The Monologue Audition: Establishing Your World
Far too often, actors skip one of the big questions we should be asking ourselves for every audition we approach: "Where are we?" And it's easy to understand why. Some sides or scripts never list those elements. Sometimes it's listed in the Slug Line, but it's non-descriptive. Sometimes we're hurried to get the audition in on time, so we catapult ourselves into the script, forgetting the necessity of knowing where we are. Yet, our other choices have a tendency to be significantly influenced based on the location of where the scene occurs.
Have you ever considered how our environment affects our behavior? Take, for example, the location of where we may read a book for an upcoming class where our focus and attention are critical. The first places that consistently come to mind are libraries, a couch, a comfortable bed, a coffee lounge, and quiet places. Ultimately, it's usually somewhere without many distractions. But what would happen if we had to do the same task in a chaotic and loud place? How would that slight change impact how we respond to everything else going on around us? The environment becomes an obstacle to our character. Another person may even go so far as to leave that location in annoyance if they cannot overcome the noise and disturbances to read the book more effectively in another place.
The environment or setting of a location provide clues for how our character may realistically behave under the imaginary circumstances.
Even consider the time of day that a scene may take place. Let's say that we have a woman walking her dog through a park she hasn’t been to before on a sunny day. She may not be at all bothered by the solitude, is enjoying breathing in the fresh air, taking in the sights, and is overall savoring the experience. Now imagine an identical scenario taking place after nightfall. The imaginary circumstances have only slightly shifted, yet our character’s behavior has altered her point of view rather significantly. We have to bring this level of awareness into our choices. If she is confident during the daytime walk, is she as brave in the evening? Is she still enjoying being immersed in the evening air? Or is she on edge that at any moment, an animal may appear out of the woods? The way she responds to her environment is essential here. The atmosphere acts almost as if it is another character. Her general sense of urgency may have been more laid-back during the day, but her awareness likely will heighten as dusk approaches when it goes dark on the path. The very idea of her being caught alone with her dog in the wilderness may enough to cause her anxiety—a vast difference from savoring the moment earlier in the day.
Another question we should be asking ourselves regarding the setting is, "Is this our territory?" or "Is my character comfortable here?" We all act differently in the privacy of our homes in comparison to the version of ourselves the public sees. If we have a generally disorganized character who leaves their home cluttered and untidy, how will this person respond the moment someone new enters their home? Are they unbothered that this person sees their mess? Or are they frantically cleaning the space before this new person arrives to prevent them from seeing how unkempt the house usually is? These choices give insight into how a character perceives themselves and the other person. If it was this person's brother, they might not even bother working to spruce the place up, yet if this was a new love interest they were trying to impress? We are in a different ball game. But also, how do we feel if someone else invades our space unannounced? How do we respond when entering a location that we are not accustomed to (i.e., the first day of school or the first day at a new job)? These little details also affect our behavior. We will likely act very differently at a workplace we are just starting in than a place we have been going to for years.
All in all, by establishing the specific worlds and environments that our characters are living in, we are reaffirming their sense of reality under the imaginary circumstances and creating opportunity for nuanced behavior and potential obstacles. It imbues the scene with a subtly that likely will be missed by other actors, while also inspiring our imaginations to respond authentically with a specific point of view.
by Diana Frankhauser