Is this a good monologue for the NYT?

[Sophieisamazimg]

Hi, I'm auditioning for the national youth theatre in a couple of weeks and they are requesting a 2 minute monologue from a published play. I'm thinking about doing this one by Alan Ayckbourn,,it's from his play confusions, which is a comedy, and it is comprised of various mini plays, the one my monologue is from is called a talk in the park. It's about various people who all have conversations on park benches about their different troubles.
The one iv chosen is by a character called Doreen. She has just moved away from a bench where she thought the man sitting next to her was being Pervy. On her new seat, she rambles on about this to an old man who finds her annoying, she then starts talking about her dog..
Oh also do you think I will be allowed a chair for the auditions, because I won't be able to do this mono,ogre otherwise..

Excuse me. May I sit here for a moment? The man over there has been—you know—I didn’t want to make a scene but he—you know. I mean I suppose I should call the police—but they’d never catch him. I mean most of the police are men as well, aren’t they. Between you and me, I have heard most of the police women are men as well. Men dressed up, you know. Special Duties, so called. So my ex-husband informed me. I mean, it’s terrible, you can’t sit in a park these days without some men—you know—I mean, I’m on a fixed income—I don’t want all that. That comes from my husband. My ex-husband. He runs a pub in the country. But I had to leave him. We got to the stage where it was either that or—you know. I love dogs you see, and he would never—he refused, point blank. And the day came when I knew I must have a dog. It became—you know—like an obsession. So I left. I usually have my dog here with me only he’s at the vet’s. He’s only a puppy. They had to keep him in. He’s being—you know—poor little thing. He’d have seen that man off. He’s a loyal little dog. He understands every word I say to him. Every word. I said to him this morning, Ginger-boy, I said—you’re going coming down to the vet’s with me this morning to be—you know, and his little ears pricked up and his tail wagged. He knew, you see. I think dogs are more intelligent than people. They’re much better company and the wonderful thing is that once you’ve got a little dog, you meet other people with dogs. And what I always say is that people who have got dogs they’re the nicest sort of people. They’re the ones I know I’d get on with.
Have you got a dog by any chance?

[pg]

Hi Sophiesamazing!

I'm sure you will make a great job of this and I think it is a good piece to choose in that it gives you a very clear focus for who you are speaking to. Ayckbourn is pretty popular and I have often seen pieces from Confusions done for auditions, but his writing is great so that's not particularly surprising, It also zips along and is funny - both are likely to be appreciated by the panel who will probably hear quite a few angst-ridden pieces... My only concern is that the character is intended to be older than you (I can confidently say this if you are auditioning for NYT!). If you CAN find something closer to your own age that you like, then I would go with that.

Don't worry about the chair. You just need to be confident and take or ask for a chair - that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do in an audition. You could even place two side by side to create the bench.

[Sophieisamazimg]

hi
thank you for your reply
yes, I was also concerned about the age..
so I have another option, but its Shakespeare, though it's not too overdone I don't think.. Its Helena's monologue starting "lo she is one of this Confederacy"
Do you think its best if I do the Alan Ayckborun one, which isn't so age appropriate, and I personally don't have such a connection with it, although its certainly not overdone I don't think, and Ayckbourn is a good choice. Or should I do the Shakespeare one, which I feel has far more expression, and is age appropriate, although its Shakespeare...people say avoid Shakespeare as its overdone, and only do it if you are really good. The thing is, I did this monologue for a competition, and I came third... so I know I'm not bad at it.
Many thanks
Sophie

[oscar]

Go for what you are good at. Better to do a popular one really well & impress than do a less popular one pretty well. Good Luck! Knock their socks off xx

[sapphire]

Definitely go for the one you feel most comfortable with! DD found this out when auditioning for drama school. She really felt that her modern monologue wasn't working for her in the first few auditions and decided to drop it and go for an old favourite which she had initially ruled out because she thought it was a bit too tame and not edgy enough however she loved performing it and could really get into the role ... and what do you know, she started getting recalls! Good luck with the NYT audition. Relax and enjoy the experience and have fun!