Should You Write Your Own Monologue?
Practice Grounding Techniques Before Recit
While it has been done before, performing your own monologue is definitely a risky approach. Presenting your writing at an audition could came across as a little over the top. In fact, it may rub a casting director the wrong way. It could look like you haven’t been booked in an actual project or have no idea how to look for monologues on the web. Like any other risk you choose to take in your career, the outcome will likely ether be really good or really bad.
One major reason to opt for a monologue you can easily find in the public domain rather than penning your own is you’ll avoid a potentially difficult and time-consuming process that could take away from valuable practice time. Plus, if you’ve made a typo somewhere along the way, you may get fluttered in the middle, hung up on the script’s flaw rather than focusing on the performance itself.
The decision-making team tasked with judging your presentation might be more focused on you as a budding writer than a budding star. This is an awkward spot to be in, and it’s difficult to manage both at once. Like choosing to bring a musical instrument when it’s not required, doing so can make the performance needlessly complex and confusing.
If you believe your script-writing abilities are on point, however, and think you can pull off the perfect product, make sure the monologue you craft is flawless before the big day. It should have a distinct beginning, middle, and end, and consist of a captivating storyline you might see on the big screen. The character you’ve written for yourself should be believable and relevant to what you hope to accomplish. The role should allow you to perform a wide array of emotions or otherwise have noticeable depth. It should stand out from the others already out there – in a good way.
If you choose to perform your own piece, just know it may be a bit more difficult for a casting director to focus on everything that was better or worse than other contenders who’ve chosen to use readily available lines. While doing so successfully will display your range, you’ll probably want to forgo mentioning you’ve composed it right after you slate. Just say your name and the title of the project. If the team loves your performance, great! You can reveal you’re the writer after you’re given a thumbs up.
ing Your Lines
