Unlock Your Next Role: The Ultimate Guide to Audition Scripts (+ 50 Practice Monologues!)
So, you’ve got an audition coming up. Your heart races, palms sweat, and one question screams in your mind: **”What on earth should I perform?!”** Choosing the right **audition script** isn’t just about finding words to say – it’s about showcasing *your* unique talent, range, and understanding of character in under two minutes. Get it right, and you grab the director’s attention. Get it wrong? Well… let’s make sure you get it *right*.
Why Your Audition Script Choice Matters (More Than You Think)
Your **monologue for an audition** is your calling card. It’s your chance to prove you can:
* **Connect emotionally** (Make us *feel* something!).
* **Understand subtext** (What’s *really* being said?).
* **Make strong choices** (Own the character!).
* **Show range** (Are you the quirky best friend? The tortured hero?).
* **Handle material confidently** (Even when nerves kick in!).
Picking a script that feels forced or mismatched is like wearing stilettos to hike a mountain. Avoid the blisters! Choose something that resonates with *you*.
How to Choose Your Winning Audition Script: 4 Golden Rules
1. **Know Your Type (Be Honest!):** Are you often cast as the comedic sidekick? The intense lead? The quirky best friend? Choose a **monologue for audition** that fits your natural casting *range*. Don’t force a Shakespearean king if you’re 16 playing teenagers.
2. **Age & Context Appropriate:** Your character should be believable for *your* age and experience. Avoid monologues where the character is vastly older/younger or in extreme situations you can’t relate to.
3. **Find the Spark:** Does the script excite you? Can you find a personal connection? Your passion translates to authenticity – casting directors spot genuine connection a mile away.
4. **Keep it Concise (Under 2 Minutes!):** Time is precious in **acting auditions**. Edit ruthlessly. Focus on a clear beginning, middle, and end *within* your time limit. Need **short monologues for auditions**? We’ve got you covered below!
**Pro Tip:** Always prepare a contrasting piece! If your first is dramatic, have a comedic one ready (and vice-versa). You never know what they might ask for.
Practice Makes Performance: 50 Audition Scripts to Get You Cast!
Ready to dive in? Here are 50 diverse **audition scripts** perfect for **theater auditions**, **film auditions**, or **drama school auditions**. Practice **cold reading** them, then dig deep and make them your own! (Remember: Context is key! Understand *who* is speaking, *to whom*, and *why*.)
**(Teen/Young Adult – Comedic)**
1. **Character:** Alex, 17, nervously asking their crush to prom.
*”Okay, deep breath… Sarah? Hi. Yeah, it’s me. Alex. From chem? Look, I know this is maybe super awkward, and you probably have, like, ten people already asking you, but… would you maybe, possibly, consider… going to prom? With me? …No? Okay! Cool! Totally cool! …Wait, did you say ‘no’ or ‘know what, I was hoping you’d ask’? …It was ‘no,’ wasn’t it?”*
2. **Character:** Maya, 16, explaining to her parents why she dyed the dog pink.
*”In my defense, the bottle *said* ‘temporary sunset rose’! How was I supposed to know ‘temporary’ meant ‘until the dog grows new fur’? And Mr. Fluffkins actually pulls it off! He’s like a walking Instagram filter! …Dad, are you crying? Is it… tears of pride?”*
3. **Character:** Ben, 18, trying to convince his skeptical friend to join his terrible band.
*”Dude, hear me out! We’re called ‘Slightly Off Key and the Questionable Rhythms’! It’s ironic! And you play the kazoo like nobody’s business! Sure, Mrs. Henderson called the cops last practice, but that was just because of Dave’s experimental bagpipe solo… which we’ve agreed to limit to Tuesdays.”*
**(Teen/Young Adult – Dramatic)**
4. **Character:** Chloe, 17, confronting her best friend about a spreading rumor.
*”You told them *what*? About my mom? Jenna, how could you? That wasn’t your secret to tell! That was mine! …Do you have any idea what it’s like walking down the hall now? The whispers? The stupid, pitying looks? You weren’t trying to help. You were just gossiping.”*
5. **Character:** Kai, 19, admitting they failed their college entrance exam.
