Monologueaudition.com - Education Package Table of Contents

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
Do your students love to audition with monologues? • How this approach came about • Why don’t some schools teach actors how to audition? • Monologue skills empower all students

MONOLOGUE CLASS GOALS
Goals for the serious acting student who intends to become a professional actor • Goals for those studying acting for personal and professional growth

MONOLOGUE CLASS GUIDELINES
Ideal classroom atmosphere and rehearsal habits

Do… Require students to rehearse regularly with a partner • Empower a student to define and then execute her creative vision • Insist that students watch and support the actor who is working • Teach students to use Flylady's principles • Support students' showmanship at all times • Constantly tell students that drilling is the key to success • Tell students to have patience the first time through the Monologues I material • Teach students to be clear about a rehearsal's purpose • Constantly remind students they are brave • Immediately point out progress and treat students' work positively

Don't… Find or assign material for a student • Let an actor work who does not have lines memorized • Let students start over when running the whole monologue • Let students indulge in negative self-talk

SUGGESTED CURRICULUM
What are the goals of your monologue class? • Monologues I curriculum • Monologues II curriculum

BODY AND VOICE
Voice exercise • Voice is the way to success • Movement training is essential to acting • Body and voice training make actors stand out

MONOLOGUE SHOWMANSHIP
Have dynamite material • Be a great host • Be a pro • Take stage • Take care of the audience Grab the audience from the first moment • Keep the audience with you • The show must go on • Be fearless • Be a hero • Drive for the curtain • Get off stage • Leave them wanting more • Honor the audience • Never apologize • Have pride • Have a life

THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS
Introductions and questions • Control/Can’t control

CHOOSING MATERIAL
Choosing the first monologue • Material choice after the first monologue • CHOOSING MONOLOGUES FOR EXPLORATION AND GROWTH • For artistic and technical growth • For artistic expression • For fun! • CHOOSING MONOLOGUES FOR SPECIFIC AUDITIONS • For particular roles • For training program auditions • For multi-theater general auditions • For an intern or apprentice program • For a general audition for a particular theater • The “Hello, this is me” monologue • For competitions • For general auditions for film casting directors • For film auditions • GENERAL GUIDELINES • Questions to ask your students when they are choosing monologues • The best way to find material • How to recognize a good monologue • How to use a monologue book • Type issues • Typecasting exercise • Monologues with accents • What is a contemporary monologue? • What a monologue does not need to be • Self-written monologues • MATERIAL TO AVOID • Age-inappropriate monologues • Monologues that are too long • Monologues that are really scenes • Confusing monologues • Subject-inappropriate monologues • Overly negative and/or degrading monologues • Use/overuse of profanity • Bad writing • Overdone monologues • MORE GUIDELINES • “Found” monologues • Cutting and shaping found and non-play monologues • Editing monologues from plays • “Story” monologues can be fine! • Choosing contrasting monologues • Building a monologue repertoire

MONOLOGUES I Curriculum

LESSON ONE: Directing 1
DIRECTING OVERVIEW • Encourage students to develop a director’s eye and instincts • It’s all about suspense • Sequence for teaching directing • BEGINNING, MIDDLE, CLIMAX & END • Beginning/Middle/Climax/End guidelines • CHUNKS AND DESCRIPTIONS • Teaching Chunks • Exercise: Listen to the writer • Teaching Descriptions • Creativity, not perfection • Fun ways to practice Descriptions • SIZES & SPEEDS • Teaching Sizes & Speeds • Size & Speed Exercise • Choosing Sizes and Speeds • Exercise: Size and Speed story • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

