Theater Major Advice

This is absolutely something almost all actors have struggled with, especially in a small setting high school or a college theater program. 

Oh for the days when a stage kiss was so stressful. If it helps, assuming it is the “you may now kiss the bride” portion of a wedding, it won’t have to me a long or over-the-top kiss. I’m sure a peck will do. 

My advice is to treat it just like any other thing that you do in acting. Oftentimes you will find a character you play doing something that you wouldn’t normally do, dancing, being a bully, fighting someone, or kissing them. If anyone is making fun of you and doesn’t understand the difference between you, the reality, and the play, which is fiction, they are immature and you should brush it off as best you can.

First of all, I will say that high school theater is not a good representation of how you will do in collegiate theater, or in the “real world” of professional theater. Often times in theater there are other factors at play that are very different in other settings. 

Secondly, you may have been cast in that part of a reason. My senior year I didn’t get cast as the female lead in my schools play because we didn’t have enough boys and my direct didn’t think any of the younger girls would be able to pull off a gender swapped role. Whatever the case is, a small role doesn’t mean you can’t kill it!

There’s a saying in theater that basically says “the real acting can’t start until you’re off book.” Meaning, most of acting isn’t just remembering what to say, but how you say it and the way you use your body to make it real. My best advice is to:A) FILM YOURSELF! Say the monologue a few times and just move as you like. It might feel weird, you might not like watching yourself, but it will help. You will notice movements that make sense or that don’t, or you might notice spots in the text that need movement where there isn’t any. Maybe it makes sense to walk, maybe gesture, or to be still and let the words have an impact. Watching different things you do will also help build a physical vocabulary for the character. Just because a “kid” is doing this monologue doesn’t mean you have to interpret it that way, but it can be help. Do they keep their hands high above their head? Gesture widely with their arms? You can keep these things in mind if you can see how they look.

B) Have someone watch you that knows what they are doing and will be honest. You need someone who will help aside from “That was good.” Who can give you actual feedback, or at least ask clarifying questions that you may not have thought of. “Did you know you stood in one spot the whole time?” Etc. Two heads is better than one, and an outside perspective can give you ideas you may have never thought up. 

C) Figure out how the character moves. Don’t worry about choreographing precise movements throughout the monologue, considering the competition is coming up quick, this sounds like more stress and can often look unnatural. Instead, think of how this character moves. Are they fast paced or slow and steady? Do they wander around or move with purpose? Having a couple ideas in mind will make it easier to improvise and move believable. I talked more about this in the first answer as well.

I thought I answered this forever ago, but it’s still in my messages so here goes:

You can do either, but the haircut may make your “look” more suitable for different character types.  Long hair will be more traditional girl types, feminine, ingenue, etc.  A short hair cut may give you opportunity for less traditional parts, funny characters, badass girls, more androgynous characters (surprisingly popular in Shakespeare) etc.  So if you aren’t sure, maybe try the long hair, see what roles you’re getting, and then short hair if you want to change it up.  

Naw girl do whatever the hell you want with your hair.  To be fair, you may get different parts with longer/shorter hair.  But if you are the right fit for the part than your the right fit for the part.  If you’d like, keep it short for a bit and if you don’t like the way things are working out, then change it.

Depending on where you go, it is possible to take classes in a few different things.  Major in acting, and start a minor in communications or polysci or both! Taking the classes may help you figure out if it is actually the career for you.  Plus! In the professional world there is a ton of overlap between those areas of study.  

One thing I can stress enough is learning how to do well in auditions.  This isn't even a matter of getting into a show, that is up to the director, what show it is, who else has been cast and a thousand other factors.

Especially if you're on break, have graduated, or are just in an audition lull, just do auditions for the practice.  Print a headshot on regular paper, try a different resume format, learn a new monologue, whatever.  You're not planning to actually get into the show, so there is no pressure.  

Dreaming big is always tough because it seems like everything is so far away.  One thing to keep in mind is the difference between dreams and goals, both are important. Goals are tangible: being in the school play, singing a difficult song, getting better at jazz dance.  Dreams are big and they do change.  

The greatest thing about getting a theater degree is that it's incredibly versatile!  You are still building social skills, team working skills, creativity skills, research, physical activity, writing, etc, etc.  

If you do end up trying theater for a few years and find something new, you can always go to grad school or get internships to learn the specifics of that trade.  

Personally, I discovered about a year ago that I really wanted to get into environmental work.  One of the most important aspects of that is awareness! My professors were all super impressed with me because I was thinking up all of these photo campaigns, art works, and memes that would get people invested in environmental causes.  

I also like writing, and have fiction novel in the works.  Am I the best writer? No, but I have a lot of experience writing and storytelling because of my theater classes.

It's all about what you want to do.  I strongly encourage looking for a minor in something you think is interesting or could open more doors for you.

So you're in high school and want to audition or be apart of the magic that is collegiate theater.  If you're like me and the theater department at your high school wasn't a big thing then you've probably not done a monologue before.

The definition of a monologue is a length of text that is spoken by one character in stage in front of or to another character.  This can often be confused with a soliloquy, which is a length of text that is spoken when a character is alone on stage.  A length of text that is spoken directly to the audience can be considered either.

The thing about doing your first monologue is that people will sometimes tell you to get a "big book o' monologues" and pick one you like.  While this is good advice for a beginner, don't keep doing it once you get the basics down.  The problem with these books is that for the most part they are just monologues and are not taken from whole plays.  For college and professional monologue work you will definitely want to pick something from a whole work so that you know the context and can dig into the character development.  Also "book monologues" are generally spoken directly to the audience like the actor is telling a story, which is not a normal occurrence in plays.  But for now, to learn the basics of a monologue, these will work as a sort of practice.

Monologues are a challenge for many reasons, but a few things to start with are how they are different from normal text.  There is no one to play off of or help you out if you get lost, just you.  So memorizing that amount of text is something to work on by itself.  Learning how to connect thoughts and have a good flow of speech is essential.  How to engage the audience by yourself is important and is not something that most high schoolers have had the opportunity to do before.  

Plus monologues books are cheap and not having to read plays upon plays will take some pressure off for now.  Not many people enjoy picking monologues because of how complex they can get, so for now just focus on the basics.  

Just a little though.

Just strictly with numbers alone, the more people you know the more opportunities that will come your way.  Usually it will come from people in the business, but sometimes not.  Maybe you're marketing friend has an internship and they are in need of an actor for a commercial.  Maybe your journalism friend needs a model for an article she's writing.  You never know!

The more people that know you are nice, outgoing, funny, smart, hardworking, whatever it may be, the more good word will get around.

Along with this, it's ok to kiss a little ass.  But like I said, just a little.  Don't be fake, but if you genuinely like a director, co-star's, friends work then lay on the compliments baby!

My experience:  There is a local director in town that has harvested a cult following for the 50's horror/sci-fi movies he makes.  I heard about him through another director that I've worked with.  Not only did that director put in a good word, but at the premier of his last movie I impressed him by showing a genuine love of his style and by dressing up in vintage ware. 

So usually I don't like to assume I'll get a callback, not because I think I did poorly, but because I don't want to get my hopes up or start making plans around a show until I know for sure that I'm in it.

However, this has also caused scheduling conflicts for me.  Callbacks are always short notice so they can end up being a pain in the butt.  What I've learned is: unless you were just auditioning for fun and/or have no intention to be in the show, always always have the callback free.  Take off work, get your homework done, don't schedule another audition.  Just don't.  I've seen way too many friends be like "Aww I can't make the callback, I hope that doesn't affect whether I'll get cast!"