Here are monologue acting tips every actor should know.
Want to become a great actor? Well you better have a great monologue. Here are 24 monologue tips that every aspiring actor should know, use, and practice every day.
24 Monologue Acting Tips
- Be one you like and are comfortable doing.
- Be no more than 2 min. in length. You will be given a time frame but it is always better to be under time than over, also they will be able to tell pretty quick if you have what they are looking for.
- Make sure the text is appropriate for your age.
- Be geared for the play/ character you are auditioning for.
- Allow you freedom to move and make choices
- Have a clear, identifiable, and specific objective.
- Have a clear identifiable arc (beginning, middle, end)
- Never mirror any emotional situation you are going through with the audition.
- Always be active, make the monologues about your acting partner. Story monologues are hard to make about anyone but yourself.
- Be found in in a variety of sources but avoid anything that has been a major release in the past 5 years, including currently running show.
- Be introduced with character, play, and author.
- Never be given a synopsis. If you need one it is not a strong piece
- Be chosen with consideration for who you will be auditioning for.
- Allow you to show a part of who you are.
- Be played in an honest truthful way without the need to force emotion.
- Never cut one character out of a scene and force the audience to imagine the other character for the whole piece
- Not need to rely on props or costumes
- Have language and actions of consequence. Make sure it’s worth doing.
- Be well prepared, never “winged”. Should be rehearsed 100 times.
- Never use the person auditioning you as your acting partner.
- Not be self-written if you can’t write dramatically.
- Not require preparation in the room
- Not be self-indulgent.
- Every good rule is meant to be broken, just make sure you have a good reason to break it.