LESSON TWO: Acting 1
ACTING OVERVIEW • Playing the solution • What would Johnnie Cochran do? • Analyzing a monologue • Unactable wants • Actable wants • Hope • Choosing an Action • Action list • Questions to ask when choosing Actions • The As-if • As-ifs come from the body • What an As-if is, and isn’t • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON THREE: Auditioning 1
AUDITION TECHNIQUE OVERVIEW • The number one rule of audition technique • The actor is the host of his audition • Smiling exercise • Camera exercise • Be clear about the actor/auditor relationship • Smiling is about warmth • How to introduce a monologue • Entrances • Find the performance area • The audition starts at the door • Make eye contact with everyone • Non-verbal communication is stronger than verbal communication • The steps to their dreams • Why do actors rush the entrance? • Adding Big & Slow • Practicing the entrance and introduction • Put them on tape • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON FOUR: Directing 2
STAGING GUIDELINES • Take stage with the square • Choose the focus • Square guidelines • Moving in the square • Preparing to stage • Teaching the Countdown • Staging demonstration • An organic process • STAGING THE FIRST THREE CHUNKS • Staging the first Chunk • Staging the second Chunk • Check the staging and transitions • Staging the third Chunk • Adding the words • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON FIVE: Acting 2
THE AS-IF EXERCISE, PART 1 • Body reconnection technique • Getting the Action with the lines • Side coaching • Play the Action like Johnnie Cochran • Playing the solution works for all kinds of characters • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON SIX: Auditioning 2
THANK YOU AND EXIT • How not to end the audition • Ending do and don’t exercise • It needs to be seamless • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON SEVEN: Directing 3
FINALIZING THE STAGING • Start with an introduction • Checking your students’ staging • Overall qualities to look for • Troubleshooting • Other issues • Adding the thank you • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON EIGHT: Acting 3
THE AS-IF EXERCISE, PART 2 • Acting “off the wall” • The As-if exercise, part 2 • ACTING THE STAGING • Listening handball • Who am I acting with? • Troubleshooting • Recommit every time to playing the solution • Taking ownership • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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LESSON NINE: Auditioning 3
ENTRANCES AND EXITS WITH ACTIONS • Nightmare actor exercise • Positive Actions • Positive As-if’s • Practicing positive As-if’s • Make the good idea into a habit • PERFORMING THE WHOLE AUDITION • Switch from Action to Action • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

MONOLOGUES II Curriculum

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DIRECTING: Changing Focus
Soliloquy focus • Focus for monologues to multiple characters • Monologues addressed to large groups • Monologues addressed to the audience • Monologues with mixed focus • Monologues with special focus

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DIRECTING: Adjusting the Size of a Monologue
Standing in one place • Sitting in a chair • A movie close-up • On the radio

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DIRECTING: Chairs and Props
Using chairs • Using props

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ACTING: Working on Acting Issues
Personal/emotional accessibility • Maturity/discipline/fear issues about acting • Vocal and language abilities • Physical tendencies and habits • Solutions for specific acting issues • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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ACTING: Working on Range
The Secret Identity monologue • The Challenge monologue • Other ways to expand range

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ACTING: Analyzing Monologues to Multiple
Characters, Monologues to the Audience, and Soliloquies
Analyzing monologues addressed to multiple characters • Analyzing monologues to the audience • Analyzing soliloquies

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AUDITION TECHNIQUE: Auditioning with Two Monologues
How to introduce and transition between two monologues • What not to do • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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AUDITION TECHNIQUE: Chatting in the Audition Room
How to chat • Common industry questions • Challenging industry questions • Caveats • Practice the positive • Exercise: Playing the positive

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AUDITION TECHNIQUE: Choosing Clothing
Clothing do’s • Clothing don’ts • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL • Clothing exercise

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AUDITION TECHNIQUE: 5 Questions
Exercise: How do you talk to yourself? • The 5 Questions • Rules for the 5 Questions

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AUDITION TECHNIQUE: Mock Auditions
Neutral Audition exercise #1 • Neutral Audition exercise #2: The chairs • Chaos audition exercise #1: Crazy casting people • Chaos audition exercise #2: The genius director • Ideal audition exercise #1: What have you been up to? • Ideal audition exercise #2: Movie role offer • Discussion after the auditions • Summary of audition room principles

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SONGS: Directing and Acting Songs
Find variety • Work with the music • Act the song • HOMEWORK AND REHEARSAL

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BUSINESS SKILLS: Public Speaking and Presentations
Preparing a speech or presentation • Tell a story • Make suspenseful choices • Build to a Climax • Play a strong Action • Entrance and exit options

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BUSINESS SKILLS: Job interviews
Exercise: student to student job interviews • Real interviewer exercise

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EXTRA CREDIT: School Monologue Projects
Family stories monologues • Community stories monologues • Inter-curricular monologues • Community/national/world issues monologues • Inter-state or international monologues • Theater pieces • School monologue websites

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Appendix: Lists and articles to photocopy
Monologue audition showmanship • Audition room principles • Why Flylady is great for actors • Why you should have 20 monologues • Top monologue mistakes and solutions • How to love auditioning

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Discount Certificate

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Karen Kohlhaas is a New York based theater director and filmmaker, a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School. She teaches private monologue, directing, and “Fearless Cold Reading & Audition Technique” classes in New York and other cities. She is the author of How to Choose a Monologue for Any Audition, The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors, and The Monologue Audition Teacher's Manual, and is the director/writer/producer of The Monologue Audition Video (DVD), a 120-minute instructional DVD for actors, or anyone who wants to improve at public speaking and giving presentations, available at www.monologueaudition.com.