Expert: Wanda Reinholdt - 1/10/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I am soon going to be auditioning to get into a bfa program for college but I need some help finding an audition piece. Here are the guidelines:

-Two memorized monologues, each 30 seconds to one minute in length.
-should be from published plays, contrasting in period and/or style, with a character close to your own age, and performed without a regional dialect. ( * Shakespeare is acceptable for one of the acting monologues; however, no Puck monologues from A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be permitted.)

This is what they say are qualities of a good monologue which I plan to follow
-Choose a monologue from a full length published play. Read the whole play so that you know the context of the monologue and the character's situation. Besides picking one in your age range without a regional dialect, pick one where you character is fighting to get something from a a specific person, i.e. no dreams, no talking to the audience, no telephone calls, no soliloquy or self-reflective types of monologues. Do not choose monologues that are cited as "original" or written by "anonymous". As with the song, a monologue of 30 seconds is plenty for the auditioners to evaluate your acting potential.
-Read plays. Avoid the monologues published in the many audition monologue books on on-line databases because those monologues are overdone. You might use those books or websites as references to find interesting characters perhaps, but always find and read the full play and then choose a monologue that is not in the published monologue book or on the website. Especially, do not choose monologues that are solo interp pieces that are not part of a complete play. These types of monologues may be appropriate for Speech Team competitions, but they are inappropriate for audition monologues.

Just so you can get a picture of who I am, I am 4'4 (a dwarf) and I can really connect with people who have been shunned and left out.

I've thought of using these:
The "queen" monologue from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown
The Joan of Arc monologue from: Henry VI: Part I, Act V, Scene vi
Cassandra's monologue from Agamemnon
Antigone's monologue from Antigone

Are any of these good choices? If so which would be the best? Are there any one you'd suggest for me


ANSWER: Hi there, Grace...And thanks for writing.

I think that you need to ask yourself some questions about each of these monologues:
1.  Does this monologue fit the requirements for the audition?  If so, what are the reasons?
2.  Does this monologue speak about something that you can relate to?
3.  Do you understand this monologue?
4.  Do you like this monologue?
5.  Is this monologue challenging enough to show my skills but not too challenging so that you can prepare well?

Then choose the best ones.  I think you have some really good contrast in your choices.  It's just a matter of choosing the best one for you.  

Does that help you?

Wanda
www.reinholdtproductions.ca

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your awesome answer. I have another question. Are any of the monologues that I'm thinking about overdone?

Also which Joan of Arc monologue do you consider better, the one from Henry the VI or the one from the play Saint Joan by Henry Shaw. I was just curious

Answer
Hey there...You are welcome, Grace.

To my way of thinking, you have good monologues.  Just do good prep.  

I've always favored the Shaw monologue.  But Henry is really good too.  

As a Director, I always favor someone who does a good job of a monologue rather than someone who chooses the monologue that I like.

Does that help?

Wanda