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So You Want To Tread The Boards by Jennifer Reischel

Audition Monologues

Five vital points when choosing your pieces:

1. Make sure they are suitable to your age (unless you are auditioning professionally for a much older part)
   
   
2. Stick to the prescribed time limit, usually no more than two minutes.
   
   
3. Choose pieces with an emotional journey, someone reminiscing about a
   d ay spent at the beach doesn’t show enough
   
   
4. Show a contrast in mood (comedy, drama, etc.) time period (contemporary, restoration) and playwrights.
   
   
5. If auditioning for drama school, learn at least five pieces, more if you can.

Overdone monologues:

Simon Dunmore lists overdone Shakespeare and mentions helpful other alternative playwrights from the same era on his webpage (see links page).

TIP: Avoid the tuna fish monologue! (You know which one I mean. ;)) Arguably the most overdone piece of it’s kind of all time.

Full listings of websites and further places to find monologues, tips on how to prepare and choose your pieces and what to avoid/how to find an audition coach and much more are available in 'So you want to tread the boards'