How to choose a monologue for your showreel
How to choose a monologue for your showreel
Choose pieces inside the casting bracket you would realistically be submitted for tomorrow, not the range you hope to show one day. Look for speeches that arrive somewhere in the first fifteen seconds, work at low volume, and do not need a plot explained before they land.
Material choice does more for a reel than the camera does. It also gets the least thought.
So let me be plain about it: a brilliant performance of a badly chosen speech makes a weak reel.
Cast yourself honestly
The single most useful question is not "what can I play" but "what would a casting director realistically submit me for next month".
Those are different, and the gap between them is where most bad reel choices live.
A reel is a proposal for work available now. It is not an argument about your potential. If you want to widen your bracket, that is a longer campaign and a reel is not the tool.
Four tests for a speech
Does it arrive early? Read it aloud and time the point where something actually happens. If the interesting part is thirty seconds in, that is thirty seconds nobody will watch — see how long a showreel should be.
Does it work quietly? Screen rewards small. If a speech only lives at volume, it is a stage piece. That does not make it bad, it makes it wrong for this.
Does it stand alone? If someone needs the plot explained to follow it, it will not land cold. Casting will not read a synopsis.
Is it about something happening now? Speeches where the character is deciding, discovering or losing something in real time beat speeches where they recount an event that already happened.
What contrast actually means
Two pieces at different emotional gears, both inside your bracket.
Not one comedy and one Shakespeare. Not a soap scene and a war film. That reads as someone who has not decided what they are.
Something contained and naturalistic, then something with more heat, is the pairing that works for the largest number of actors. More on how many to film in how many monologues in one session.
Things that consistently do not work
- Anything requiring a strong accent you cannot hold for ninety seconds under pressure
- Speeches everybody films — casting has seen them hundreds of times and the comparison is not kind
- Pieces with a punchline that depends on the audience knowing the play
- Material at the very top of your emotional range, which almost always plays as pushing
- Anything you chose because it is impressive rather than because you can play it truthfully
Where to look
Start with work you have already performed. It is rehearsed, it is in your body, and it removes the biggest risk on the day.
After that: contemporary plays from the last fifteen years, screenplays you can get hold of legitimately, and new writing. Check the rights if the text is contemporary and published.
If you have nothing, we keep a library across genres and casting types — that is part of what a monologue session includes, and it is covered on the FAQ page too.
Test it before you book
Film it on your phone. Watch it with the sound off, then with the picture off.
Picture off tells you whether the voice is doing the work. Sound off tells you whether anything is happening on your face. If both are dead, the speech is not the one — change it before you spend £295 on a session.
Send us the shortlist
Two or three candidates, a week or so before the day. We will tell you which will cut best and why, and we are happy to say "neither, here is why".
That is a free conversation. Use the contact form or call 0161 706 3220.
Once you have chosen, the 7-day plan covers the week before, and what to wear covers wardrobe. Students take 15% off through the student page, and journey times are on where we film.
The short version
- Cast yourself honestly. The reel is a proposal, not an aspiration.
- Pick speeches that arrive early — no long setup before the interesting part.
- If you can only play it loud, it will not read on camera.
- Avoid anything that needs the plot explained first.
- Contemporary usually travels further than classical, unless classical is your market.
Frequently asked questions
Should I pick a piece that shows my range?
Pick one that shows your casting. Range is what you demonstrate across two contrasting pieces, not by reaching outside what you would realistically be seen for. A reel that overreaches gets fewer auditions, not more.
Classical or contemporary?
Contemporary travels further for most actors, because most casting is contemporary. Film classical if it is genuinely your market — if you are seen for period drama or you are aiming at the classical companies, it earns its place.
Can I use a piece from a play I have performed?
Usually the best available option. You have rehearsed it to performance standard and it is in your body. Just check the rights if the text is contemporary and published, and be ready to scale it down for camera.
How do I know if a speech will cut well?
Read it aloud and time how long before something actually happens. If the interesting part arrives after thirty seconds of setup, it will not work on a reel however well you play it.
Do you help choose?
Yes. Send a shortlist before the session and we will tell you honestly which will cut best. We also keep a monologue library across genres and casting types if you have nothing in mind.