On Finding Monologues for the New Actor

It is the actor's eternal quest...to find monologues.
Not all of us have access to a good public library, with lots of plays in it.
What i would recommend, if you're really serious about acting, that you always be looking for monologues.


I'll tell you, as a teacher, and a professional actor, it's hard sometimes not to get snarky when someone asks for a monologue. That's because it's hard enough to look for your own , let alone help someone else pick out theirs.
monologues are intensely personal, really.
First, the material has to speak to you, and your sensibilities as an artist. A monologue that might be hilarious when you do it, could go over like a lead balloon if did it, because it just doesn't fit me.
Second, it has to speak to your strengths...what do you do well as an actor? What do you gravitate to?
It's your calling card, along with your headshot and resume.
Asking someone else for a monologue, is like asking someone else to come up with the mission statement for your business.

This is not meant to offend anyone,
I just see a lot of new actors asking for monologues, and then getting their feelings hurt if someone responds in a sarcastic or mean way or flat out ignores the request. I'm not saying it's right, but I do understand where it's coming from...most actors are constantly on the look out for new monologues. It's a drag to do it for yourself, sometimes. it takes a lot of time, and thought. Asking someone else to do it for you, is really a dis-service to YOU as an artist.

So how do you remedy that? I think the easiest way to start, is by building your own collection.

monologues at amazon.com
I'm not sure if that link will work properly, but i put "monologue book" into the amazon search engine and got over 18,000 matches.
Start there. get yourself a couple of monologue books, and read them. Save up your money; if you are serious about acting it's worth it. After you've read them, make a note of the ones you liked, who the playwright is, and what play they're from.

See, part of finding a monologue is finding a playwright who speaks in "your voice". I am from the midwest. I am a woman, in my 30s. all of these things, including countless life experiences make up my voice as an artist. There are certain playwrights who speak my language: Sam Shepard, Lynda Barry, Nicky Silver. Something about the way they write just speaks to me. If I choose a monologue from one of their plays, my work is half done, because something in me already has an intuitive understanding of the material. Then i just need to work on it. blocking, testing it out. playing with it, stretching the boundaries of it...to find out what it can really offer me. Sometimes after you've played with a monologue for awhile, you'll discover that it doesn't really work for you, and then it's back to the drawing board.

So after you've looked through the monologue book, and found some playwrights you like, read more of their plays to find some lesser done monologues. The thing about monologue books, is that they are overused. This is because finding a monologue can be really hard. And finding a monologue book is easy. It's up to you really. Do you want to put the extra time in to really stand out, and find something that speaks to you?
The people you audition for-- 9 times out of 10-- will know if you've gotten your monologue out of a book. And also, whether or not you have read the whole play.

It is a good idea to have at least 8 monologues that you know, and can do at a moments notice. Sometimes, the person you are auditioning for will ask you "Do you have a piece that's more...." comedic, with heightened language, more serious, shorter, longer, etc. etc. Trust me, it is quite a humiliating experience to say "No, i don't".

Someone once told me about acting "Auditioning is the job, work is the perk". I have found that to be one of the truest things about acting that I've ever heard.

I hope this is helpful.
I wish someone had said it to me, when I was just starting out.
Break Legs, everyone