06 May Acting Monologue Advice
Acting monologue advice: how to choose a monologue
Our students often ask for acting monologue advice, and we love to support them in selecting great monologues! In this fantastic video lesson, master teacher John Walcutt gives some great acting monologue advice — useful to actors of all ages!
Here is John’s advice on choosing a great monologue:
Search for scripts that match your type
First and foremost, our top acting monologue advice: explore your type! What types of characters are you right for? Do you get cast in lots of upbeat, comedic roles? Darker dramatic roles? How old do you appear to be at this time, regardless of your actual age? If you are not sure of your type, we do have a great blog post about fine tuning your actor brand.
In John’s video, you will see a clear example of a comedic monologue and of a dramatic monologue. Notice these two actors’ types. Could the second young actor, who performs the dramatic monologue, also work on a comedic monologue? Sure! But she really fits the type for the monologue that she’s chosen. She has easy access to her emotions, and we believe that she could be the daughter in this dramatic scene.
Make sure you have a one minute cut
In some rare instances, you will be summoned to do a 3-minute monologue in an audition. This usually occurs at an Actors Equity open call for theatre — or for a dramatic play that involves long speeches and dense text.
If you are auditioning for theatre, we would suggest having a 2-minute cut, a 90-second cut, and especially a 1-minute cut of your monologue. In the world of film and TV, it’s best to have a shorter 1-minute monologue. Usually, you will get sides in advance of a film and TV audition; you will rarely be asked to do a monologue in this setting. But you should definitely have one ready! And again, if you are into theatre, it’s important to have different length options. Know that you can cut out lines in the middle of the monologue as long as it still “flows” and makes sense.
Choose an active monologue
As John notes in the video, when you speak the text of your monologue, you want to pretend that you are in a conversation with someone and, in a sense, not letting them speak. This is what we mean by an “active” monologue. Your character should be actively pursuing a specific objective — and in a direct conversation with another person or group of people. Avoid monologues in which your character is telling a story about something that happened in the past. You also want to steer clear from monologues in which a character is talking to himself or herself. It’s harder to choose a focal point when your character is not engaged in an active and direct conversation.
Have a blast!
Our best acting monologue advice — and our motto in general — is to always have fun! Enjoy this process of exploring your creativity, your voice, and your character. You are building new skills, and we are so proud of you!
