As mentioned in previous posts, monologue auditions often sound like a flat recitation of the lines. Ideally, a monologue should sound like one person actually talking to another person (even though the person being spoken to does not respond). Ironically, we all do this kind of talking day-in-day-out but we don’t pay any attention to it. Actors find it difficult to bring this same kind of everyday spontaneity to memorized material because they haven’t consciously identified the feel of “simply talking” (as opposed to reciting).
To help my Monologue Boot Camp students get a feel for “simply talking” we do improvised monologues. There are two approaches here. Either have something in mind to talk about before you go to the mark to perform, or go to the mark with nothing in mind and see what shows up. Obviously, all of the nonverbal interactions that I’ve spoken about in earlier posts have to be used for an improvised monologue to succeed.
Doing improvised monologues on a regular basis brings the feel of “simply talking” to a conscious level, which makes it much easier to simply talk your way through memorized material.
Improvised monologues can also help you with the interview portion of an audition. Though the interview is more dialogue than monologue, getting used to talking spontaneously can help you to better connect with the casting director in an interview situation.
It is possible to use an improvised monologue in an audition. I’ve done so myself with some success. However, make sure that you’ve really gotten comfortable improvising. Practice a lot, ideally with a live audience of at least a few people. In an audition that requires two monologues only one of those monologues should be improvised. The other should be memorized material.
Next… Monologue Coaching
Labels: audition monologue casting director