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"I want to
perform! But what..."
Ah yes...the choosing of
material. A huge hurdle for any thespian to cross. Here are some suggestions the
board and I have compiled for gathering great stuff to compete with. If you have
suggestions (and I know you do!) email them to me and help out a fellow thespian
on their road to success. Just a reminder- All performances of any kind must be
from a published play! You need to be able to show the script to the
judges no matter the play!
Monologues and Scenes:
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If you want the ideal solution to finding great
monologues and scenes, it's to constantly read plays. Make note of a character
you want to play as soon as you find one, and compile a file of these notes.
When the time comes to choose material, you'll have a stack of suggestions
waiting for you.
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If you don't have time to read plays constantly, or
nothing stuck out to you from the ones you read recently, it's time to go to
the books. There are monologue and scene books at most public libraries, but
here's the key to that: Choose a book that has material from published
plays. Don't bother with one of those "for kids, by kids" collections.
They'll only get disqualified.
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Search the internet. One website to check is
www.actorpoint.com. Just be careful,
again, that these sites are giving you published stuff. Make sure there's a
play to match the scene/monologue.
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Ask people! Don't be scared to contact former thespians
for material they've done and liked. After all, 90% of being original is
knowing who to copy. Hint: Start making notes of stuff you like at this year's
district and state so you can do it next year!
The Musical Categories:
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To find anthologies of musical songs, your best bet will
be to go to an actual music store. Here, you will find books with songs
grouped according to gender and voice type. Some books will even go so far as
to have belting songs and head songs separated. The really good ones will also
include an accompaniment CD so you don't have to find someone to play your
music. They're a bit pricey (starting at about $16.00), but they can last you
a while if you choose one with lots of interesting material.
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Most of the guidelines above also apply to songs, except
for perhaps reading musicals all the time. I'm not sure that's practical. But
go see them every chance you get!
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