• Prepare an audition of two contrasting one minute pieces. You will be stopped after two minutes. Please be sure you divide the time equally so that both pieces are completed within the designated time. Time yourself so you will not feel rushed.
• Your introduction should include your name, the name of your characters, and the plays those characters are from.
• The clock begins after the introduction.

• DO:
• Use material well within your grasp and understanding.
• Use material in which you have been carefully coached.
  WMU Theatre offers a free workshop for auditions.
• Choose clothing that is simple, professional, and comfortable.
• DON'T:
• Select material which represents characters over 30 years old
• Choose a role in which you could not feasibly be cast
• Select material written before 1900
• Select material from musicals
• Use Forensics material
• Use costumes
• Use dialects
• Use props (a chair will be provided for you)

You may not want to use monologue books. Since collections of monologues are widely distributed, everyone will be using the same ones. You want your piece to be unique.

Rather than flip the pages of a play looking for large blocks of words where no one else talks, look for a dialogue which allows you to cut or steal the other character's lines and still leave the scene intact. This will give you an interactive monologue propelled by relationship. Much more interesting for an audience to watch.

A monologue should show off who you are. Look for contemporary pieces with roles in your age range that you could be cast in today. How do you know "who you are"? A difficult question, but not unsolvable. Ask yourself some simple questions about your life. Where were you raised - city, suburbs or country? Are you the life of the party or a wallflower? Are you a leader or a follower? Are you religious? What is your birth order? Are you the responsible oldest child, or the carefree charming youngest? Are you an only child? What was your childhood like; sheltered, abusive, dull, happy? By answering questions like these honestly (maybe with the help of a friend or relative) you can get an idea of the kind of parts which show you off the best.

When in doubt, go for comedy, go for action, go for physicality. Avoid memory pieces, suffering victim pieces, bodily functions graphically described. Avoid Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Neil Simon. Look for very, very contemporary playwrights. Unpublished plays often have good monologues. It is also possible to find good monologues in movie scripts, but be careful, you don't want to do something recent and recognizable.

Choosing the perfect monologue is no place to take shortcuts. This is your calling card and should be done with diligence and care.

Some Useful Books:

The Perfect Monologue by Ginger Friedman as a guide to preparing this most important actor tool.
Act I Reports which lists everything an actor needs to know about the 'biz' in Chicago; agents, casting directors, photographers, etc.
Audition by Michael Shurtleff. If you don't know about it yet, get it!