Acting coach Aaron Marcus recommends keeping two contrasting monologues, one serious and one comedic, matched to the character and role you're auditioning for. Avoid famous pieces that invite comparison to well-known performances, and treat the monologue as a conversation with an imagined person in the room rather than addressing the audience directly.
Hey, I'm Aaron Marcus, and if you're watching this on my YouTube channel, make sure you click the subscription button and the little bell, the notification button, and that way every time I upload a new video, you will be notified. Hey, so as you probably know, I do a lot of online mentoring, private mentoring sessions, which are so much fun for me. And sometimes I work with people who are getting ready to do a monologue. So a couple of questions that pop up. Number one, you know, do you— you know, what kind of monologue should you put together? Basically, you want 2 contrasting monologues in your pocket, you know, normally one serious, one comedic. Personally, if you have a choice to present either one, I'd go with comedic. You know, people get a little tired and overwhelmed with hearing sad stories. And people don't want to just see you break down and cry because if they're reading a lot of people that day, it really— it gets draining. So if you have the option, personally, I go with comedy. If you're auditioning for theater, then what I would suggest doing is I would find a monologue that has a character with similar emotions that you are going to be reading for, for, um, for the play. And that way they can see that you can really connect with the right emotions, that you, you seem right for that role. I think that would be a great idea if you are auditioning for film and TV, um, and commercials and you're meeting with an agent. And, and by the way, I can just tell you, uh, I don't have a monologue. Ready. I haven't used a monologue in probably 25 years. Every time I go to an audition for a film or a TV or commercial project, they give me the sides, the short portion of the script, or they copy the words to the TV commercial, and I read them. So I really— and maybe it's just because I've been doing this a long time— I just don't have a need for a monologue. And I'm not saying don't have them. They Definitely, you want to have 2 monologues prepared. I'm kind of like the chef, you know, who comes home and in my refrigerator, instead of, you know, these gourmet meals that I've been cooking all day, I've got a, you know, 6-pack of beer. Um, so, but I am saying to you, you, you definitely do want them. I just don't use monologues. But, you know, a couple areas where I could see you possibly using them is if you're meeting with a new agent, they might ask you for, uh, to do a monologue, or Could even be a casting director or manager. So definitely have them. A couple quick things, and these are things that I'm asked about a lot. Make sure that this monologue is something you can really connect with, something that really means something to you. I remember working with someone. It was, it was a young person, and she's doing a monologue about I think she was like 11, 12, 13 or something. She was talking about how her husband left her and left her with 2 kids. And, you know, I had to have a little talk, um, just to explain. I, I don't know— at that time, I didn't know who gave her that monologue. It made absolutely no sense. She should never use anything like that in public. It was just silly, you know. And, and no matter how talented the person was nobody's going to really watch her because the, the, the words were just so outlandish for her. So make sure it's something that you can connect with, something that you've experienced, or something that makes sense for you and is in your character, uh, that makes sense for you, you know, even physically, that you look right to be doing these kinds of things. Like, I'm never going to do a monologue about, you know, being the head of a motorcycle gang. It's just not, you know, it's not going to happen. That's not my, you know, those aren't my kind of roles. So So how do you find them? Well, certainly you can just do Google searches. There are plenty of books. I would also check out— there's a website, it's whysanity.net, W-H-Y, and see if you can find something there. The other thing too is, can you write your own monologue? So here I'm talking about make sure it's— make sure that it's something you can really connect with. Well, people have said to me who I've worked with, Look, this is something I went through in my life. It makes sense. I get it. I'd like to write the monologue. What better monologue could there possibly be than something that I actually create? Well, conceptually, that's wonderful. The only problem is if you're not a great writer and you don't know how to construct a monologue and have a beginning, have a middle, have an end, have a shift in the character, then people are going to be looking and, and listening to you and thinking this stuff just doesn't flow grammatically, it just doesn't connect, the words aren't all that interesting. And now you're going to be judged as a writer and you're not going to be taken seriously as an actor. So here's the deal: if you are a really good writer and you know how to write a great monologue, Sure, put one together. But if not, I would go with a professional who has put together and created really powerful monologues, and that's what I would go with. Just another little side note with monologues, be careful. You don't want to do a monologue from a performance that was done by a famous actor in a well-known project, whether it's a film, whether it's a television show. Because even if you think, think that this is the perfect one for you, honestly, you're going to be judged and compared to what people have already heard somebody else do. And that's a really tough way to do it. So, you know, you can take something from a film or a television show or, you know, wherever you want to get it, but just make sure it's not so well known because otherwise, you know, look, it's kind of like copying somebody's song, you know, recording somebody else's song. Well, if it was a well-known song and a well-known performer, that's what people are going to be hearing, and that, that's a tough one to compete with. So, and one other just little thing about monologues: when you are doing the monologue, remember you are talking to somebody. Don't play the room. I personally, I wouldn't even look into the eyes of whoever is watching you. It might freak them out a little bit. So find a place in the room where you want to put the person that you're having this conversation with, and And that's where you're talking. So anyhow, just wanted to share that with you. If you have any monologue comments, if you've worked on a monologue, things that have worked, things that have not worked, please share it below. If there's one piece of information that you got out of this quick tip video that you found helpful, please leave that comment below. I'd love to hear what was helpful to you. That will help me understand what kind of quick tip videos to put out in the future. Certainly share this throughout your social media platforms. That's why I'm doing this, to help other people. And the very last thing, if you could, hey, I'd love to have you support the channel. And there is a donation link below. It just goes straight to PayPal. And whatever is good for you, whatever you think is appropriate, that would be great. The amount doesn't matter, but I'd love to have you support it and be a part of it. And you'll find the PayPal link below. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
