monologue help...again

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tikka
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monologue help...again

Post by tikka »

Hi
DS getting in a panic!!!!

Any suggestions for a suitable piece - has to be contemporary, 90 secs, english, suit a 18 yr old boy .

many thanks in advance
tikka
(who will be glad when its all over!)
sapphire
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by sapphire »

Has he looked at DNA by Denis Kelly ... I think he might find something in there ...
tikka
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by tikka »

Thanks Sapphire.

When it says a contemporary play does that just mean something written recently (post 1940s ish) or does it also have to be about modern times. So if you write a play today about the Romans is it still contemporary? Probably a daft question...but I know nothing about drama/acting!

tikka
sapphire
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by sapphire »

Not sure about that ... when DD chose contemporary monologues she tended to stick to modern themes as well as go by publication date to be on the safe side!

Another play to see if you could get hold of is 'Bang Bang You're Dead' written by William Mastrosimone in 1999 - its an ensemble piece about a school shooting but most of the actual dialogue is spoken by the male lead so you could probably put together a monologue from that. It does seem to be hard to get hold of though ... Two other possible plays to look at are Punk Rock by Simon Stephens and Mugged by Andrew Payne.
pg
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by pg »

If this is for a drama school audition then they will normally stipulate what the mean by contemporary (for some it's anything after 1900 for some it has to be within the last 10 years!). If it doesn't stipulate then I think it should be post 1950 - more modern than that would be better to be on the safe side. I am fairly confident that contemporary means written recently rather than being about a contemporary topic. However, I don't think modern translations of ancient (eg Greek) texts would be a good choice. An entirely new play based on an old tale would be ok though! Probably better for it to be written in a modern idiom though - I'm not sure that's the right expression :? I mean like ordinary dialogue rather than something written in verse.
tikka
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by tikka »

Thankyou. It just says 'a contemporary play' , doesn't specify the dates. Are you allowed to abridge it yourself to trim it down, or does it have to be the original version? I know choosing is all part of the selection process but it would be easier if they just gave you a few choices and you had to pick one ;)

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riverdancefan
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by riverdancefan »

Are you London based ?
If so the National Theatre hs some great plays and monologue collections in their shop. It's so much nicer to go and have a browse rather than ordering from Amazon on a whim.
"Punk rock" is on their shelves as I got it for DS and it's got some super monologues with a bit of swearing thrown in 8)
"Tall and proud my mother taught me, this is how we dance" - RIVERDANCE
pg
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Re: monologue help...again

Post by pg »

I think it's fine to trim it from the beginning or the end (providing it still makes sense, obviously!) but I think you need to be a bit careful about cutting out things from the middle of a speech. It can quite often be very helpful to trim the start of a speech - it can give you great impetus in an audition to start in "mid flow" as if the auditioner has just caught part of someone's life. It does depend on the speech really. If you or ds want to send me any choices I'd be very happy to take a look.

You can also legitimately leave out bits of dialogue from other characters. Sometimes several shorter pieces from a scene can be put together.
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