| Q. How do I go about finding and choosing the right audition speeches?
A. Before you head down to your local bookshop or library or start frantically surfing the internet, STOP! Have a good long look at what the drama school(s) say. Many if not all will specify particular audition requirements or will give certain guidlines as to what is suitable audition material. Most will want at least two speeches, a modern and a Shakespeare in the first instance, but don't take anthing for granted. What do they mean by modern? After 1900? Post WWII? Or in the last ten years? You may be given additional information on being allocated an audition date, but if there's no indication, try and find out.
The school may also include a list of specific speeches they don't want used. These will tend to be speeches that are either over-used, that auditionees consistently do badly or that are just unsuitable for audition purposes. Don't think that you can get away with choosing one of those speeches because you can do it better or differently or because you love it. Find something else.
Think also very carefully about the timing. Drama schools rarely want speeches more than 3 minutes long (and often 2). Do not look for speeches any longer because there is every chance that you will be stopped if you run over.
Drama schools often say they want two (or more) contrasting speeches. I think what they mean is that they want to see what kind of 'range' you have and whether you can inhabit more than one character or be believable in more than one dramatic situation. Don't feel that you have to have two completely black and white pieces (One high tragedy, one comedy, or one virgin, one prostitute). It's more a case of finding speeches that can stretch you in many ways - in terms of timing, status, sub-text and physicality. Also look for different writing styles and ways of telling a story or differences in the characters' speech patterns and language.
Here are some other common drama school do's and don'ts and the reasons why I think they exist:
DO AVOID SPEECHES WHERE THE CHARACTERS ARE OF A DIFFERENT GENDER OR AGE Pretty obvious really. Audition panels are looking for your ability to inhabit a character, but they're not keen on mimicry and broadly drawn strokes. If you're too busy pretending to be a young boy when you're actually a twenty three year old woman, you're not showing yourself in your best light!
DON'T TRY ACCENTS YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH Again, you're giving yourself extra work which will get in the way of the acting. Most people have a native accent that they can turn up or down depending on the situation (we all tend to get a bit 'posher' when we're on the phone in a work context and more colloquial with close friends) and it's probably fine to play around with that if works with the speech. But if the piece requires a strong Glaswegian accent, and you're broad West Country, then again - try and find something more suitable. A misconception amongst some new auditionees is that drama schools expect you speak in 'upper class' or BBC Newsreader tones. This is not the case. Nor do they require a roaring hammy voice for the Shakespeare speech! Accents and voice work are taught as part of the drama school curriculum. For audition purposes they are happy with a clear, expressive and natural accent.
DON'T CHOOSE MONOLOGUES FROM FILM OR TV SCRIPTS (unless it specifically states that you can) You may love Tarrantino's films but they are not suitable audition material. One reason for this is that characters are usually iconically and instrinsically linked with an actor already and it is difficult not to end up merely doing an impression of this.
DO MAKE SURE IT'S A PUBLISHED WORK You or your friend may be brilliant writers, but don't take the chance that the panel will see it that way, and at any rate, they're judging your acting skills. It's also much more difficult to be subjective about your range and abilities if you are writing your own speech.
Here's a couple of other questions that seem to crop up all the time:
Q. Is it alright to use a monologue from a monologue collection book?
A. Many experts and some schools say that you should avoid taking a speech from a audition monologue collection as the chances are it will have already been done to death. Whilst this is true to some degree, there are some good collections out there and not all speeches are done with the same regularity. It also happens that you may find a perfectly good speech through the normal methods which feels perfect for you, and then later find out it has been included in a compilation book.
If you are choosing a monologue from a collection, here's some things to bear in mind: The speech may have some accompanying notes or suggestions, but do not treat these as a subsitute for reading the whole play. You always need to read the whole play. Also do not take these notes as complete and irrefutable direction. Look to see how old the collection is. There are new ones and they should be constantly updated with newer plays added. If in doubt whether a piece has become overused, ask around, either via internet forums or the school itself. It's also worth investigating whether the play itself is regularly part of the GCSE or A' Level Drama or English curriculum - If it is, there is far more chance that it has been overdone on the audition circuit.
Q. Is it true that an audition panel would be really impressed with a really powerful speech with lots of shouting/swearing/being mad?
A. A good actor should be able to work with any script, but it does seem that audition panels get a little weary with confrontational auditionees roaring directly at them or rocking back and forth in the grip of madness. More about this in the next section, the actual audition. But when choosing a monologue try not to be seduced by anything simply because of it's shock value or tragic quality alone. You are better than that!
So now you know what to look for, you probably want to know where to look for it...
Shakespeare is less of a problem, mainly because it's quite easy to search on the internet both for monologues and for study notes, plot and character breakdowns etc. 15 - 20 lines is perfectly adequate for audition purposes, so don't feel you have to go for a pages long speech. Again, you still need to read the play, however much of a task this may seem to you. There are certain famous speeches that are done all the time. Simon Dunmore's Alternative Shakespeare Audition books are very good with plenty of fresh ideas for monologues from some lesser-known plays. He also gives sound and useful advice on background audition technique.
For modern plays it can be more difficult, but the internet is still a good place to start so have a surf around. If you live in Cardiff check out the Drama Association of Wales. They have a huge library of modern and not so modern plays. You do have to join to take books out (current fee is less than £20 per year for individuals). However, it's money well spent as it means you have access to all sorts of plays. Local university and college libraries are also good places, and although you may not be able to take anything out, you can spend as long as you like looking through plays. Strangely, I find certain charity shops to be quite good for searching for odd plays, particularly Shakespeare, and some of the more established playwrights (Shaw, Pinter, etc). They are also very good for Shakespeare study guides. Also, make sure you see as many plays as possible for ideas. (You should be going to see performances on a regular basis, anyway!)
Finally, although heavy editing and rewrites are definitely not encouraged, it's perfectly alright to join up to shorter passages to make a monologue if the small amont text inbetween can be removed with no loss of understanding or impact.
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