Fun with Monologues

I admit it; I haven't always loved to do monologues. I loved them even less when I had to perform them for auditions. For years, monologues eluded me. I would even say they intimidated me. They just never felt natural or comfortable for me no matter many of them I tried to make my own. A few months ago I had to audition for a television crime reenactment show using an improvised monologue. I have to say, I never felt so good about a monologue audition in my life. Because I came up with it myself, I didn't worry about getting every word right. Therefore, I really just allowed the character to come through. I just had fun with it. And..... I booked the role(!!!). I think that was the first time in a LONG time I booked a part with a monologue. In fact, I can honestly only remember one other time in particular. When the audition was over, I evaluated the reasons why I felt like this particular audition had been a successful one. Was it simply that I was getting more comfortable with the auditioning process itself as well as auditioning with monologues? Well, probably. Experience does help. But I knew there was something more. What was the difference this time? The answer was pretty clear. I had a blast doing it. I finally realized that the key for me to be successful at performing monologues is to have fun doing them. Yes, I always remember certain techniques like "decide who specifically I am talking too" and "make it sound like a real conversation." But the only way for me to be comfortable, natural, and really let the character/emotions shine through me is to have fun with it. That being said, below is the link to a new monologue I worked on yesterday with director Jhoe Davis. He chose the material and then worked with me on each emotion he wanted to see throughout the piece.

Check out his website here:  http://jdmax.com/

Please take a look and feedback is welcome:) Below, feel free to post links to monologues you have been working on. Thanks for reading!! (And watching!)