Most importantly, she felt that she had genuinely embodied the character. Alyssa’s experience reminded me of the possibilities of monologue; it also reminded me that many actors don’t have a clue about realizing those possibilities.
I’m going to devote the next several posts to monologue development. I’ll consider monologue from the point of view of the actor and the talent buyer alike. My intention is to be exhaustive because I think there’s a great deal of misinformation about monologues floating around out there.
Next time… the truth about monologue auditions.
Labels: audition monologue