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Me · Acting Craft Writer

The Main Event

Your Acting Type Will Help You Find Type-Appropriate Monologues

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Alright, we started talking about monologues last week, but I gotta confess, homie ...

... I kinda, sorta, skipped an important step.

In order to find that perfect monologue ...

... you kinda, sorta gotta know who you are.

It's good to know what your type is so you can determine what type of monologues you should be uploading into your brains.

I've wrote on article on why type-casting is so important (and conversely why stereotyping sucks).

Your Type Is Your Competitive Advantage

Check it out here.

Type-casting is not Stereotyping

Keep in mind type-casting is different from stereotyping.

Type is the essence of who you are.

Stereotype is squeezing you into a box based exclusively on some external feature.

Type is your character, how you behave.

Stereotype is how people think you should behave based on a preconceived notion or perpetuated generic image of a particular group of people.

For example somebody who's 6'7" might be stereotyped as ...

A big dumb, mean, rough, and aggressive football player

Stereotype.

When in fact he is ...

... soft spoken, caring, and generally peaceful -

Gentle Giant Type

This showed up for me like this.

My Type ??? - nerdy, skinny guy with a big smile

I'd get sent out by my agent for

This Stereotype - black male, athletic build, thug No. 2

As if by virtue of me being a black male, I'm automatically the perfect person to send on audition for a gang banger.

… I don't even have a tattoo!!!!

Now, if we are honest there is an exception to every rule.

If you are tatted up and have a raspy voice from years of smoking, you probably ain't gonna be cast in a Tide® commercial as the Wholesome Suburban Dad.

Alright, soap box put away.

The real purpose of your type is to help bring some focus to the early stages of your career. Type is not as important in theatre as it is in film, but it still plays an important role (pun intended).

Your type is your "niche" in the acting world, you want to be the go-to person for your type.

For example, if you need a motherly figure who can cry on cue, hit up Loretta Devine.

You need a charming playboy with a heart of gold, Will Smith's the GOAT in that category.

If your movie requires a jolly looking bumbling smart aleck on the plump side?

Wayne Knight is your man!

These actors have made a lot of money playing roles that capitalize on their essence ... they lean into who they are.

Will Smith trying to go for the roles that Wayne Knight normally plays would be hard to believe at the very least.

So …

The quickest way to find your type?

Create a survey, hit the streets and ask strangers what they see (and hear) when they interact with you.

Seriously.

People watch movies all the time. They are ultimately your customers, right?

Getting feedback (more about feedback here) is crucial to find out how the world sees, hears, and feels about you.

I got this idea for this typing adventure from Andrew W. Reilly in his amazing book An Actor's Business: How to Market Yourself as an Actor No Matter Where You Live. Long title I know.

Anyway ...

... in Chapter 4: An Actor Prepares our boy Andrew gives you a framework to find out what people think your type is based on their interaction with you.

Once you've got a solid grip on your type, it will make it much easier to home in on the right kind of monologues for you.

'Kay?

Cool.

See you next week!

Deuces.