Overdone songs and monologues
In general:
- Nothing with excessive profanity.
- Nothing that puts yourself up on a pedestal/says look at me! (i.e. Gorgeous from Apple Tree)
- Nothing with excessive sexual innuendo
- Do not play a mentally challenged person
- Do not ask rhetorical questions of a sexual nature to the audition panel
- Nothing from a current hit Broadway show
- Nothing made famous by a specific artist (i.e. Barbara Streisand or Kristin Chenoweth)
Monologues
- “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” by Tom Stoppard: “Lying in a box” monologue
- “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” by David Mamet: “Girl in the flak suit” speech
- “subUrbia,” by Eric Bogosian: “Moving to New York City” speech
- “Fifth of July,” by Lanford Wilson
- Joan Cusack’s monologue (Is there, oh, ANY OTHER TIME you could have told me this?) — this has been VERY popular for at least three years now. Give it a rest.
- Squeaky Fromme from Assassins
- Darleen Dances
- Bridal Registry from A My Name is Still Alice
- Belize’s monologue about the national anthem from Angels in America
- Mom’s Ashes from I Think I Love You — I can’t BELIEVE this is STILL so popular… it is really getting ridiculous
- Diana from Moving (Quaker school… awards… someone is going to prick your bubble)
- Anything from Kellie Powell’s website (notmyshoes.net)
- Laughing Wild – Christopher Durang
- The Star Spangled Girl – Neil Simon
- Beyond Therapy – Christopher Durang (and most other Durang plays!)
- House of Blue Leaves – John Guare
- Girls Guide to Chaos – Cynthia Heimel
- Painting Churches – Tina Howe
- A…My Name is Alice – Joan Micklin and Julianna Boyd
- This is our Youth – Kenneth Lonergan
- Brilliant Traces – Cindy Lou Johnson
- Reasons to be Pretty – Neil Labute especially the murder your fish monolouge (and most other Labute plays!)
- Oleanna – David Mamet
- Talking With – Jane Martin
- Picasso at the Lapin Agile – Steve Martin
- In the Boom Boom Room – David Rabe
- Red Light Winter – Adam Rapp
- Loose Knit – Theresa Rebeck
- Spike Heels – Theresa Rebeck (and most other Rebeck plays!)
- Dog Sees God – Burt V. Royal
- I Hate Hamlet – Paul Rudnick
- Danny and the Deep Blue Sea – John Patrick Shanley
- Brighton Beach Memoirs – Neil Simon
- Chapter Two – Neil Simon (and most other Simon plays!)
- The Food Chain – Nicky Silver (and most other Silver plays!)
- Nuts – Tom Topor
- Uncommon Women and Others – Wendy Wasserstein
- Be Aggressive – Annie Weisman
- Key Exchange (outside mom’s hospital window)
- You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (coat hanger monologue)
Shows To Watch Out For
- Annie
- Baby
- Secret Garden
- Children of Eden
- The movie “Fame”
- Godspell
- Thoroughly Modern Millie (this one applies to college too)
- Phantom of the Opera (this one applies to college too)
- Any Disney films
- The Fantasticks
- Wicked