Customer Reviews

Young Women's Monologues from Contemporary Plays: Professional Auditions for Aspiring Actresses

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

They loved the monologue that my daughter used at her NYU college audition---there were many good ones to choose from. The best selection I have seen in one book!

Great selection of monologues, and a strong suit is that some of the material is new to the readers. Another reviewer said some of the monologues "weren't from plays." That's a huge misunderstanding. They are ALL from plays, just some of the scripts haven't been picked up for major production yet. But that means these monologues are fresh, intriguing, and were selected based upon the quality of the writing and characterization instead of "name brand recognition" -- meaning plays everyone can access, meaning directors and producers just might be sick of hearing them. (NOTE: Don't EVER audition for a musical singing "Tomorrow" or "Corner of the Sky.") Always go for the fresh and new in theatre; the element of surprise in the material always works in your favor in auditions. You won't be compared to anyone else's delivery. Good book to have for any serious-minded female performer, and even the "Young" in the title is a misnomer; actresses of all ages deserve to scour this one for great audition and acting class pieces.

I needed a monologue book with monologues from plays, so I thought this would be perfect. It is pretty good, but a good portion of the monologues are not from plays - they are original. The ones from plays are good though. This book has something for every age and every emotion.

This book is useful for teen to adult women looking for an audition monologue. They are a bit short though so if you need something that is over 2 minutes there are not very many options in this book.

Because the title of this book is "Young Women's Monologues from Contemporary Plays" I only expected two things, that the monologues were indeed for young woman, and were from modern plays.

Neither were 100% true.

Some of the monologues were for young woman, but many were for women around 30. Or at least had more adult issues like careers and husbands, not what I would expect to be for the age range of young woman (which I see as college age or early 20's).

It was also impossible to find what supposed plays the monologues were from. I would look up the titles online and search, but couldn't find anything that wasn't directly related to this book.

When doing an audition, it is essential to know where the material comes from so the actor can know who they are addressing and the general feel of the monologue. In this book, most of the monologues seemed to be played to the audience, rather than another character onstage. This is kind-of a no no, because it is unrealistic and cheesy.

Sure, some of the monologues were well written, and there was a wide variety of characters, so the book isn't all bad. This book might be good for a performance to an audience or maybe a forensics or speech team, maybe a "beginning acting" class, but for the purposes of auditions, it is not a book I would recommend.