Preparing for your drama school audition can be nerve-racking and finding a monologue that can help you express your full potential may seem difficult.

Let’s go over some steps you can take to get yourself in position for a promising drama school audition.

Are You Auditioning For Drama School?

So you’ve received the letter giving you your audition date and the panic has set in, or has it? A bit of panic is good, it gets the adrenaline going.

The question now is, have you got the right monologue? Is it a monologue that inspires you or inhibits you? Are you doing the monologue just because it has been given to you to do or have you been able to choose the material yourself?

These questions are worth asking yourself because you want to feel a connection with the material you will be auditioning with and that’s why it is always better to choose the monologue yourself.

It might takes hours, days, months even but eventually you will find a piece that inspires you to create, to move a certain way, use your voice a certain way, it inspires a character you can create and work with.

That is the real beauty of acting, when you find material that stimulates something which connects with you emotionally, yet it fuels you with energy to use your imagination and also create the wondrous subtleties of character.

So now that you want to begin your search, what are the main elements to keep in mind?

Focus on your strengths

What are your strengths? Can you master an incredible southern accent and character to show your vast range? Then try looking for material in that area. Do you have a naturally heavy accent, which makes you stand out from a crowd?  Use it! Go with material in that direction, most importantly find material that resonates with you, emotionally and spiritually.

Finding what resonates

You might find monologues on topics that you feel strongly about, a first love, or the feeling of falling in love, or a loss of a family member, fears that you might have about life. You might be more drawn by lighter subjects, funny or absurd situations.

When you are reading the material, be aware of your internal reactions to it, go with what moves you. When you’ve found the right monologue, it will make you want to get up, go somewhere quiet and express its world.

Contrast

You might be asked to do one contemporary monologue and one classical monologue. This alone shows enough range, but you might want to also contrast its genre, one could be comedy and one drama.

It is important to show as much range as you can at an audition because they don’t know anything about you, you could be the funniest, most charming being and yet, it could all be looked over if you don’t have the material to present it with.

So keep in mind the contrast of your monologues and ask yourself again if they are revealing your strengths.

Original Material

Look outside the box, it shows your independence and willingness to explore. You might have a drama teacher who gives you a monologue but the monologue has truly been done to death in the audition room, don’t let that be you.

At the end of the day, if you do an incredible job, then that is all that matters, regardless of the material, so don’t panic if you are currently working on a popular monologue.

However, it is recommended to give yourself an edge and find new, original and modern material. One of the reasons why Monologue Blogger exists is to provide you with new monologues and monologues from plays that are being added weekly to the site!

That’s about as cutting edge as you are gonna get. Other than Monologue Blogger, look into other new playwrights, learn about them, where their plays are being staged and before you know it, you’ll have a bunch of new favorite writers on your list…but never forget Chekhov, Strindberg, Ibsen, to name a few, their plays never get old and you can never stop learning from the greats.

Here are some monologues that we recommend for your drama school audition. All these monologues are from newly published plays on Monologue Blogger and range from 1-2 minutes in length.

Female Drama

WHEN THE COOKING IS DONE
after years of taking care of everyone else, Marza finally gets a wake up call that makes her realize it’s time to put herself first.

WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
Barbra is on the verge of losing everything she ever worked for with her business, but is it really too late?

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LUELLA BEANS?
Clarabelle gets told the real story of what happened to her biological mother.

INTO THE COLD NIGHT AIR WITH YOU
Linda discovers that the man of her dreams is having an affair with her best friend.

COFFEE TABLE
Melanie resides in a psychiatric ward and talks to people that aren’t really there but is that really the truth?

Female Comedy

DARLING FACE
Beverly wishes to be free to live her life as she sees it but being confined to a suburban house in a new marriage goes against such desires.

PIZZA FROM CARLOS
Corky lets it all hang out as she describes in detail the violent relationship she has with her lover.

DOG ANXIETY
Zara shares the story of how she is currently getting tortured from babysitting her friend’s puppy.

PHONE CALLS
Meagan plays it tough when it comes to guys but when she receives a phone call from someone she really likes she has a difficult time keeping it together.

UNDERWHELM
A dark humor monologue that explores the comedic side of boredom.

Male Drama

FOOD ON THE TABLE
Chuck has just been fired and in this monologue he fights to keep his job.

DARK SIDE OF MY MOON
KIMALE talks to his brother about the darker aspect of his competitive nature.

LANDED ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Billy defends himself based on the man he has become versus the teen he used to be.

SOIL, AIR, SKY
Jeremy talks to his fiancé about how he’s been having dreams about his brother who has died.

WASTED TALENT
Donnie talks about the loss of one of his best friend’s due to suicide.

Male Comedy

THERE HE IS
Pete loves everything about his new job except for one small problem, his co-worker Andrew.

AT THE PARTY
a dark humor piece exploring the conflict between self-gratification and serious events.

DEATH OF A LITTLE MONSTER
Rory doesn’t want to sow grace toward a dog that died because it put him in the hospital on more than one occasion.

THIS SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI
Quinn wants a new life.  He just may get his chance when two criminals enter the diner he busses tables at.

ROAST BEEF MEANS EVERYTHING’S GRAVY
a dark comic tale about a son not getting his due when his father decides not to hand over the family business.

It will take time and patience to find your material but the good news is, there are plenty of options out there. MB has a database of thousands of free monologues that you can look through.

Once you have found your material

Now that you’ve found the monologues you feel excited to perform, you’ll want to begin the journey of bringing the material to life.

As a young actor, this is no easy task. Perhaps it is easier for some but do not feel alone if you feel the world mounting on your shoulders, if you feel doubt creeping in, it is the vital part of your journey as an actor. You have chosen to pursue a career in a most challenging field, be ready to give your heart to it, be ready to face rejection but never let it be the judge of your talent.

Some of the best actors are the ones who have faced the most rejection, it strengthens the soul, it strengthens your endurance, your self-worth and the fight that you have in you.

If you want to be guided step by step on how to prepare your monologue for your audition, check out ‘Performing Your Monologue‘ which will give you everything you need to know about auditioning and performing your monologue.