Actors Studio Audition Scene Help

[Ckrause89]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:04pm

Hello All!

I have an audition with The Actors Studio in May. For their audition, they actually let you bring a partner and perform a five minute scene. I've been having a bit of trouble trying to find a good scene. (I've ready probably 15plays so far with no dice). The partner I want to take is a former professor and mentor of mine. She's a woman in her mid-40's, and I'm trying to find a good scene that would fit both of our types. To give you an idea of my type, I'm 24, and previous roles I've played are D'Artagnan in the Three Musketeers, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and Todd in The Author's Voice. My avy-pic is also of me, to give you an idea of what I look like.

I've been reading a lot of plays with Mother/Son dynamics, but I haven't found a really good meaty scene yet (also one that has to feature me a bit more prominently since I'm the one auditioning.)

I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions/ideas for scenes that would work. It doesn't necessarily have to be a mother/son dynamic either. Just something that would fit both of our types. Thanks for your help!

EDIT: I should note that they only want contemporary scenes, so no Shakespeare, Moliere, ect. And it would be wise from me to stay away from contemporary plays that are set in a specifically styled time period (Exmp: Lion in Winter).

Also, I know I'm doing a bit of a no-no by posting this topic again on the main board (I posted on the student board already) but I haven't gotten any feedback on the student boards yet and it's been up there for almost a week. I posted this hear simply because more people seem to frequent this board, and I need to find a scene fairly soon.





Updated On: 2/21/14 at 01:04 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:33pm

My first question is what scenes has your professor/mentor suggested?

Maybe a scene from The Glass Menagerie
If the two of you are nice looking, maybe something from Sweet Bird Of Youth

[Ckrause89]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 2:05pm

She suggested the scene between the 17 year old boy and the Mother in The Rabbit Hole, and checking out Marvin's Room, the play version of Ordinary People, and The Glass Menagerie.

I've read all of those, and Glass didn't really have a scene between the Mother and Son that stuck out to me, also they're not usually alone for all that long before another character comes on stage. Rabbit Hole was a nice scene, but it's very downplayed (which isn't bad, but not really what I'm looking for) it's also a scene driven more by the Mother than the son. Ordinary people was a great play, but the Father is in every scene between the Mother and Son as well. The scene in Marvin's room between Hank and Bessie is nice, and one I'm currently considering. I'm also not sure if it's got quite enough "oomph" if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for something that needs to be incredibly intense (in fact, many times those scenes fall short when doing them in this kind of setting, with no context) but I'm looking for a scene with a nice arc to it.

I've also read Tea and Sympathy, which was a nice play but the wife in the play is a bit too young for my Mentor (supposed to be early 30's), and I've also read Look Homeward Angel (wasn't a fan of that one), and A Loss of Roses, which was okay, but again, didn't have a scene that really stuck out to me.

I'll check out Sweet Bird of Youth though, I haven't heard of that one before.

The real problem with this is finding a nice dynamic 5 minute scene that has a bit of an arc to it. It's easy to find a lot of good plays, but often times it's hard to pick a good scene from within the play.

Updated On: 2/21/14 at 02:05 PM

[PrinceCaspian]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 3:56pm

Are you familiar with Pterodactyls by Nicky Silver? That was the first play to come to mind

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 3:59pm

Remember, they are there to see what you can do, not the piece you pick or its dynamics. They also aren't going to worry too much if your partner isn't quite right for the role, she's doing you a favor.

You can also EDIT and combine to create the scene.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 4:05pm

Hmm, what about the dramatic scene in Torch Song Trilogy? Both roles were older, but given how society has changed since then, both characters would be more appropriate as younger, IMHO.
Torch Song scene

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 4:26pm

Do you feel, as a 24-year-old, that you want to go younger (like late teens)? Or do you want to do something more mature? My first thought was to check out WIT for a scene between Jason and Vivian. There's also a lovely play called SKYLIGHT by David Hare that features a younger man having a conversation with the ex-mistress of his father. There's a lot of good stuff in there. Look at the role of Edward in that one.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 4:39pm

The scene from Some Girl(s) by Neil Labute with Guy and Lindsay would work!

Updated On: 2/21/14 at 04:39 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 5:15pm

Actually Sweet Bird of Youth isn't mother/son. It's a gigolo and an older woman, so maybe that won't work.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 7:15pm

Butterflies are Free

[Ckrause89]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 12:19pm

SonofRobbieJ: In terms of what I'm looking to play, I'm really just looking for anything that fits within my typecast. I think I still look young enough to play older teens, but I don't think I would look to play a character that's supposed to be any older than late 20's/very early 30's. I don't really have a preference either way, because I'm just looking for a good scene, weather it feature a 26 year old or an 18 year old. I'll definitely check out WIT and SKLLIGHT though!

And Gothampc, it's okay if the scene isn't mother/son. I'm just looking for a scene that would fit for both me and my mentor, so as long as it's older woman/younger man it's fine.

And thank you everyone for all your responses! I'm going to start ordering some of these plays now!

[someone.else's.story2]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 12:32pm

Butterflies are free is a great suggestion. Don Baker has some wonderful scenes..

Also, look up Adam Rapp's play Red Light Winter

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 12:57pm

This would be a sort of out-of-the-box suggestion, but there's a lovely play from the 80's called MASS APPEAL about an older priest mentoring a younger, more 'radical' priest. I understand your scene partner is a woman, but maybe you'll get points for daringness

It's a pretty great script.

[Ckrause89]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 4:26pm

Butterflies are free is the one with the Blind son right? I have that script actually (I haven't read it yet) but I was going back and forth on that because I wasn't sure if I wanted to add a big external change like being blind to whatever scene I choose. They don't specifically warn against doing something like that, but I know in general when you're auditioning the people watching you usually want to see something within your type cast and not pick a monologue or scene that has you adopt other affectations like an accent or very distinct physicality.

That kind of thing isn't always bad, and if you do it well they're not going to care, but I know it's a bit of a risk, so I've been kind of wary of Butterflies so far.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 4:29pm

^ It's a smart thing to avoid. I just recently played a blind character in a show and it's A LOT of work to get the physicality to a real place that fits seamlessly within the realm of the show. There's no need to add that hurdle for yourself.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 8:15pm

dupl post Updated On: 2/25/14 at 08:15 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 8:17pm

CKrause89, good point about Butterflies; have you considered The Subject was Roses? And although I don't really like The Shadow Box as a whole, you might want to look at the scene between Mark and Beverly. Updated On: 2/25/14 at 08:17 PM

[Ckrause89]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 9:25pm

Thanks again for all the responses everyone! Also, I just realized you posted a link to the Torch Song Scene oasisjeff. That's a really nice scene actually, though I have a question. Is it written in that the son is fairly overtly flamboyant? The thing is, it's not really my normal typecast, and while I'd love the challenge, like I said before, I'd like to keep something that's within my range.