The Glass Menagerie // Contemporary female monologues // audition help

I’m aware that there are plenty of threads on this board addressing auditions and monologue, and I’ve taken a good look at all of them, but still have unanswered questions.

“Applicants must memorize two monologues of two minutes each. Selections should be from well-known, published plays (not musicals), and should reflect contrasting moods and/or characters.”

I’m planning on doing a piece from Shakespeare’s As You Like It (Rosalind, 3:5) and something from The Glass Menagerie, which is posing a problem. I’ve read the play, but I’m having issues with clumping things together into a monologue. If anyone has any suggestions I’d greatly appreciate it, or a suggestion for different contrasting contemporary monologue (which I am currently looking into).

If anyone knows off hand roughly how many lines of Shakespeare 2 minutes, I’d appreciate that too. As what I currently have memorized (which I did for a recitation competition) is only 18 lines, and is cut from a larger blurb, that I am aware is currently too short.

I forgot to add that I'm female, 16, dark haired, and 5'5" if you want to take physical characteristics into helping me find a piece. (Which I know already deviates from Laura's character in TGM.)

Thank you. Sorry for not being very clearI need contrasting monologues, a classical and a contemporary. I pretty much have my heart set on doing the scene from AYLI. Overdone pieces are not a problem for the summer program that I am auditioning for.

This is their list of suggested scenes. (But I would generally like to read the play before doing the piece.)

Chekhov - Uncle Vanya: Sonia
Corthron - Breath, Boom: Prix
Friel - Lovers: Margaret
Guare - House of Blue Leaves: Bananas or Bunny; Marco Polo Sings a Solo: Diane
Hansberry - A Raisin In The Sun: Beneatha
Lorca - House of Bernarda Alba: Adela, Martirio
Martin - Keely and Du: Keely; Anton in Show Business: Lisabett
Medoff - When You Coming Back, Red Ryder?: Angel;
Shange - For Colored Girls...: Any Role
Shepard - Tooth Of Crime: Becky; Buried Child: Shelly
Curse Of The Starving Class: Emma
Williams - Glass Menagerie: Laura
Wilson - Fifth Of July: Shirley; Rimers of Eldritch: Eva
Zindel - The Effect Of Gamma Rays...: Tillie or Ruth

I'm tempted to do a piece from Oleanna by Mamet again...but that's a really last resort piece.

Updated On: 2/20/06 at 03:09 PM

I'm auditioning for a couple of programs...but most of them have very lenient requirements basically your two contrasting monologues. I am auditioning for a program you mentioned on the Student Board, Idina Rocks. :) It's the list I am pulling it off from...

if you're trying to put short pieces of dialogue into a format which allows them to seem like a monologue, i'd say don't. it will be hard to follow and probably won't flow very well.

check out THE WOOLGATHERER. if you liked Laura's character, you might like Rose and she has a bunch of monologues.

good luck!
maggie

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The auditions are mid March, so I have a little less than a month to find a working contemporary monologue. I'll look in to you suggestion Maggie.

Thanks for the heads up about stringing a monologue together...