24 Things You Should Be Doing to Make Your Monologue Stand Out!

24 things you should be doing to make your acting monologue stand out.

A monologue is a portion of a longer piece written for stage or for film. It is a sample of your work to show agents, casting directors, producers directors, what you can do as an actor. A really good monologue will showcase your strengths and it demonstrates to the producers what you can do, who you can play and who you are.

Nothing is probably more important than choosing the right monologue for your type and skill. Remember, monologue auditions is your chance to shine. This probably the only time the actor has a complete control of the situation.

Here are a list of 24 things you should be doing to make your acting monologue better:

1. Be one you like and are comfortable doing.
2. Be no more than 2 min. in length. You will be given a time frame but it is always better to be under time than over, also they will be able to tell pretty quick if you have what they are looking for.
3. Make sure the text is appropriate for your age.
4. Be geared for the play/ character you are auditioning for.
5. Allow you freedom to move and make choices
6. Have a clear, identifiable, and specific objective.
7. Have a clear identifiable arc (beginning, middle, end)
8. Never mirror any emotional situation you are going through with the audition.
9. Always be active, make the monologues about your acting partner. Story monologues are hard to make about anyone but yourself.
10. Be found in in a variety of sources but avoid anything that has been a major release in the past 5 years, including currently running show.
11. Be introduced with character, play, and author.
12. Never be given a synopsis. If you need one it is not a strong piece
13. Be chosen with consideration for who you will be auditioning for.
14. Allow you to show a part of who you are.
15. Be played in an honest truthful way without the need to force emotion.
16. Never cut one character out of a scene and force the audience to imagine the other character for the whole piece
17. Not need to rely on props or costumes
18. Have language and actions of consequence. Make sure it’s worth doing.
19. Be well prepared, never “winged”. Should be rehearsed 100 times.
20. Never use the person auditioning you as your acting partner.
21. Not be self-written if you can’t write dramatically.
22. Not require preparation in the room
23. Not be self-indulgent.
24. Every good rule is meant to be broken, just make sure you have a good reason to break it.

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