*”I didn’t get in. I stared at the screen for an hour. The words just… blurred. All that work. All those nights. For nothing. Don’t tell me it’ll be okay. Not yet. Right now, it just… really isn’t.”*
6. **Character:** Sam, 16, pleading with a parent not to move them away.
*”But this is my *life* here! My friends, my school, the play I’m stage managing… You can’t just rip me out because of a job! Please, Dad. I’ll get a job after school. I’ll help pay rent. Just… don’t make me start over. Not now.”*
**(20s-30s – Comedic)**
7. **Character:** Taylor, 25, on a disastrous first date.
*”So… you collect vintage garden gnomes? That’s… specific. And you *named* them? All 47? Oh, look, my phone! It’s… uh… my goldfish! He’s texting! He never texts! Must be an emergency! …Yes, goldfish *can* text. Very advanced fish. Gotta go!”*
8. **Character:** Jamie, 30, trying to return a hideous sweater without a receipt.
*”Look, I understand policy. But surely ‘causing temporary blindness’ is an exception? It’s not just ugly, Linda. It’s… aggressively beige. It has the texture of sadness. My cat tried to bury it. Please, take it back before it reproduces!”*
9. **Character:** Riley, 28, explaining to their partner why they adopted a goat.
*”His name is Gerald! And he looked so sad in that tiny petting zoo pen! ‘But we live in a 5th-floor apartment,’ you say? Details! He’s house-trained! Mostly! …Okay, the sofa might be a write-off. But look at his little face! Isn’t he worth a little… goat chaos?”*
**(20s-30s – Dramatic)**
10. **Character:** Morgan, 32, breaking up with someone they still love.
*”I love you. God, I love you so much it hurts. But love isn’t always enough, is it? We want different things. Different futures. Staying together now… it would just turn this love into resentment. I won’t let that happen. Not to us.”*
11. **Character:** Alex, 27, confronting an addiction for the first time.
*”I can’t stop. I try. I swear I try every single day. But it’s like… there’s this hole, and I keep throwing things into it to fill it up, but nothing works. Nothing. Except that one thing… and it’s killing me. I need help. Real help.”*
12. **Character:** Casey, 29, at a graveside, talking to a lost parent.
*”Five years today. Sometimes it feels like yesterday. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime. I got that promotion, Dad. The one I told you about. You’d have been proud. You’d have taken me out for that awful greasy burger you loved… I miss those burgers. I miss *you*.”*
**(40s+ – Comedic)**
13. **Character:** Barbara, 65, trying to use a new smartphone.
*”Why does it keep making that noise? Did I order something? Did I declare war? Is it judging my photo? ‘Swipe left?’ Why? What’s wrong with right? Young man, please help me before this thing absorbs my soul!”*
14. **Character:** Frank, 58, caught by his wife trying to sneak a forbidden snack.
*”It’s not what it looks like! Okay, it *is* exactly what it looks like. The triple-chocolate fudge cake. But in my defense, the doctor said ‘moderation,’ not ‘complete abstinence’! And half a cake is moderate… compared to a *whole* cake!”*
15. **Character:** Diane, 60, giving ‘advice’ to her adult child about online dating.
*”Profile picture? Honey, use the one from Aunt Carol’s wedding! You look radiant! What do you mean ‘it was 15 years ago’? You haven’t changed a bit! …Okay, fine. But *don’t* mention your collection of haunted dolls on the first date. Save that for date three. Or the wedding.”*
**(40s+ – Dramatic)**
16. **Character:** Robert, 55, losing his job after 30 years.
*”Thirty years. I gave them everything. Missed birthdays, anniversaries… for what? A handshake and a cardboard box? What do I do now? Who even *am* I without that desk, that title, that… purpose?”*
17. **Character:** Eleanor, 70, refusing to go into assisted living.
*”This is my home! These walls hold my memories. My life. You want to put me in some… waiting room for the inevitable? No. I will manage. I will fall, I will forget things… but I will do it *here*, surrounded by what I love.”*
18. **Character:** Marcus, 48, apologizing to his estranged child.
