The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors [Paperback]

Karen Kohlhaas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

A founder of the Atlantic Theater Company, where she now teaches, and an acclaimed director, Karen Kohlhaas exposes what auditors are looking for in The Monologue Audition, the first book of its kind to show actors how to stage monologues using specific, step-by-step directing and acting techniques. Applicable to auditions for theaters, agents, casting directors, and training programs, this is an indispensable guide for any actor looking to master their audition approach.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Limelight Editions; 1st Limelight Ed edition (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879102918
• ISBN-13: 978-0879102913
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

KAREN KOHLHAAS is a theater director, author, teacher and founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company. She is a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School, where she has taught since 1987. Directing credits include the world premiere of Annie Baker's play BODY AWARENESS (Atlantic), and 25 QUESTIONS FOR A JEWISH MOTHER, by Kate Ryan with Judy Gold (Off Broadway at St. Luke's Theatre, national tour, Drama Desk nomination). Other credits include Harold Pinter's THE HOTHOUSE (Atlantic), Keith Reddin's SYNERGY (Alley Theatre) and FRAME 312 (Atlantic); David Mamet's BOSTON MARRIAGE (Public Theater) and THE WATER ENGINE (Atlantic); Kate Moira Ryan's OTMA (Atlantic); three productions of AN ADULT EVENING OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN in New York (Atlantic) and Sydney (Practical Theatre Co.), and plays for Naked Angels, New Dramatists, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Culture Project and more. She is the author of THE MONOLOGUE AUDITION: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR ACTORS (foreword by David Mamet), HOW TO CHOOSE A MONOLOGUE FOR ANY AUDITION, THE MONOLOGUE AUDITION TEACHER'S MANUAL, and director/writer/co-producer of the DVD, THE MONOLOGUE AUDITION VIDEO. Her short films have played at festivals in the USA and internationally. She maintains a website for actors, www.monologueaudition.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 27, 2003

By 

C. Haro "C" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors (Paperback)

As an actor, I have found this book invaluable to my audition process & relative mental well-being.

After reading more acting books than I should have, I found this smart amplification of David Mamet's practical aesthetics a page-by-page, step-by-step relief. Much more than Mr. Mamet's book(s), this one transcends theatrical methodology, posturing and/or academic classification.

Kohlhaas shares techniques refined through her influential professional work & teaching at the legendary Atlantic Theatre Company. The New York-born ideas apply just as clearly & constructively to auditions here on the West Coast -or anywhere else, I imagine. They're also helpful in audition scene work and cold readings.

Taking a step further, this steady examination of the audition -or interview- process provides a winning approach to any and all analogous situations demanding a good first-impression, stand-alone confidence & persuasive communication.

Amid such seemingly powerless circumstances, Karen Kohlhaas shows you why and how to give yourself a break & focus on all the things that are still under your command. "Out of this nettle..." etc.etc.

I've recommended it to as many non-actors as actors -anyone faced with a public arena which, to borrow from Mr. Mamet, "if turned on its head," will open up paths of self-direction, self-discovery and betterment.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the definition of brilliance and helpfulness, September 5, 2002

By 

Holt Richardson (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors (Paperback)

I had the glorious opportunity to study under Karen Kohlhaas for two years at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School. She is one of the most inspiring individuals you would ever hope to meet; chiefly because of the practicality of her instruction and the confidence she inspires in her students.

There is a quality in her cadence, quite well transmitted into her writing, that gives one a remarkable sense of ease.

If you, like nearly all aspiring(and successful) actors, hate the audition process, this text can do divers good for your sanity.

To paraphrase Ms. Kohlhass, you are either good at auditioning or not, but when you turn so daunting process on its head, it can be made to serve you.

If you do not have the opportunity to experience Ms. Kohlhaas' instruction firsthand, this is an essential document.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knows her stuff, December 11, 2007

By 

Bradley R. Olinger (Marion, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors (Paperback)

I am not one to often rant on about many acting subject books, as most of them are pretty much mediocre or a rehashing of the same old information. The only other books I have deemed worth recommending are Glenn Alterman's Promoting Your Acting Career and Judy Kerr's Acting Is Everything. That being said, this is the only auditioning book you will ever really need. Karen Kohlhaas knows her stuff cold. Right from the first couple of pages you can tell she wrote the book in order to inspire and encourage instead of just presenting a method. This is a mark of a great teacher, which you would expect from one of the founders of the Atlantic Theater Company(ATC) and Atlantic Theater School, where she teaches. It is also worth noting that the Atlantic Theater School, which is part of the ATC, is also one of only 8 studios connected with New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. This top conservatory(NYU) is the reason I bought this book. I saw it as a way to give myself a competitive edge with auditions. All in all, having flipped through this book immediately after receiving it, I found it to be a no nonsense must buy audition text. I feel that just in reading the introduction and preface alone(where I am now) you are very much encouraged and relaxed about monologues and it has everything you need to find, stage(block), and perform them.