You guys! I have an approach to audition prep that just might change the game for you. It starts when you read the phrase:
"Please prepare two contrasting monologues."
If you went to drama school, you've probably been taught to have one comedic piece and one dramatic piece just for these sort of situations, and you might mentally catalogue speeches, to be called upon when the need arises. "This is my 1 minute comedic contemporary monologue", "my dramatic classical verse monologue", "my Tennessee Williams monologue", etc.
While those descriptors are certainly helpful in determining which speeches are right for specific auditions, if you're like me, and pretty much only audition for Shakespeare, you can wind up feeling somewhat stuck when you need to prepare two contrasting monologues.
There simply aren't a ton of inherently "funny" monologues in Shakespeare, particularly for ladies. (Several of my students have made this observation.) The situation may be hilarious in the context of the scene, but strip it down to a single actor giving a speech, and a lot of the time it seems like complaining. Of course, it's possible to make these speeches work, but it can be daunting, and sometimes, the jokes just don't land.
I was prepping for one of these "two contrasting Shakespeare monologues" auditions recently, and I felt stuck with my options for what was truly "contrasting". It's not that I don't have the material, but there just seemed to be a lack of imagination and play if I was doing the monologue that always gets a laugh and the really sad, impassioned speech where I cry. I felt stuck because, as an actor, I am so much more than laughing and crying... and you are, too!
Then, I had a thought that got me completely unstuck from the funny vs serious rut I was in:
What if the contrast wasn't just about the pieces I did, but about the DIRECTION?
I took the two pieces I was most excited about (and sure, one was from a comedy, and the other from a tragedy; both by Shakespeare and in verse), and decided to approach them as though they were directed by two totally different people, with different signature styles!
For my "dramatic" piece, I decided to go super traditional Shakespeare: a little slower than I personally prefer, but honest and earnest, as though the director was Trevor Nunn.
This offset my "comedic" piece, which was ultra-modern, with pauses, emphasis, and physicality that fits right in with the hip, indie Shakespeare scene that Eric Tucker has made his reputation on.
During my prep, I also imagined what the sets, costumes, props, and lighting would look like, whether there was music, and which actors were playing the people I was speaking to. It really helped me build a whole world in my imagination for my characters to live in, and added to my specificity in the audition. These two ladies were now absolutely NOTHING alike.
By focusing on the make-believe directors for my monologues, I managed to take a lot of pressure off of myself to "be heart-breaking" or to "be funny", and I showed a broader range of what I am capable of when I'm in a show - and I'll bet it will help you showcase your skills, too!
I want to know: did you find this idea helpful? Would you try it out in your own audition prep? If you try it, let me know how it worked for you! How did it make you feel?
