Table of Contents

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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

 

 

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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

 

Karen Kohlhaas is a New York based theater director, a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School . She teaches private monologue classes in New York and internationally, is the author of “The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors,” and is the director/writer/producer of THE MONOLOGUE AUDITION VIDEO, a 120-minute instructional dvd for actors or anyone who wants to present themselves well, available on her website www.monologueaudition.com.

Copyright 2006 by Karen Kohlhaas
Individuals have permission to duplicate or distribute this article if done so in its entirety.