Acting : Monologues by Quiona Jamison

From a strategy standpoint, I've always found it best not to overreach. So many want to go the Shakespeare route - as if there's something to prove. The proving comes in displaying control of your craft.

Choose the monologue that you love. It helps if you have a favorite character in a story you love. You decide which character best fits you and one that you can bring to life... for myself it's Seraphina In the Rose Tattoo - although I did play Gertrude in Hamlet; The point where Seraphina went crazy because her fragile lanscape breaks when she accepts the truth about her husband; That intance in time for me was more challenging than anything Gertrude suffered. Just don't betray yourself. We search for the truth as observers.

When I took my first acting class, I had so much trouble looking for my first monologue. I thought about Shakespeare, but I just didn't feel like I could pull it off yet. So my professor talked with me a little bit and suggested something from Tennessee Williams. I ended up doing a monologue from Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. I was hooked and to this day, it is still on of my favorites.

Oddly enough I was just reading an article on Backstage about the most over used monologues from shakespeare. When Im looking for a monologue I look for something I can relate to, does the monologue fall with in my age range (+/- 5years). More importantly I look and ask if Im going to enjoy doing this.

Love the personal shares, Madeline and Tony! T, you touched on something that I think would seem obvious on the surface, but gets overlooked constantly. You have to enjoy it! Too many actors simply forget to have fun. And it shows in the work.

For part of my Lamda MT exam we had to choose and perform a song from a musical as a monologue. With short 'sentences' it brings a whole new challenge to the acting and moves you away from the more popular monologues.

Write your own monologue and talk to a dog! It always works! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGo4B-y5oyk

Ok I finally have some time for the Stage32 lounge. Ok, I hope I'm not opening up a can of worms but here goes. After failing to find any decent monologue in one of those monologue books I bought that turn out to be a waste of money, I would turn to Edgar Allen Poe, songs lyrics from Pink, Linkin Park, Shania Twain, Rihanna etc if absolutely necessary. In my case, it has been very difficult for me (mixed race Latina) to find good monologues that suit me. Sometimes it's just so much harder for women of color. Latina, Black and even Asian actresses don't always want the US based stereotypes thrown at us. All of us are our own woman. With that said, in my case I have to do what I can to bring some truth to that character. Ex: I believe I can offer my own opinion about Batman's arch nemesis The Joker. Give me a good monologue about him/her and I bet I can pull off an interesting new version of the character.

@Richards words ring true. "Obvious on the surface yet constantly overlooked". Enjoyment of the craft can move mountains with regard performance, even on stage, or being judged for exams. Identifying personally with a particular character for monologue, unplumbs a unique yet believable version of the person portrayed. Ive done exams/auditions in the past where Shakespeare was compulsory and i always felt the male characters were more interesting/diverse, EG The domineering wife (Lady Macbeth) seemed the only alpha role and the various simpering women i played after were stale in comparison. Don't get me wrong....Im a fan of Shakespeare but i wanted to strangle or stab someone on stage along with my fellow actors. Ive also done Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Monologues for an audition, (as mentioned in above ) which my tutor advised against because i had no elocution in American accents, but i was passionate about Tennessee Williams writing. When choosing a monologue, the physical/verbal portrayal needs to come from inside out, not outside in.