How to Act a Song Or Monologue | Musical Theatre & Theatre

TIMESTAMPS IN DESCRIPTION - See Where Everything is in the Video!
In this video, you’ll learn how to act a song or monologue realistically for performances, college auditions, and show auditions. I’ve included many tips to add layers to your song or monologue making it more interesting and powerful to watch! Following my advice will also give you a better chance of getting the part or getting into your dream college. Best of luck with everything and make sure to check out the links in the description!
0:00 Intro
0:41 How to Make the Piece Personalized to You
3:06 How to Fill Out The “Acting a Song/Monologue Template”
3:28 Where Are You
3:56 Who Are You Talking To
4:32 What Happened Before This?
4:52 Objective
5:45 Ride In Thoughts
6:52 Changing Your Lyrics/Text to Fit Your Circumstance
7:48 Ride Out Thoughts
8:24 Did You Win?
8:43 Acting Verbs
11:11 Visualizing Your Other
11:27 The Best Way to Practice (Song)
12:18 The Best Way to Practice (Monologue)
12:25 What Your Other Is Doing - Adding Layers to Your Acting
12:46 Avoiding Falling into Intonation Patterns
13:48 How to Create a Character Arc
14:52 When to Break Character in an Audition
15:32 Imagery
15:27 Where to Have Your Focal Point & Imagery
16:28 Posture & Gestures
17:20 What You HAVE To Do Before Your Auditions
17:42 Outro
I have a website! It's a collection of all the links in the descriptions of my videos and other helpful links for your application process!
sites.google.com/view/mtcolle...
Acting a Song/Monologue Template
docs.google.com/document/d/1n...
The Actors Thesaurus
www.amazon.com/Actions-Actors...
The Ultimate List of Acting Verbs
www.texasartsproject.com/wp-c...
~Links for Applying Academically~
Common App
www.commonapp.org/
Coalition
www.coalitionforcollegeaccess...
~Links for Applying Artistically~
Acceptd
getacceptd.com/
Common Prescreen
getacceptd.com/post/mt-common...

[@MadisonHalla]

Check out the *description for the links* to my website, the *"Acting A Song/Monologue Template,"* the Actor's thesaurus, a list of *acting verbs* , and links for applying to college.

[@kathleendemarcellus8885]

amazing as always!!!

[@MadisonHalla]

Thank you so much girlie!!

[@tripswithgreg5189]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@MadisonHalla]

Of course!!!

[@santosreyna8917]

Nice video! I think I'm gonna have to take a moment to let all your knowledge really sink in 🤯 my brain hurst trying to hold in all the information lol. I'm new in acting and I wish I had an acting coach or something but your videos truly do help me a lot on trying to improve as an actor.

[@MadisonHalla]

I'm glad!! And yes it's a lot of information! Watching it multiple times might help or simply breaking it up, maybe don't focus as much on your imagery at first (for example), try and build things up as it becomes easier! It takes time but you'll get it!

[@milomee582]

This is actually really helpful. Thank you!

[@MadisonHalla]

Yay! I’m glad! Of course!

[@kennethhalla]

This may be your most informative video yet.

[@MadisonHalla]

Thank you!

[@raegan06]

Are you like her dad or something 😂

[@rainybopz]

I have an audition comming up. This helped alot!!

[@MadisonHalla]

Yay I'm so glad!! Good luck!!!

[@rainybopz]

@@MadisonHalla thank you!!

[@zacharymatthews8781]

Hi I have a college audition very soon do you know where I can find some great monologues

[@MadisonHalla]

First of all... good luck!! And hopefully, this will help! th-cam.com/video/3DQT2H3h_Fc/w-d-xo.html

[@dannyb2519]

I need help with prescreens! How do I make good song selections and record good videos!?!?

[@MadisonHalla]

I have a video on how to find songs: th-cam.com/video/-6QLKrnH3Fo/w-d-xo.html
And I also have a video on how to film your prescreens: th-cam.com/video/bJS3zg3pj_s/w-d-xo.html
Let me know if you need any more help or have any other questions!

[@zia7288]

The thing is, I always get so awkward while acting a song or monologue. I don’t know where to put my hand, how to do the postures. And also, I really hate to see the videos of myself acting a song, because my face expressions are just so ridiculous and the postures are really unnatural. How can I act a song naturally?

[@MadisonHalla]

If you get really specific with what you want from the person you've decided you're singing to then that should begin to help. But also remember that most people feel awkward about their arms here and there, even me! You have no idea how many times I've heard the most amazing singers say they feel this same way! So remember that and if you're thinking too much about your arms when you're singing, notice that thought and be okay with the fact that you're thinking about your arms and remember that they probably look more natural than you're thinking. Then pivot and remember what you're singing about and why you're singing and try to focus on that. As far as posture goes, you can think about how your character would stand - so if they're confident they might stand taller with their shoulders back. Maybe if you're playing someone who's arrogant they might stand tall and confidently but have their arms crossed for parts or lean back slightly. Or if your character is shy maybe they slouch and have trouble keeping eye contact for long periods. When thinking about your face, I would say if you feel like the expressions are not expressions you would make on a daily basis and they feel odd, you can try, and this may be very silly but you can try putting tape above your eyebrows if they are moving too much or where ever else to bring attention to expressions in that area. Then you can do your best to express what you're feeling through your singing or through your eyes. Then you can try stripping the acting of intense facial expressions and taking a much more stoic approach where you barely move your face. This would just be a way of practicing though because facial expressions are NOT bad in any way and you don't want to take them away completely. It could just be a good way of bringing awareness to when you're using your face to express your feelings in an exaggerated/ingenuine way. Watching yourself on video can be difficult but it does get easier. Remember one, that everyone starts somewhere and you might not love what you're filming but you should be proud of yourself for filming in the first place and pushing past that discomfort. Instead of tearing yourself down when you watch yourself back, instead try to be neutral: "I would like to work on toning back my facial expressions" instead of "man my facial expressions look SO stupid!" Practice being neutral and get curious, it could also be: "I would love to play around with how I'm using my facial expressions and find something that feels more natural!" This mindset shift will take time but it will help immensely! Let me know if you have ANY other questions or if you need me to elaborate on anything and I would be happy to help!

[@zia7288]

@@MadisonHalla OMG!!! Thank you sooooo much for replying! I didn’t expect for such a long and detailed reply, this is so kind of you and so heartwarming🥹 Through your reply, now I understand the specific solutions towards my worries, and will work on my problems through the ways you mentioned! My stress have relieved so much! Thank you again! This reply made my day!

[@MadisonHalla]

@@zia7288 Awww I'm so glad!!!! 🥺💖 Always feel free to ask me anything in the future!