Is RADA still a good drama school nowadays?

Drama school monologue audition tips?

• I am planning to audition for RADA, LAMDA and Guildhall. I need two perform two monologues for my preliminary audition. One must be from Shakespeare or other Jacobean playwright and another from a post 1950 playwright. I am a girl and will be seventeen at the time of the audition. I am rather competent at classical monologues, and have prepared Antigone's monologue from Sophocles' 'Antigone' for my back up classical piece. I have been rehearsing this for three months now. For my Shakespeare monologue I was playing with the idea of performing Hamlet's soliloquay; 'To be, or not to be...' however, it is such a formidable piece, and I am a girl. I don't want to perform something that is considered conventional for a drama school audition, and seeing as I am a girl, I thought that if I performed this piece well it would showcase my skill as an actor. However, is this a good idea? So, I was wondering if you could advise me on which post 1950 playwrights I could read up on. I am about to read 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller to see if Abigail had a monologue. What do you think about Hamlet's monologue? Is it too formidable? What other plays/Jacobean playwrights can you recomend? Thank you very much for taking the time to read, and hopefully answer, my question, it is much appreciated.

• Answer:

  Hamlet is such a classic that you're running the risk of being one of many they see; not because you're female but because it's many people's go to piece. I'd stick with the Bard because roughly two thirds will venture into other playwrights to be 'unique'; avoid the obvious ones like Macbeth or...pretty much anything made into a big budget movie in the past twenty years. Try reading The Merry Wives of Windsor or Two Gentlemen in Verona; they aren't as commonly quoted so you'll keep their attention. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/ Just in case you don't have a complete anthology. As for post 1950 playwrights I can only offer the following link and encourage you to explore; most of my modern theater knowledge is musicals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_playwrights_by_nationality_and_date_of_birth