Button it: How to End Your Monologue

July 6, 2023 | Rachel Frawley
Photo Credit: Xavier Lorenzo / Shutterstock.com

We talk a lot about pre-beats, the moment before, and starting your audition pieces off with a bang. But the dismount is just as important. It’s the final impression you leave your casting professionals with. You want to finish strong. And for that, we need a button.

Know what you’re looking for. A button is that final flourish at the end of a scene or monologue, the line or the moment that resolves the musical phrase, so to speak. Essentially, if you didn’t break character and thank the auditors, would your audience know instinctively that the monologue has come to a close? That final moment should leave the audience, if not fully satisfied, at least confident that they have concluded the journey with you.

Buttons can be easier to spot in comedic pieces because the structure of comedy lends itself to clearly defined punchlines and recognizable cadences. But don’t neglect your dramatic monologues! Leaving any audition piece without a button can leave an audience feeling wrong-footed and dissonant.

Make sure the text supports you. Because monologues are often plucked from the middle of the action, they don’t always end on a clearly defined beat. If this is the case, you may want to recut the monologue to end on a stronger note. Endings and beginnings are important, they leave impressions. If you have to shift one line up or down, that’s usually fine in the context of an audition.

The button doesn’t have to be verbal. Sometimes the strongest button is a reaction. While that may be more challenging in the context of a monologue, we are still aiming to create the world of the piece. A nonverbal button may look like a realization or a reaction to your imaginary scene partner’s reaction. Let it live in your whole body. Whether verbal or nonverbal, we want to conclude the arc of the piece with the final moment.

Don’t forget to let the snow fall. “Let the snow fall” was a phrase an acting instructor of mine used to use to describe allowing the final moment to live fully before snapping out of it. The adrenaline of auditions often tempts us to rush those important moments, but doing so can be jarring for those watching. Live in the final moment until it naturally concludes (without milking it, of course). Having an accurate sense of this requires you to be present in your work, as opposed to watching yourself.

Finding a good button takes practice and faith in yourself. In a callback scenario, this may be an opportunity for a (brief, relevant) improvised moment. Make the button yours. It will give your audience a taste of what you bring to the table.

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