Thursday 28th April 2016 - Suitable audition material

It is important that when you attend an audition you bring with you all of the material that they have asked you to prepare. For example a drama school audition may ask you to prepare two classical monologues possibly from a set list and one contemporary monologue. They may also ask you to bring two songs from the musical theatre or classical genre.

Classical Monologue

This is an example of a Shakespeare monologue that would be a suitable audition piece to prepare.

Ophelia from Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 1)

My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,

Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;

No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,

Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;

Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;

And with a look so piteous in purport

As if he had been loosèd out of hell

To speak of horrors—he comes before me.

My lord, I do not know.

But truly, I do fear it.

He took me by the wrist and held me hard.

Then goes he to the length of all his arm,

And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,

He falls to such perusal of my face

As he would draw it. Long stayed he so.

When preparing a monologue it is important that you have research the characters that are associated with the text, as well as what it means in present day language. For example when I was rehearsing this I found a translation...

Father, I was up in my room sewing when Hamlet came in with no hat on his head, his shirt unbuttoned, and his stockings dirty, undone, and down around his ankles. He was pale as his undershirt, and his knees were knocking together. He looked so out of sorts, as if he’d just come back from hell. He came up to me. I’m not sure, but I’m afraid he might be. He grabbed me by the wrist and held me hard, then backed away an arm’s length and just looked at me, staring at me like an artist about to paint my picture. He stayed like that a long time.

This is a good audition monologue as it is a published classical monologue that is a respected text, therefore is exactly what they are asking for. As well as this there is opportunity for movement when performing this, for example the performer could be walking in to talk to her father at the same time as looking back to check if Hamlet has followed her. This is because she is trying to express her concern for Hamlet. She is telling a story of something that has just happened and therefore the performer has an opportunity to us physical theatre to act some of the things she is explaining, such as "he took me by the wrist". Because this monologue is very panicky the auditione could perform it as if she is out of breath from running to find help. This monologue has lots of opportunities for a performer to show off their acting skills and therefore is a good example of a audition monologue.

Contemporary Monologue

This is a good example of an appropriate contemporary monologue to use for an audition. Liz Mordens Monlogue  - Our Country's Good (Act 2, Scene 1) "Luck? Don't know the word. Shifts its bob when I comes near. Born under a ha'penny planet I was. Dad's a nibbler, don't want to get crapped. Mum leaves. Five brothers, I'm the only titter. I takes in washing. Then. My own father. Lady's walking down the street, he takes her wiper. She screams, he's shoulder-clapped, says, it's not me, Sir, it's Lizzie, look, she took it. I'm stripped, beaten in the street, everyone watching. That night, I take my dad's cudgel and try to kill him, I prig all his clothes and go to my older brother. He don't want me. Liz, he says, why trine for a make, when you can wap for a winne? I'm no dimber mort, I says. Don't ask you to be a swell mollisher, Sister, men want Miss Laycock, don't look at your mug. So I begin to sell my mother of saints. I thinks I'm in luck when I meet the swell cove. He's a bobcull; sports a different wiper every day of the week. He says to me, it's not enough to sell your mossie face, Lizzie, it don't bring no shiners no more. Shows me how to spice the swells. So. Swell has me up the wall, flashes a pocket watch, I lifts it. But one time, I stir my stumps too slow, the swell squeaks beef, the snoozie hears, I'm nibbed. It's up the ladder to rest, I thinks when I goes up before the fortune teller, but no, the judge's a bobcull, I nap the King's pardon and it's seven years across the herring pond. Jesus Christ the hunger on the ship, sailors won't touch me: no rantum scantum, no food. But here, the Governor says, new life. You could nob it here, Lizzie, I thinks, bobcull Gov, this niffy naffy play, not too much work, good crew of rufflers, Karble, Arscott, but no, Ross don't like my mug, I'm nibbed again and now it's up the ladder to rest for good. Well. Lizzie Morden's life.  This is a suitable monologue to use for an audition as our country's good is a very respected text and therefore many people judging auditions will be able to compare the standard of the acting to many other performances. As well as this, like the classical monologue it tells a story of something and therefore gives the performer many opportunities to use movement, action and space to show off their acting skills. It also give the chance to show the auditioners how they can use different tones of voice to create variation in their performance. Suitable song choice This is an example of a suitable audition song from the 1933 musical Forty second street.
This is a good song to perform as it has two contrasting sections, this means that the performer has a chance to show off different ways that they can use their voice. As well as this it is from a very well known musical and most people would have heard of the music that they can compare easily.
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