Try Auditioning For an Act Using Poems
It's not common to use poems when auditioning for roles but it is possible to bring one to the audition and have a successful performance. Poems can be an excellent way to show your range and technique as an actor because the words that make up a poem don’t reflect the way people normally speak. Words are more colorful and hold deeper meaning, which is why poems are also difficult to recite. However, if you have the technique and emotional range as an actor, poems can be quite effective. Here are several poets whose works you might want to use:
Pablo Neruda
Neruda was a Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet who first wrote symbolic poems before moving to surrealism. However, some poems by this great South American poet are excellent reading for acting, especially if you will be auditioning for a romantic part. Try selections from his 'Cien sonetos de amor', a full volume of poetry dedicated to love or get his collection of poems from 'Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda'. If you can read Neruda and move your audience, you can definitely play a romantic character even if you dressed up as Quasimodo.
E.E. Cummings
If you want lyrical acting poems, Cummings is your man. The works of this American poet are characterized by non-conformity to traditional poetic form. There are plenty of distorted syntaxes and the use of slang is prevalent but you will love the rhythm if you are adventurous and willing to try something different. If you can get past the new words and hurdle the strangely placed punctuations, E.E. Cummings can give you the perfect acting poem for your audition.
If you want something that's closer to theater, try 'him' (small caps), a play Cummings wrote both in prose and verse. You should also check out excellent selections from 'Poems', '95 Poems' and :' six nonlectures'.
Shakespeare
The Bard never fails to bring out the best (and worst) in every actor. Everyone from the great Laurence Olivier to Keanu Reeves has played a Shakespearean character. His poems or sonnets, however, can be great pieces provided you understand the way the language was created and can work with the rhythm. Shakespeare likes to use metrics in his work.
Don’t be limited by the more popular Sonnet XVIII. There are about 150 sonnets to choose from, but make sure you use these only as part of an audition for a part in a love story. The sonnets are unabashedly romantic. They are also quite awkward to use if you are unable to grasp the rhythm early on. However, they are perfect for developing your vocal and rhythmic skill.