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"I like to think of monologue hunting like hygiene, it's best done everyday."

Me · Memorization Junkie

The Main Event

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During a read through of my script with two of my colleagues (one still in college, another a veteran professional) they expressed their extreme frustration with finding audition monologues. It's been especially tough finding the perfect monologue for them.

Why does this continue to persist no matter where you are in your acting journey?

What are some key audition monologue selection mistakes?

Let's discuss, shall we!

Common pitfalls include:

You don't know your type
You don't engage plays (notice I didn't say read plays, we'll come back to that later)
You don't know what a good monologue looks like when you find one (I've got a recording on that here) Why a good monologue is so hard to find

Alright

finding a monologue

This is one of the greatest frustrations of actors - how to find a monologue.

There are many audition monologue mistakes, but the core mishap is to treat monologue hunting like many people treat their education.

lemme' 'splain.

Many folks believe that once you get the diploma, once you get the degree, you don't have to go to class anymore for the rest of your life … wrong.

Actors approach monologues the same way.

They find one or two "good" monologues and work those things into ground. Trying to make them fit no matter what play they are auditioning for.

Guilty parties raise your hand. (Author raises his hand in solidarity.)

Anyway …

The thing is your old monologues, like the clothes you wore in high school, no longer fit.

You have changed.

You type has changed with age.

You've transformed from

Ingénue → Tired Mom → Sexy Grandma.

You monologues need to evolve with you.

So what's the approach to selecting that perfect monologue?

First, I like to think of monologue hunting like hygiene, it's best done everyday. Or at the very least like cleaning your apartment … it's best done at least once a week.

Come along my friends I'll show you how I hunt for monologues in the wild.

We will once an for all discover where & how to find good monologues.

but first …

What is an Audition Monologue?

The monologue is to the actor what the landing page on a website is to the online marketer, or the TikTok ad is to the cute little anime keyring/bottle opener in the shape of Demon Hunter you didn't know you needed until you saw Ryan Reynolds use it while selling you wireless phone service.

You see an audition monologue is how you show your potential clients (casting directors, directors, producers, talent managers, agents, etc.) what you can do.

If you choose an audition monologue that does not match your type or is a poor example of storytelling … you lose.

Most monologues in plays, unfortunately, don't work as good audition monologues because they don't work outside of the context of the play.

A great audition monologue is like a miniature play & advertisement put together.

A great audition monologue is the perfect sales tool to sell your skills as an actor.

The Show Stoppers aka The Ops

The first mistake is you experience Imposter Syndrome because you underestimate how difficult it is to obtain that perfect monologue.

It's real easy to feel like you don't know what you are doing because finding a monologue should be basic, right?

Yet, here you are unable to address the most "basic requirement" of being an actor.

Here's something to make you feel better.

Finding a monologue is not basic.

It's actually one of the hardest parts of becoming a good actor.

When you are looking for a monologue you have to be part librarian, cultivator, curator, editor, director, producer, advertiser, and actor. You must call on the skills of many many very smart people doing jobs from different backgrounds to extract a good piece for the mountain of content out there. You're like a literary archeologist.

It is a big deal to find the right monologue for you … if you don't see it that way, imposter syndrome kick your butt and make you quit before you even get going.

The second show stopper is good old Bad Habit.

That is the bad habit of using the same monologue you learned your sophomore year of high school for the community theatre performance of Cats.

It's probably not gonna get you a Shakespeare callback.

Think about it.

Have you not changed since you learned that first monologue?

Your monologue choices must evolve with you.

If you don't have a systematic approach to collecting monologues you will likely do nothing, and then when opportunities present themselves you slip into the bad habit of doing what you've always done.

Other mistakes to avoid:

Don't pick random "chunks" of text you see in a play. (Most monologues from plays don't work out of context. For more check out this blog.)
Don't go to monologue anthologies (they are like the AI of the 80s and 90s. Everybody's going to these books and auditors are sick of hearing them)
Don't make your monologue too long. Keep them wanting more.
Don't keep sticking to the same 2 monologues you've been doing for the last decade
The biggest mistake - Taking monologues from movies performed by A-List actors.

I could probably write an entire essay on this alone.

Taking monologues done by well known actors in well known movies is the kiss of death in an audition.

It's like a 6 year old basketball player trying to take on LeBron James. You can't win, I don't care how good you are.

Let's say you DO have the skills and can actually act a monologue better than Denzel (…🙄 …)

mmm hmmm … yeah

Even if you could, you've still got a myriad of other things going against you.

To make the monologue great that you are poaching from the film you have to compete against

The great acting (that had several takes to get it right. That actor got to do it multiple times until they got it perfect. You don't have that luxury in an audition room).
Great directing (in an audition monologue it's usually you that is directing yourself not Jordan Peele)
Great editing (the editor is doing some mad voodoo to make that scene supreme)
Great music (connecting to editing, good sound design can take a performance to the next level)

You can't compete with $300M budget masterpiece while performing in an empty room with bad lighting and the fatigue of sitting in the waiting room for 45 minutes.

So why try to?

When you stand in front of the auditors with a known monologue in a well-known film you are competing with a well tuned polished product!

Side note: if you insist on stealing monologues from films, at least make them indie films where the writing is good and the acting is bad. that way its a much lower hurdle to leap over to proving you are a good actor.

Inversion - How to Turn No-Nos into Must Haves

One of my favorite exercises is to take the don't dos and flip them into positive steps you can take.

I hate when people show you what's wrong without offering a solution.

That's why I love what Charlie Munger (rich, deceased, white dude and cool cat) calls Inversion.

Write down how you ruin something … then do the opposite.

So here's what you can do to find the perfect audition monologue

Choose scenes from great plays an create a Frankenstein monologue
Go to plays and curate/collect monologues by seeing them live in action (this is also a great way to network)
Look for plays in novels. What a novel idea!
Use 70 seconds if auditors give you 2 minutes for your monologue. Again, keep 'em wanting more.
Build it into your schedule to work on new monologues at the very least once a month … once a week is ideal