Here's some good information from the James Madison University Department of Theatre application page:
Keep each monologue short and to the point. One minute may not seem like a long time, but you would be surprised how much you can communicate. Quality, not quantity, is the key. Please time your material. If your monologues run much over two minutes total you may be cut off.
Even if you do find a monologue in a monologue book, make sure to read the entire play. Do not use monologues written for audition purposes for which no play exists. Please do not present a monologue from a musical or an unpublished play.
Choose material suitable for performers of your age. Avoid material written for a character significantly older or younger than yourself, as well as pieces that use dialects. We want to get a sense of who you are.
I tell my students to avoid "storytelling" monologues. Make sure the character really wants something from the other person and can fight for it. Also avoid overdone material such as Our Town, most Christopher Durang pieces that end up in monologue books, or anything else that crops up when you google "overdone audition monologues." Your best bet is to avoid pieces from audition books but instead pull from a full play. Cutting a monologue together from a play (while making sure to edit for clarity) will make it less likely that someone else will be doing the same piece.
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Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Fishersville VA
Original Message:
Sent: 08-31-2016 14:10
From: Timothy Meylor
Subject: Help Students Find Audition Monologues
Hey all! I've had several of my classmates that are new to theater wondering either where to find acceptable monologues or how to know if a monologue is good enough to audition with. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Timothy Meylor
Lafayette CO
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