Finding the perfect monologue
I've been looking for a new monologue, and although there are plenty out there, even plenty of obscure monologues out there, it's unclear what makes an appropriate monologue.... for me . I've read enough about auditioning to know that no casting director wants to see a piece they've seen done a million times. I want them to focus on my talent and personality, not be sitting there thinking, "Oh no, not this again." I also need to avoid over-long memory monologues (When I was a little girl growing up on the farm in Kansas....) or monologues intended to shock (swearing, screaming, crying, engaging in repulsive acts). I once saw a quite beautiful actress perform a monologue that involved a detailed analysis of picking her nose. It was grim. But I recently came across an otherwise so-so book called 10 Steps to Breaking into Acting that contained a good definition of the perfect monologue, and I think this is the place to start. Here it is: A good monologue is one ...