| Q. Now that I've found some speeches I like, how should I prepare for my audition(s)?
A. Hopefully, if you have planned things well you will have at least a few weeks to learn and rehearse your speeches. So lets go over some basics:
How many speeches? You may have gathered together more speeches than you need for any particular audition requirment, and you will probably favour one or two of them above the others. However, if you have the time, I would advise that you have at least four memorised and 'ready to go' - 2 modern and 2 classical. If you're lucky enough to be offered a recall audition you may be asked to present some totally new monologues. Quite often recalls are sent out with not much more than two or three weeks notice, so it's good to have something in reserve that you can pull out with the minimum of stress and preparation. Also, you never know when you may want to change what you're doing at the last minute - For instance, you're waiting with other auditionees and you overhear that someone is doing the same speech as you, or you've had some upsetting news a day before the audition and feel that you would find another speech easier to cope with than the upbeat energetic one you were going to use.
Read the plays! It's absolutely essential, yet it's amazing how many people think they can get away with just reading their particular scene or skimming a couple of internet reviews. Excuses such as 'I didn't have the time', 'It was really long and boring', or 'I didn't think I needed to', will not cut much ice if you can't answer a relevant question about your character or the play. Auditioners are not looking to catch you out but they do want to see that you have an awareness and an interest about the play, it's characters, themes and style. Not reading the play means you'll be making unfounded assumptions about the extract and the character which will most likely lead to unconvincing, unoriginal or inaccurate choices in your performance. If you also get the chance to see a performance or film of your play(s), then that's useful too, but don't, whatever you do, get seduced into recreating an existing performance. The auditioners will want to see what you can do with the text.
Learn the speeches! There is no shortcut to this I'm afraid. You have to learn the text, and you need to learn the words well enough so that you can forget about remembering them, and concentrate on acting, if that makes sense! Some people have a natural facility for learning and retaing text, others find this part an absolute ordeal and test of all their mental powers. To the latter group, here's a few tips which may help you: Everyone has their own methods of learning, so what works for one person may not work for you. Dictaphones can be useful, especially as you can play back the text as you do other tasks. Make sure you speak back the lines to the tape, not just mouth or whisper them, this helps get them in your 'physical memory'. Writing out the speeches in long-hand whilst you slowly speak the words is a good starting point as well. Try and match up visual images in your head as you learn the words. Ones that can create an emotional attachment, relevant to the speech. Concentrate on one paragraph or section at a time so as not to get daunted by a large amount of text. Remember, your speeches should be no longer than about 2 minutes anyway.
Make notes, make connections... Remember that an audition is not just about learning lines and reciting them back in a way that makes sense. You need to interpret the text, make it your own and make interesting, yet truthful dramatic choices. You need to connect to your character and the situation they're in and the way to do this is to think about your character's intentions. Frame your character's needs - for each moment, for the duration of the speech, and for the whole play. Think about sub-text, that is, what is not spoken. Think about the speech in terms of a journey - has your character changed during the course of the speech? Write these ideas down. This will not make you less spontaneous, it will help you order your thoughts and apply them to the text.
...But don't go for the obvious, or make too many judgements... What I mean by this is that people, and in turn characters in a play, are complex and don't always do the obvious thing in any given situation. Angry people don't always shout, sad people often put on a brave face and laugh at jokes, not all estate agents are slimy go-getters (at least not outwardly - they'd get less work!). When you make your notes, try to keep to plain positive facts rather than becoming your character's psychiatrist!
So, for instance rather than write stuff like -
'In this speech X just wants to impress Y but she is angry that he isn't responding'
Go for something more like -
'In this speech X wants to impress Y. Y is looking at the TV'.
This is a important difference. It means you aren't restricting your character in anyway - she may well be angry that Y isn't responding, but she may well be frustrated, upset, bemused, resigned - all in the same speech. If you supply yourself with just the facts, you're actually leaving yourself with more room for an original and believable interpretation. Also, notice that the word 'just' was dropped - we don't 'just' do anything. We either do it, or we don't! Here's another example. Instead of this:
'X is insecure because she was abandoned by her promiscuous mother when she was only 9. Because of this she's very insecure that everyone is going to abandon her and none of her relationships last very long'.
Try this:
'X's mother ran away with the milkman when X was 9. X is now 25. She has not yet had a long-term relationship with anyone'.
The first one makes some fairly broad (not to mention cliched) assumptions. 'Insecure' is a catch-all word and one that could actually describe a variety of different behaviours. Do we know for sure that the mother is promiscuous purely because she ran away with the milkman? Using the word 'abandon' also add unnecessary colouring to the facts. Was X mature for 9 or not? Did the mother mean to 'abandon'? Applying this one incident in X's life as the reason for all her relationship failures is also a rather convenient and stereotypical connection and one that could lead to cliched characterisation. Remember also that just because a character has followed a certain pattern so far doesn't mean they always will, which is why it's more useful to say 'she has not yet had a long-term relationship with anyone'.
Hopefully you're getting the idea now!
... and don't choreograph your speech(es). Although making notes is something you should be doing, both on and off script, make sure you don't choreograph every movement and inflection. This will lead to a stilted and untruthful audition piece, which becomes boring for you to do, and even more boring to watch. You will disconnect from the text and the words will cease to become your own. You need to be trying out different stuff all the time - you may discard choices that are less successful, but you need generating them anyway.
Don't use props - or mime them. Some of the worst auditions I've seen involve elaborate but inaccurate mimings of combing hair, eating, dialing a telephone. It comes across as pointless and boring fluff, and it's not really acting. Real props are just as bad - one auditionee I remember wore a big hat and spread out a tablecloth to signify the fact she was having a picnic! Another used a scroll which she then ripped up - in turn facilitating a painful and silent wait at the end while she gathered up all the pieces! You may have the option of using a chair - but think carefully about why you need that chair and whether it is absolutely necessary for your piece.
Maintaining perspective and getting help. Practicing your speech alone can be a bit of a daunting and peculiar task. Try and put aside some time each day, even if it's just ten or twenty minutes when you are sure you will not be disturbed and in a place where you feel feel comfortable and secure and can loose any self-consciousness you may have about talking to no-one! Try to avoid doing your speech in the mirror if you can. You will get into a habit which will be impossible to recreate in an audition situation.
At some point you should perform your speech to others, even if you are absolutely convinced that it's as good as it can be. You need to see that you can communicate it effectively to an outside eye. Whether you decide just to perform your material in front of a friend or family member or chose to take some lessons with a drama tutor is a choice only you can make - Some friends provide useful and relevant feedback, some tutors do not have much knowledge of the drama school audition system and can give poor advice.
If you feel you need some extra professional help with rehearsing and presenting your speeches, try and do as much preparation as you can beforehand. If at all possible, find your speeches and learn them before you book any lessons. If you are really stuck, many tutors will be able to find speeches for you, but this will lengthen the process and cost you more money. Try to find a tutor through a recommendation, rather than through a 'phone book. If you have a drama school locally, try ringing them up and ask whether they know anyone who gives private lessons.
Email me if you would like to find out more about the private tuition I offer.
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