6 things that make drama school audition speeches great
Starting out on your drama school audition journey can be daunting. Applications, personal statements, first round dates, recall dates, audition requirements - the list goes on.
One big stumbling block can come in the form of speech selection. Especially the contemporary speech. So many plays. So many playwrights. So many characters. So so much choice. It can be overwhelming if you don’t quite know what you’re looking for.
Below are my 6 pointers for what makes a great speech great and things to look out for when choosing your monologues. Some may seem obvious whilst others might not, but they are all geared towards you getting the strongest speech for you and supporting you in nailing that important audition.
strong beginning
It may seem very obvious but I’ve sat on so many audition panels and listened to tons of speeches that just don’t begin with impact. Its no fault of the performer but it can be initially hard for the audition panel to engage with the speech right off the bat if the beginning is vague, cliche or is just downright weak.
Imagine walking past a news stand and seeing a whole line of newspapers with headlines printed. Your eye is usually drawn to the strong, direct and clear message on just one of them. Thats what your speech should start with. Something that instantly makes your panel sit up and engage.
balance
A good speech is a balanced speech meaning that it will potentially have a combination (or at least 2) of:
Narrative - ‘Sarah and me went to the park with some chips to throw at the pigeons. Then we went home and had a fight because I didn’t want to go to the club and Sarah did’
Reflection - ‘I just feel so alone. I wake up everyday thinking I’m more miserable than the day before. No one understands and it makes me sad and angry. I’m angry all the time’
Plan of Action - ‘I decided, screw it, I’m going to do it anyway. I’m going to get on a train and get as far away from here as I can. That’ll show them. They won’t dare cross me again’
Challenge - ‘Shut up! I’m talking now. Its my turn. You think you’re special? You think you’re important? All I’m asking is that you listen. I want you to understand, don’t you see?’
A great speech will have balance and variety and won’t just display one of the above elements. It doesn’t have to have all four but some variation in energy will give you the opportunity to shift and change the dynamic of the speech and ultimately, show off what you are capable of as an actor.
clear listener
A panel want to see you connecting with another person/people in a truthful way. This will be incredibly difficult to do if you aren’t actively talking to another person.
Many contemporary speeches are based within existing scenes where there is more than one person on stage and the monologue is directly very clearly to them which is great news because then you can establish a relationship with them in the moment and work to affect them with the speech.
Other contemporary plays, especially one person shows (fleabag, bitchboxer, about a goth) don’t always have a clear person or people that they are talking to. These are ‘direct address to the audience’ plays meaning that you are breaking the fourth wall to talk to the audience. This can sometimes end up being a bit like a Tedtalk as you’re trying to speak to too many people and not concentrating on truly affecting just one or a few.
In these situations I would encourage you to invent. Instead of this being a large audience - think of the listener as a friend/group of friends, a family member, a teacher, a stranger, your crush etc. Then you can establish a relationship with this person/people and work to affect them in a way that suits that relationship.
I must stress that this is purely for the audition and doesn’t apply to a performance with an audience. I would encourage speaking to a particular person/people so we can give the panel what they want to see from you - connection with another person through truth. Working to affect someone in a believable way.
journey
A great speech ends in a different place to where it began. As do all stories. They have arc. They have a journey.
Frodo began in the Shire happy as a lark and loving his little hobbit life. He then goes on a big adventure and returns to the shire but he is different. Without the epic journey to Mordor Frodo would be exactly to same as before and wouldn’t make for very exciting viewing. Although physically he returns to the same place, the journey has forced change.
I want your speech to have a hint of The Lord of The Rings. You begin somewhere - with a problem, conundrum, question. It evolves as you explore, elaborate or deepen it. And then it concludes somehow, not necessarily in a way you would want but something ties it up in a bow and completes it.
A beginning, middle and end. Statement, elaboration, conclusion. Problem, exploration, resolution. It doesn’t have to be in this order but it can’t stay in one part throughout the speech.
strong ending
The last thing you want is for your panel to be unsure about whether you have completed your speech or not. It can be awkward and, if we’re all honest, a bit unsatisfying. Kind of like listening to someone play the piano and missing out the last chord that resolves the piece. You’re left wanting.
Often times when we’re searching for an audition speech we are restricted to the duration that the school wants the speech to be. We are often forced to cut and amend the speech to fit into this short time frame. Please don’t just cut the end short. Make sure you have at least one thought (sentence) that resolves and concludes your speech.
appropriate length
Most drama schools these days request that your speech doesn’t exceed 2 minutes in length. 1.5 minutes is actually perfect. It gives the panel a flavour of who you are, what you sound like, how you move, what you are capable of and your imaginative response to the material. We don’t need more than 1.5 mins to establish that.
If you are finding that your speech can’t demonstrate the balance elements spoken about in the third pointer within 1.5 mins and takes a while for things to get going then you need to seriously consider cutting your speech down so that you’ve got all the necessary important stuff (narrative, reflection, plan of action, challenge) within 1.5 minutes. Less is more.
It would be a shame for you to have prepared a 3 minute speech that gets cut short in the audition room for no other reason than lack of panel time. They have more applicants to see and they sadly need to keep to a time structure.
Time your speech! Take your time as you would in the audition. Leaving space for thoughts to come to you. If you rush through the speech then detail will be lost.
The points above apply to Classical speeches also but mostly to Contemporary or modern plays which are defined as being written and set from 1960 to present day. Avoid anything Greek even if it is an adaptation written within this timeline.
This may all seem a bit daunting but in reality these things are very easy to detect in good quality writing. They are there to give you the best chance in the audition room. Remember that an audition isn’t like a performance on stage. It’s putting your best foot forward in order to gain a place at the school of your dreams so give yourself a head start and give the panel what they want to see. Clear, simple language. Clear and strong beginning, story and ending. And connecting to a person/people through truth.
Happy speech hunting!