Audition Evaluation- Radium Girls
For our final project within our two year academic course, we have had the privilege of developing our acting skills through not only the range of shows we have participated in, yet also in the varying array of of styles of auditions between each project- and this project is no different, following a more industry standard audition; coming into the audition room with a headshot, a performer’s CV and a theatrical monologue of our choosing, in order to show the casting director- in this case, our course tutor- what style of role we would like to be considered for, based on our strengths as actors, as well as challenges we would like to have, in order to stretch our acting capabilities further, especially for those, such as myself, moving into further education; this lead to me taking the liberty of trying to find a contemporary monologue focusing around the ideologies of romance, as I believe my own personal journey within acting leaves me with an a sense of development within onstage chemistry in a non-platonic context- which left me with a quite surprising dilemma whilst trying to search for monologues, in that I could only find melodramatic tragedies of women facing hardship within love, such as divorce, domestic abuse, and affairs- which isn’t what I wanted my audition to focus on, as I felt the deep emotions of romance weren’t focused on within these pieces, yet rather the condemnation of romance, which was the opposite of my aim: my tutor has seen me do emotionally challenging pieces prior to this audition, and I believe this wouldn’t show any development within my acting ability over the past academic year. One audition monologue which I nearly pursued fully was a monologue focusing on the reunion of two former ‘sweethearts’, and- despite their separation and their changes through time- the narrative voice of the ,ontologies still shows interest in him, as well as the person he has become, being almost blinded by their past connection before they broke apart; this monologue I felt had a good balance between romance and dramatic elements, with the immense contrasting feelings she bounced between within the monologue, such as lust and dismay, however I felt the contents which she talked about were far too graphic and too sexual in nature- which felt inappropriate for this type of audition, and- overall- removed weight from the softer elements of the monologue, which is why I ultimately decided against this specific monologue: although, it would lead in the correct direction in order for me to find the audition monologue which I subsequently found and used, as well as gave me another monologue under my belt, in order to have at hand in an audition scenario where this type of character work may act as a good thing for the casting director to see.
My final choice of monologue was an extract from a play titled ‘Seven Minutes In Heaven’, which entails the female protagonist, Zanny, has her first non-platonic encounter with her crush within her school (her primary aim of coming to this party was in order to guarantee this moment with him, so that she would have an opportunity to confess, or- at the very least- share a moment of passion with him before the ridicule from her peers come the next starting school week)- a fairly tame monologue, within the sense of normal stakes, with only her own personal obstacles creating any form of tension within this monologue, whilst still being treat- in the typical teenager fashion- as if this event is a momentous occasion for everybody, and will ruin the characters life if not executed properly; I felt the more childish and awkward elements of the monologue made it a much more interesting and compelling piece, rather than the melodrama of all my previous pieces which I had investigated- these moments not only make the piece more realistic, giving myself more opportunity to show the complex layers of teenage love, including the less smooth aspects to confronting your own feelings, yet also add a comedic element, with the character’s tendencies to divert to conversation rather than being upfront, leading to some quite comedic moments within the monologue, also showing my development within this specific skill since our most recent project- not only to show progress from project to project, but to also show progress form my entire academic journey within this course: I believe this approach to my choice of monologue will have made me a unique candidate within the auditioning process, as most other female monologues heavily leaned into the more dismal and dramatic aspects of a woman’s life, rather than the simple moments which are simply blown out of proportion. Whilst I do not have a specific character within mind (albeit my brief research into the character of Candy Starr, although I feel this character is far too large of a stretch given my current boundaries within romance on stage), I believe this monologue has made my goals abundantly clear to the casting director, and will give a succinct image of what my next steps as an actor will be.
Within the live audition, I provided my credentials within my performer’s CV, as well as my updated headshot and handing it the casting director- my tutor- and prepared myself to immerse myself within the monologue and the character- not before my tutor asked me questions surrounding my reasoning behind my choice, as well as my aims for this final academic term, such as my desire to develop my romantic connections within a stage production, without it appearing artificial, which is the reasoning as to why I chose a quite realistic, yet light hearted, angle in the subject of love- which my tutor agreed with; this briefly lead into a discussion of the topic of her masculine lead choice for one of our two final projects- ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’- we discussed the character of Candy Starr and how that character may not be the most viable option for myself within this point of my journey, however roles which have physical connection to another actor may be beneficial to me, such as stage kissing or even simple gestures such as embraces or even eye contact- my tutor currently hasn’t revealed the more feminine character based play for our other final project, however both myself and my tutor discussed this other show as an opportunity for me to play a character that showcases a romantic plot and addresses stretching this ability within my acting capabilities. I felt performing the actual monologue was certainly an experience which I am to learn and build from- my first obstacle I have to address as an actor was my lack of scene partner causing the sustenance of this scene falling short of its original premise; although this text is constructed as a monologue, and is comprised through one voice, the scene makes it abundantly clear that the characters love interest is involved greatly within the scene, especially with how my character would base her reactions, timing within the monologue, and- most imperatively- the chemistry within the scene; this was difficult to construe without another person there to fully bounce off of and mirror their energy, which I believe may have flattened the peaks of this monologue- in addition to my personal ailment of not utilising the entire space, therefore causing my physicality to suffer as a result (as I simply remained in my seat for the majority of the monologue)- as a result of me trying exponentially to engage with the air as if there was a scene partner there, which I felt was increasingly difficult due to my own mental blockage, rather than an issue with the material; I believe if I were able to utilise the space more and make more of a point to be physically involved, then the issue of constantly focusing on the other person within the scene would be completely null and void. In regards to feedback from my tutor, I felt her disappointment translated to her initial reaction commenting on the length of the monologue, stating it was ‘a lot to learn’ (the monologue was originally 7 minutes long, to match the title, however I greatly cut this, in order not to seem too monotonous by the latter half of that time) rather than focusing on the actual content of the monologue, which I feel that meant that my critiques of my own performance were pressing issues which I must make a point to address for future auditions, in order for this to not repeat within the future.
In denouement, I believe this audition was a poor demonstration of my capabilities as an actor- not for the elements I wish to expand and grow within this final academic term, yet rather for the elements which I usually use to my advantage within my auditions, which I failed to exhibit within this particular audition, however this will act as a reminder towards myself in order to improve future auditions within the industry, and should still be celebrated as a milestone within that regard.
Below is my headshot, Acting CV, and audition monologue:
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