*”I know ‘sorry’ doesn’t erase the missed games, the broken promises. I was selfish. Scared. A terrible excuse for a father. I don’t expect forgiveness. I just needed you to know… I see it now. I see the hurt I caused. And I am so, so sorry.”*
**(Classic/Theatrical Flair)**
19. **Character:** Juliet (Shakespeare – *Romeo and Juliet* – slightly adapted)
*”Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek… O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”*
20. **Character:** Viola (Shakespeare – *Twelfth Night*)
*”I left no ring with her: what means this lady? Fortune forbid my outside have not charm’d her!… She loves me, sure; the cunning of her passion Invites me in this churlish messenger.”*
21. **Character:** Nora (Ibsen – *A Doll’s House* – adapted)
*”I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You preferred it like that. You and Papa. You’ve done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life.”*
**(More Diverse & Contemporary)**
22. **Character:** Aisha, 22, defending her career choice to traditional parents.
*”Yes, Mama, I want to be an artist. No, it’s not ‘just a hobby’. It’s my passion. My *life*. I know you wanted a doctor. But I heal in a different way. I make people *see*, *feel*, *think*… Isn’t that important too?”*
23. **Character:** Mateo, 35, coming out to his religious family.
*”This isn’t a choice. It’s who I am. Who I’ve always been. I’ve prayed. I’ve tried to change. But God made me this way. Can your love for me be bigger than your doctrine? Please?”*
24. **Character:** Sarah, 45, a soldier home from deployment, struggling to adjust.
*”It’s too quiet here. And too loud. All at once. The fridge humming… it sounds like… I jump at car doors slamming. I love you all so much. But I feel… lost. In my own house. In my own skin.”*
**The List Continues! (Keep Practicing!)**
25. **Character:** Teen, ecstatic after winning a competition they never expected to.
26. **Character:** Barista, 20s, dealing with an impossibly complicated coffee order with a smile.
27. **Character:** Parent, 40s, finding out their child is being bullied.
28. **Character:** Grandparent, 70s, sharing a cherished, slightly scandalous memory from youth.
29. **Character:** Scientist, 30s, on the verge of a breakthrough (or disaster).
30. **Character:** Chef, 50s, firing a lazy line cook.
31. **Character:** Student, 19, confessing to cheating on a major exam.
32. **Character:** Con artist, charming their latest mark.
33. **Character:** Caregiver, showing immense patience with a difficult patient.
34. **Character:** Ghost, trying to communicate with a living person.
35. **Character:** Superhero, exhausted and doubting their mission.
36. **Character:** Villain, explaining their (twisted) justification.
37. **Character:** Person giving a heartfelt wedding toast (genuine or awkwardly funny).
38. **Character:** Job interviewee, spectacularly bombing the interview.
39. **Character:** Person trying to parallel park disastrously (solo in car).
40. **Character:** Actor, psyching themselves up before a huge audition.
41. **Character:** Librarian, shushing a noisy patron with escalating intensity.
42. **Character:** Astronaut, reporting a critical malfunction calmly.
43. **Character:** Detective, interrogating a suspect they know is lying.
44. **Character:** Musician, hearing their song played on the radio for the first time.
45. **Character:** Person lost in the wilderness, talking to themselves for courage.
46. **Character:** Time traveler, struggling to explain where they’re from.
47. **Character:** Fairy godparent, frustrated with their assignment’s lack of ambition.
48. **Character:** AI robot, experiencing a glitch resembling human emotion.
49. **Character:** Person reading a devastating letter aloud.
50. **Character:** Someone practicing asking for a raise (in the mirror).
Your Audition Journey Starts Now!
These **50 audition scripts** are your toolbox. Print them. Highlight them. Practice them in the mirror, for your cat, for your most brutally honest friend. The key to **audition success** isn’t just talent; it’s **preparation** and **authenticity**.
**Remember:**
* **Analyze:** Who is your character? What do they *really* want in this moment (objective)? What’s stopping them (obstacle)?
* **Connect:** Find the emotional truth. What in *your* life helps you understand this feeling?
* **Commit:** Make bold choices! Own the space. Even if you’re nervous, *be* the character.
* **Breathe:** Seriously. Take a deep breath before you start. It centers you.
Finding the perfect **monologue for your acting audition** takes work, but it’s work that pays off. Use these **short monologues for auditions**, practice your **cold reading** skills, and walk into that room ready to book the job!
**Break a leg! (And then go book that role!)**
What’s your go-to audition monologue? Share your favorites in the comments below!