TOP PLACES TO FIND GREAT SPEECHES FOR DRAMA SCHOOL AUDITIONS

Trying to find an audition speech is one of the biggest reasons people get demotivated with drama school applications - which is the perfect speech? Has it been done to death? Does it relate to me? Does it achieve what I want it to? 

We put so much pressure on finding the ‘right’ speech and it's hard to get a feel for the speech without reading the whole play (which can be pricey after a while!) so we wanted to show you our top tricks for getting free plays and where to find the best speeches.

Buckle up!

Other links that might interest you:

• Free TV & Film scripts you can use for showreel scenes
• Top 10 female playwrights to have on your radar
• Our top picks for modern speeches 2021
• Our top picks for classical speeches 2021

WATCH FREE PLAYS AT HOME

There are some fantastic resources out there for you to be able to watch free plays from your home. My recommendation is to look at the plays available and read the synopsis, if it seems like the vibe you’re looking for - then watch the play to get a sense of whats going on and then see if there are some chunky monologues you can use. The below resources are all either under £10 or have a free trial! But make sure you plan in advance to make the most of the free week.

• Digital Theatre (sign up for a 1-month subscription £9.99 but they have 1-week free trial - so plan wisely and you wont have to pay!)
• National Theatre at home (£9.99 a month - no free trial but again if you organise it well and team up with some other friends auditioning you can split the cost for the month).
• Marquee TV (£8.99 a month - no free trial but same as above - they also give you two months with this option)
• BritBox (have over 20 RSC productions - £5.99 a month but you DO get a free trial!)
• BBC iPlayer (tons of free plays to watch here)
• Drama Online - (This is such a great resource and many schools have subscriptions which means you don’t have to pay - ask your school if they have access - if not they can get a free trial as an institution so get on their case to apply for you!)

FIND NEW PLAYS

Looking at theatres that often promote new writing is a great way to find cutting edge plays that are often incredibly relevant to today. Take a look at their ‘what's on’ section and past productions, then research those plays to see what interests you - from there you can search online for monologues from that play or get the script. 

Some of my favourite places to find new writing include:

• The Royal Court (nearly every Great Playwright has cut their teeth here)
• Almeida Theatre
• Bush Theatre
• The Young Vic

ASK FACEBOOK GROUPS & GRADS

There are so many actor groups on facebook and lots of people that have been on both sides of the audition panel - so drop a message in there asking for speech suggestions and you will always get a strong response with some great recommendations in.

Also - message students and grads at the school you want to go to and ask them what they did! I get asked this almost every week and i’m so happy to tell people - really rely on current students - they are your golden ticket for free information and help!

(These were my speeches if helpful - my Shakespeare was AWFUL - so don’t panic...I hated it too...I also did not read the play or research it - so this is your FULL WARNING TO READ THE PLAY!) 

• MODERN: Che Walker - Been So Long (Simone)
• MODERN: Jon Brittain - Rotterdam (Alice)
• CLASSICAL: Shakespeare - Julius Caesar (Portia)
• CLASSICAL: Shakespeare - Macbeth (To be thus is nothing speech)

USE SAMUEL FRENCH AND NICK HERN

Both of these sites are huge resources for finding playtexts. Both have a search criteria where you can really narrow down what you’re looking for in terms of gender, age etc to help make it easier to then sort through the mountain of plays available.

MONOLOGUE COMPETITIONS

There are many monologue slams on social media (just search the hashtag ‘#monologue #monologuemonday and #monologueslam’ to find a wide range of monologues being performed!) and aside from looking at how someone else performs the speech (which isn’t always the best thing to do), its a great way to listen to the language of the monologue without having to buy the play first.

GOOGLE YOUR SPEECH

Sounds so simple - but I googled ‘Been so long’ Che Walker when trying to find my speech and someone had actually posted it online! So I was able to read it before buying the book. I was also able to watch a youtube video of the Rotterdam speech before buying it too which was SUPER helpful!

Top tip; if you type in ‘.pdf’ after your search on google - you’re more likely to get a script/monologue pop-up! #SaveThePennies

We are always on our Instagram DM’s for advice so please feel free to drop us a message if you need any advice or have any questions about applying!

Tasha x