Moving Monologues: Sad Speeches to Perform in an Audition

Article Image
Photo Source: “Fleabag” Credit: Luke Varley

There will be times in your acting career when you need to deliver an emotional monologue – maybe even one that makes you cry. Having a repertoire of sad monologues is not only a way to practise in advance, but it will ensure you’re ready to hit record on a self-tape when the moment comes.

The saddest monologues are not always monologues about sadness, so you may need to access a range of emotions. Acting coach Michelle Fahrenheim gave Backstage some advice about picking a good emotional speech for an audition: 

  • “Try to find a character as close to yourself, in age and life experiences, as possible.” With this advice, you may not have to work so hard to access the emotions of the speech. Even where the character’s circumstances differ from your own, there should be enough similarities to connect to them. 
  • “Find a piece you connect with on a deep emotional level, without necessarily needing to name the feeling.” Ask yourself, “What really matters to me?” Then find a speech that aligns with that. If you’re able to authentically connect with what you find sad, moving, or tragic in the text, it will translate to your audience. 
  • “Forget crying on cue.” The most interesting and moving performances come from actors who are connected, not the ones who can make a tear roll down their left cheek on demand. Get the character you’re speaking to in the scene to really hear what you’re saying (even though you’ll be speaking to a camera or audition panel), and focus on what’s happening organically for you in this moment, rather than trying to produce tears. 
  • “Aim for 90 seconds, two minutes maximum.” Most audition panels know within 30 seconds if you’re a fit, so don’t spend time on a five-minute monologue. End the speech before your panel loses interest. 

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare, 1603 

Act 3, Scene 1
Character: Ophelia

O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown! 
The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword,
Th’ expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
Th’ observ’d of all observers, quite, quite down! 

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,
That suck’d the honey of his music vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason
Like sweet bells jangled out of tune and harsh,
That unmatch’d form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy. O, woe is me
T’ have seen what I have seen, see what I see. 

Why choose it?
If you’re looking for a classic, this monologue by Ophelia fits the bill. Fahrenheim said that even though the character is heartbroken, actors should still “find Ophelia’s strength” – in her loyalty to Hamlet and in her restraint as she attempts to muster some small dignity, despite the way he has just publicly shamed her. This speech will be all the more moving as a result.

2. Good Will Hunting by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, 1998

Character: Sean

Why choose it? 
In this moving monologue, Sean (Robin Williams) exposes his own experiences of love, loss, and anguish to break down some walls and challenge the intellectual arrogance of Will (Matt Damon). Trim this speech for use in an audition: Try from 1:26, “If I ask you about women…” to 3:08, “I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much.” Allow yourself to really connect with the painful memories to deliver an emotionally raw piece sure to tug on the audition panel’s heartstrings. 

3. The Wasp by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, 2015

Act 3
Character: Heather

“Those toilets. Black. Why no lights? All of us in there. The four of you, then the other three, can’t remember them but along for the ride, then me. Crammed in but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone. She said… who was that?... Was it Beth? Was it Beth? Whoever. She said, ‘Strip’. You see last time, in the corridor, it was just an ambush. It was just violence. I say ‘just’ but. It was just trying to hurt my body. So this time. I don’t know man, what was it? You were wanting to hurt me but it was different. She said ‘strip.’ And I did. ‘Open your legs, stand wide.’ And I did. I think there were three girls behind me not doing anything, just watching. Not sure how they felt about it all but they wouldn’t have rocked the boat. You and Beth and Joanne and Kerry were steering. I closed my eyes. It went very quiet. Then something went up and in. I mean not smoothly. Not just like that. You had to really feel around and get in there. Shove it in. What was it? I don’t even know, to this day, what it was you put in. What was it?”

Why choose it?
This monologue from Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s dark thriller is about Heather’s experience of being sexually assaulted at secondary school, at the hands of Carla, a girl who used to be her friend. It’s a harrowing passage – one that requires being internally tuned in to the painful experience Heather is describing. Try to deliver it in a matter-of-fact way; you may find it packs more of a punch.

4. The Writer by Ella Hickson, 2018 

Scene 2
Character: Writer

“In a way, you can get away with loving me less. Because you genuinely enjoy a sofa. And I know that sounds elitist and a bit cunty and I sound like a narcissistic prick, but there are cheerful people who sit all day and watch TV and love it. You are never happier than in the exotic-foods aisle at Waitrose selecting a new selection of snacking nuts and sometimes, I stand there, with the trolley and I feel like I’m dissolving inside just watching your capacity for happiness. And in me, for some reason, snacking nuts, exotic or otherwise, don’t stop this constant need for something – bigger – all the time. I want awe. I feel like I need blood. All the time. And anything less than that makes me feel desperate. It makes me feel like I want to die. Either I can feel real but I’m living in a world of cartoons or you and the world are real and I feel like I go see-through. And it’s not like that for you. You have snacking nuts. You’re perfectly happy in the world as it is. And it hurts to watch because I want to be like that so badly that it makes me actually hurt to watch you in Waitrose, smiling so much, over those snacking nuts.”

Why choose it?
Fahrenheim says that moving performances often come from “someone committing to the deep feeling of something, which may not seem deep to anyone else.” This monologue from Hickson’s form-bending play about wishing to find contentment in the simple things weaves humorous observations about “snacking nuts” through a darker, more existential perspective. It makes for a speech that’s simultaneously relatable and deeply emotional.   

5. Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, 2019

Series 2, Episode 5
Character: Fleabag

Why choose it?
Context is everything with this confessional monologue from the award-winning TV show Fleabag. It’s a gorgeously vulnerable speech where Fleabag (played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) opens up to The Priest (Andrew Scott) about feeling lost in life. However, key to the emotional depth of this piece is the added layer that she is in love with him…and there’s nothing quite so heartbreaking as being madly in love with someone you aren’t able to be with. Start this speech at 0:54, “No, I want someone to tell me what to wear every morning…” to turn this into a powerfully emotional monologue that’s just over a minute long.

6. Normal People by Sally Rooney and Alice Birch, 2020

Series 1, Episode 10
Character: Connell

Why choose it?
Fahrenheim notes that “some of the most moving monologues are where the character is trying not to cry.” In this speech, Connell (Paul Mescal) grapples with intense feelings of inadequacy and isolation at university, along with guilt and grief at the suicide of his high school friend Rob. What makes this speech so compelling is watching the pressure build as Connell tries not to cry, until he can’t contain his emotions any more. Start from 0:28, “In school I definitely felt that feeling of isolation or whatever…” and go to 3:28, “I’m sorry,” making appropriate cuts to trim it down to two minutes.

7. Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers, 2022

Season 4, Episode 5
Character: Hopper

Why choose it?
Usually so guarded, Jim Hopper (David Harbour) reveals a raw vulnerability in this speech. Key to nailing the emotional stakes of this monologue are the given circumstances: Hopper has been tortured, starved, and worked almost to death in a Russian prison camp. This speech is Hopper’s “dark night of the soul” moment, and you need to imagine yourself functioning under those given circumstances to make it work. Tap into how full of self-loathing and defeat he is to deliver a truly heart-wrenching speech. 

8. Euphoria, created by Sam Levinson, 2022

Season 2, Episode 7
Character: Maddy

Why choose it?
In this speech Maddy confronts her friend Cassie, who she just found out has been sleeping with her boyfriend, Nate. There is arguably a lot of anger in this speech, but as Fahrenheim points out: “What’s underneath anger, really? Sadness. It’s so close it sits just beneath.” With a heightened speech like this, Fahrenheim recommends “physicalising” (doing something which gets you into your body, like punching a pillow) “to help you easily access that place, and release your emotions.”