CSA Theatre compANY Audition Monologues
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Classical, Female, Comedic o Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing (William Shakespeare). Beatrice has been fooled by her cousin and friends into thinking Benedick—a man she detests—loves her and she is trying to make sense of her discovery. § What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true? Stand I condemned for pride and scorn so much? Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu! No glory lives behind the back of such. And, Benedick, love on; I will requite thee, Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand: If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee To bind our loves up in a holy band; For others say thou dost deserve, and I Believe it better than reportingly. Classical, Female, Dramatic o Juliet, Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare). Juliet is thinking about Romeo out loud on her balcony and longs to be with him, despite their families’ bitter feud. § O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself. CSA Theatre compANY Audition Monologues
Seniors •
Classical, Male, Comedic o Petruchio, Taming of the Shrew (William Shakespeare). The obnoxious Petruchio plans to win over Katherine but has been warned by her family she is a very, very difficult woman. §
I will attend her here, And woo her with some spirit when she comes. Say that she rail; why then I’ll tell her plain She sings as sweetly as a nightingale: Say that she frown, I’ll say she looks as clear As morning roses newly wash’d with dew: Say she be mute and will not speak a word; Then I’ll commend her volubility, And say she uttereth piercing eloquence: If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks, As though she bid me stay by her a week: If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day When I shall ask the banns and when be married. But here she comes; and now, Petruchio, speak. Good morrow, Kate; for that’s your name, I hear. •
Classical, Male, Dramatic o Segimundo, Life is a Dream (Pedro Calderón). Segimundo has been locked away in a tower by his father, king Basillio, over fear of a prophecy that he would be a cruel and horrible king. Basillio drugs and makes Segimundo into a king, and it goes badly. Segimundo is drugged again, put back in chains, and Basillio persuades him it was all just a dream. Segimundo tries to make sense of his strange experience: §
The king dreams he is a king, and he lives In the deceit of a king, Commanding and governing; And all the praise he receives Is written in wind, and leaves A little dust on the way When death ends all with a breath. Dreams the rich man of riches and fears, The fears that his riches breed: The poor man dreams of his need, And all his sorrows and tears; Dreams he that prospers with years, Dreams he that feigns and foregoes, Dreams he that rails on his foes; And in all the world, I see, Man dreams whatever he be, And his own dream no man knows. CSA Theatre compANY Audition Monologues
Seniors •
Modern, Male, Dramatic o Vince, Buried Child (Sam Shepard). Vince is talking to his girlfriend after running out on her and leaving her alone with is dysfunctional family. § I was gonna run last night. I was gonna run and keep right on running. Clear to the Iowa border. I drove all night with the windows open. The old man’s two bucks flapping right on the seat beside me. It never stopped raining the whole time. Never stopped once. I could see myself in the windshield. My face. My eyes. I studied my face. Studied everything about it as though I was looking at another man. As though I could see his whole race behind him. Like a mummy’s face. I saw him dead and alive at the same time. In the same breath. In the windshield I watched him breathe as though he was frozen in time and every breath marked him. Marked him forever without him knowing. And then his face changes. His face became his father’s face. Same bones. Same eyes. Same nose. Same breath. And his father’s face changes to his grandfather’s face. And it went on like that. Changing. Clear on back to faces I’d never seen before but still recognized. Still recognized that bones underneath. Same eyes. Same mouth. Same breath. I followed my family clear into Iowa. Every last one. Straight into the corn belt and further. Straight back as far as they’d take me. Then it all dissolved. Everything dissolved. o Biff, Death of a Salesman, (Arthur Miller). Biff has returned home after many years and is talking to Hap, his younger brother, about their father. § Hap, I’ve had twenty or thirty different kinds of jobs since I left home before the war, and it always turns out the same. I just realized it lately. In Nebraska when I herded cattle, and the Dakotas, and Arizona, and now in Texas. It’s why I came home now, I guess, because I realized it. This farm I work on, it’s spring there now, see? And they’ve got about fifteen new colts. There’s nothing more inspiring or—beautiful than the sight of a mare and a new colt. And it’s cool there now, see? Texas is cool now and it’s spring. And whenever spring comes to where I am, I suddenly get the feeling, my God, I’m not getting anywhere! What the hell am I doing, playing around with horses, twenty eight dollars a week! I’m thirty-­‐four years old, I oughta be makin my future. That’s when I come running home. And now, I get here, and I don’t know what to do with myself. (After a pause) I’ve always made a point of not wasting my life, and everytime I come back here I know that all I’ve done is to waste my life. CSA Theatre compANY Audition Monologues
