A jam packed day for any actor looking to learn and grow as part of a full day Acting intensive whilst showcasing performances and connecting with Casting directors and Industry experts.  MJ Slam Fest will offer you a full day’s training in Acting, and Screen Acting, audition technique, work on Monologues and Scenes (your own choice or you can use our own resources provided on the day if preferred) and the opportunity to perform for our industry guests. There will be Question and Answer sessions, industry advice, and each participant will receive personal feedback about their day and performances. 

YES! 

This Event (MJ SLAM FEST) is an IN PERSON all day Event. Be in the room with Industry experts, Use what you’ve learnt from classes and past experiences to bring your A (lister) game to this day of performances and opportunities to show off!

The Mark Jermin Monologue Slam is an ONLINE Acting competition for actors participating in our April – July term of MJ Virtuals. You can find out more about MJ Virtuals here and read up on our Monologue Slam 2024 here

jam packed day for any actor looking to learn and grow as part of a full day Acting intensive whilst showcasing performances and connecting with Casting directors and Industry experts.  MJ Slam Fest will offer you a full day’s training in Acting, and Screen Acting, audition technique, work on Monologues and Scenes (your own choice or you can use our own resources provided on the day if preferred) and the opportunity to perform for our industry guests. There will be Question and Answer sessions, industry advice, and each participant will receive personal feedback about their day and performances. 

Actors will arrive on site at ArtsEd from 9.30am for Registration. The day will dive straight in from 10am with 4 classes (2 before lunch / 2 after lunch) each attended by Casting Directors. There will be opportunity to perform Monologues and Scenes for a Panel of experts and creatives throughout the day. There will be snacks and refreshments provided on arrival but guests are to bring their own lunch (lunch break will run 1.15 – 2pm) 

Also included is time for Question and Answer sessions with our industry guests during each class, along with plenty of tips and training fed via our classes. Each participant will receive feedback from our team consolidated from the day. At 5.30pm there will be an end of day prize giving and round up of performances.

We ask every Actor attending to bring 2 x monologues of their own choice (ideally contrasting in styles / genres / era / character etc) and 1 x scene involving at least 1 or more characters. 

• 2 x monologues – showcasing YOU. This can be ANY Piece,  performed in any style, any genre, any accent, but just a piece that encompasses You and shows what you can do?

and

• A duologue or Scene with any number of Actors but a scene displaying your ability to act with another person/s This can be from any play or screenplay or could even be written by yourselves. We advise you to keep to it simple in its staging with a few chairs / table and personal props if you need any of these to aid the scene.

When choosing a monologue, we ask for it to be no longer than 2 minutes

When choosing a duologue, we ask for the scenes to be no longer than 3 minutes 30 seconds.

When choosing a group scene we advise about 1 minute 30 seconds per number of actors in the scene… I.e a 3 hander would be around the 4 minute 30 seconds mark.

NB: You don’t have to use all the time… short and sweet and leaving a Casting Director wanting more is a great thing!

When choosing your Duologue or Group scene, obviously rehearsing it with fellow actors, is going to help with confidence, staging, and just knowing and being comfortable with the piece, lines, characters, rhythm of scene etc. Via our classes MJ Virtuals and MJ Adults, we will be encouraging actors to connect, meet online via Zoom, research and rehearse their chosen pieces. 

If however you don’t know ANY other actor attending MJ Slam Fest then you can still bring in a scene of your choice. Still learn and rehearse the role you wish to play in the scene and at MJ Slam Fest we can provide you with another actor/s to perform with. (We will offer extra time before performing your duologue or group scene to that you can run it through)

MJ Slam Fest is for participants taking part only. No guests will be permitted to watch the classes or sessions. At 5.30pm Guests and Parents are welcome to join us for the end of the day Round Up and Prize Giving 

ArtsEd is within a short walking distance of Turnham Green and Chiswick High Road where there are multiple cafes and shops should and guests or parents need to wait. 

There will be light snacks and refreshments available throughout the morning. Lunch won’t be provided though and participants are expected to bring their own lunch. Lunch will run from 1.15 to 2pm at the Event. Participants can remain on site for lunch or leave the premises. It is the responsibility of each Actor / Parent to ensure that they are back on site and back in the Masterclasses by 2pm. We advise no Guest under 14 to be allowed to leave the premises for lunch without a parent or chaperone . Anyone remaining in the building will be looked after / chaperoned by our onsite team of staff but the team at Mark Jermin will not be able to chaperone guests outside of the building at lunch, this is each Actor’s / Parent’s responsibility.

Where to find material (Monologues and Duologue scenes)

We advise our Actors to use your MJ Virtuals class time this term in helping select your pieces. Our team of staff are happy to help with suggestions and advice on monologues and scenes best suited to showcase you!

You can find monologues and duo scenes in plays, screenplays, books and any published form of theatrical writing. There are thousands of plays out and available to the public, and so many anthology books available in libraries, bookstores and on the internet where selections have already been made to help in selecting pieces that are appropriate to you / your age, the type of characters you wish to play, style of writing, specific theme, or catered to your casting type. 

Be as bold or brave as you dare in terms of challenging yourself, or stick to what you know, what you’re good at… anything goes! Go to the library, theatre, museum, park, art exhibition, pub- Anywhere you can get inspiration from! Scroll the net for help and ask other actors and creatives for recommendations. 

Plan your monologue or scene. Whether you cut your speech or scene into cuts and beats or notate and thought process the whole material you can approach the text any way you like… this is a personal performance to you and you must feel completely comfortable with it. 

Think about character and the story you’re telling. Play  around with tone, pace, inflection

Will you go traditional in its performance or choose something more creative? Does your chosen piece need editing to get right to the juicy bits sooner? Can you watch someone you admire do a version of the speech so you can be inspired?

Do get in touch with our team [email protected] with anything you may need ahead of MJ Slam Fest! Our team are excited to help you and are available from our Office on Monday – Friday 9.30am – 6pm on 01792 45 88 55