Can you cut a monologue?

Question

Hi (:

I have a very important audition coming up and I have found the perfect monologue for it, however the monologue exceeds the time in which I am allowed (30 seconds). So my question was can I take lines throughout the entire monologue and make a shorter version?

Answer 1

Yes!  You can..as long as the monologue remains true to its original...basically no cut and paste... just cut.

I do it all the time!  I made a 5 minute monologue into a 2min.

i love it!

Answer 2

You can, but it's chancy. If it's a monologue the auditioner is familiar with and s/he is a purist, you could be doing yourself more harm than good.  

Have someone who is familiar with editing do it for you so it makes sense and doesn't sound choppy. Taking a few lines out is one thing, cutting a one-to-two minute monologue down to 30 seconds will likely hurt you more than it will help.

You can do the monologue as it is and just let them stop you when the time is up (this happens all the time, it doesn't count as points off), or maybe they'll enjoy your performance enough to let you finish.

Bottom line is, if it doesn't meet the stated criteria for the audition, it's not "the perfect monologue for it."

Answer 3

Yeah. :]

Totally.

Answer 4

Absolutely.  You need it to fit a time frame and you are the only one performing so obviously you wouldn't be changing anyone else's cue lines. No harm done.  You just have to be sure you remember what you cut :-)

good luck,

Marianne