Seniors •
Modern, Female, Dramatic o Shelly, Buried Child (Sam Shepard). Shelly is talking to Vince’s crazy family. § I don’t even know what I’m doing here. You all say you don’t remember Vince, okay, maybe you don’t. Maybe it’s Vince that’s crazy. Maybe he’s made this whole family thing up. I don’t even care anymore. I was just coming along for the ride. I thought it’d be a nice gesture. Besides, I was curious. He made all of you sound familiar to me. Every one of you. For every name, I had an image. Every time he’d tell me a name, I’d see the person. In fact, each of you was so clear in my mind that I actually believed it was you. I really believed that when I walked through that door that the people who lived here would turn out to be the same people in my imagination. Real people. People with faces. But I don’t recognize any of you. Not one. Not even the slightest resemblance. o Billie Dawn, Born Yesterday (Garson Kanin). Billie is a former Broadway chorus girl and a little flaky. She talks to Paul, a journalist hired by Billie’s (jerk) boyfriend to “smarten” her up. § My father? He works for the Gas Company. He used to read meters, but in this letter he says how he can’t get around so good any more so they give him a different job. Elevator man. Goofy old guy. He used to take a little frying pan to work every morning and a can of Sterno and cook his own lunch. He said everybody should have a hot lunch. Funny how it worked out. One night, I brought home a hundred dollars and I gave it to him. You know what he did? He threw it in the toilet and pulled the chain. I thought he was going to hit me for sure, but he didn’t. In his whole life, he never hit me once. He says he’s thought about me every day. Huh, I haven’t thought about him I bet, once even, in five years. But that’s nothin’ against him. I haven’t thought about anything. CSA Theatre compANY Audition Monologues
Juniors •
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Dramatic, Female o Anne, The Diary of Anne Frank (Hackett and Goodrich). Anne reflects in her diary about her experience of hiding from Nazis during WW2. § Sometimes I see myself alone in a dungeon, without Father and Mother, or I’m roaming the streets, or the Annex is on fire, or they come in the middle of the night to take us away, and I know it could all happen soon. I see the eight of us in the Annex as if we were a patch of blue sky threatened by menacing black clouds. We’re surrounded by darkness and danger, and in our desperate search for a way out we keep bumping into each other. We look at the fighting below and the peace and beauty above, but we’re cut off by the dark mass of clouds and can go neither up nor down. It looms before us, an impenetrable wall. I can only cry out and implore, “Open wide. Let us out!” Comedic , Female o Alice, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carrol). Alice is upset by Mr. Rabbit. § [Angrily] Why, how impolite of him. I asked him a civil question, and he pretended not to hear me. That's not at all nice. [Calling after him] I say, Mr. White Rabbit, where are you going? Hmmm. He won't answer me. And I do so want to know what he is late for. I wonder if I might follow him. Why not? There's no rule that I mayn't go where I please. I-­‐I will follow him. Wait for me, Mr. White Rabbit. I'm coming, too! CSA Theatre compANY Audition Monologues
Juniors •
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Comedic, Male o Schroeder, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Clark Gesner). Schroeder is confronting Lucy about her attitude. § I'm sorry to have to say it to your face, Lucy, but it's true. You're a very crabby person. I know your crabbiness has probably become so natural to you now that you're not even aware when you're being crabby, but it's true just the same. You're a very crabby person and you're crabby to just about everyone you meet. Now I hope you don't mind my saying this, Lucy, and I hope you'll take it in the spirit that it's meant. I think we should be very open to any opportunity to learn more about ourselves. Well, I guess I've said about enough. I hope I haven't offended you or anything. Dramatic, Male o Mateo, Night Train to Bolina (Nilo Cruz). Mateo and Clara try to make sense of their war torn village and hope for a better life by escaping to the city. § Look at it fly…That’s how we’re going to be,…free. Free….We’re going to be free when we escape. You can’t go back, and neither can I. I can’t go back. I told you my sister Flora heard me talk in my sleep last night. She heard me talk about our escape. That’s why Mama tied my leg to the kitchen table, ‘cause Flora told Ma I was talking in my sleep about going to the city. You can’t go home anymore. You can’t go home, Clara. You can’t go home. If you go to your house, they’ll tie your leg to a table, then you won’t be able to escape.