Monologues for Teens

Preparing for an audition
To prepare for an audition, an actor needs a monologue of approximately two minutes in length. A monologue is a short speech by one character. It is a monologue and so there is no interruption by another character. That would be a dialogue. A monologue is a great opportunity for an actor to show off their acting skills. A well-rehearsed monologue will give the aspiring actor an excellent chance of landing a part. a poorly prepared monologue will sink an actor's ship in the director's eyes.

Often I have cast actors who gave bad auditions, but only in cases when I knew the actor and knew what they were capable of. If an actor is unknown to a director then the monologue will be the only chance an actor will have to show the director what he or she can do. So if an actor really wants a part they had better prepare. The monologue is an opportunity, as I have said before, to show off an actor's skills. The monologue should be rehearsed and understood.

The play that the monologue has been drawn from should be read a couple of times so that the context and the meaning of the monologue can become clearer to the actor. The actor should plan out moments of discovery for the character he is playing at the audition. The actor knows what the character is going to say next. The character doesn't. What is the character like physically and vocally? How will the actor make the director believe in his or her performance? An actor should use imagination, research and hard work to mine the gold that lies in the character they are portraying.

An actor should always give their audition their best shot, being as prepared as possible so that there can be no excuse for failure. Excuses are for unemployed actors.

For some great free monologues go to Bottle Tree Productions teen monologues