{"id":18821,"date":"2022-02-09T14:15:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T22:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/?p=18821"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:43:17","slug":"preparing-and-rehearsing-a-monologue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/preparing-and-rehearsing-a-monologue\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing and Rehearsing a Monologue"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"color: #000000\">Here is a suggested process for preparing and rehearsing your audition Monologue.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">There are a number of qualities that directors look for in an actor&#8217;s audition:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Honest connection to the language and situation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Fully understanding and commitment to the character\u2019s imaginary situation &#8211;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">A strong sense of the character\u2019s driving needs in the moment and the need to speak these specific words<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">The moment to moment discovering of the next thought<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">A good sense of physical presence, confidence and curiosity<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Making bold choices that are rooted in the truth of the character point of view and the situation<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">Choose something that you can relate to and stimulates your curiosity.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Read the play so you can fully understand the circumstances driving the monologue.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Clarify who you are speaking to<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">What is the charged relationship?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">What is the problem<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">What is your objective towards that person \u2013 what do you want them to do or feel<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Notice where your tactics (Charm or Threat etc.) change or where anything else happens to change you and mark it in your script.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Note moments of victory and defeat<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">In the margin write your first hunch about what tactics you might try for each line\/thought\/beat.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Notice where there are moments of discovery or realization.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">For Shakespeare look up all the unfamiliar words so you can play the specific meaning of what you are saying. Here is a link to an edition of the play that contains definitions for some of the words at the end of each scene. <a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"http:\/\/www.shakespeare-online.com\/plays\/\">http:\/\/www.shakespeare-online.com\/plays\/<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Make a space where you are comfortable rehearsing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Preparation<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Imagine and feel the location, all the elements that relate to your 5 senses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Imagine and feel the inner environment \u2013 everything happening inside your body and it\u2019s connection to your mental state<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Imaging the person you are speaking to \u2013 fill them with all the elements of the charged relationship.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Plant your driving need in your heart and mind \u2013 \u201cI need them to (feel or do) . . .<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Play\/explore the scene<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Keep looking at your imaginary partner; let the driving need grow stronger until-<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">it compels you to speak.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Imagine their response<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Adjust your tactic and speak the next line\/thought<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Keep exploring the monologue trying different tactics and continuing to develop your preparation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Rehearse and rehears until it is fully memorized, each moment is specific, alive and full of discovery.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Ideally you should prepare it so well that it can flow spontaneously from you without sacrificing the moment to moment specificity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is a suggested process for preparing and rehearsing your audition Monologue. There are a number of qualities that directors look for in an actor&#8217;s audition: Honest connection to the&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/preparing-and-rehearsing-a-monologue\/\">Continue Reading<span> Preparing and Rehearsing a Monologue<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":25748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-auditions","category-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2024\/02\/Theatre-Eye-Logo-2023.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 16:04:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18821"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109678,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18821\/revisions\/109678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/palomarperforms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}