World Monologue Games (WMG) is an annual international virtual acting competition for actors of all ages. It was established by Australian producer and writer Pete Malicki in 2020 in response to the global lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition operated as an online event, enabling the acting community across the globe to participate from within their homes with just a camera.
The key aims of WMG are to provide access to any actor in the world who'd like to participate and to create great entertainment for the viewers.
WMG has 6 categories which are based on monologue duration, professional or amateur status, and age.
The categories are:
- Main Professional: 1 - 2½ mins
- Main Amateur: 1 - 2½ mins
- Endurance: 5 - 8 mins
- Youth: (12 - 17): 1 - 2½ mins
- Tigers: (5 - 11): 1 - 2½ mins
WMG is split into three phases: Qualifiers, Regional Finals and Global Finals.
Participants submit a video of themselves performing a monologue, which is assessed by WMG's judging panel. The best actors are selected to perform in Regional Finals events and the best of the best are invited to compete in the Global Finals.
The Regional Finals and Global Finals are judged by a panel comprising casting directors, agents, producers, heads of schools and other industry professionals.
The judging criteria emphasises performance over technology, so anyone with a phone/camera and internet connection can take part.
Participation
World Monologue Games is open to anyone in the world and includes categories for all ages. Since its establishment the event has attracted over 8000+ participants from over 90 countries.
The event has showcased finalists from 76 different countries. These countries include:
American Samoa, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia ,Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda. Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Reception and Impact
Media commentary has noted the competition as providing a "different challenge to what actors face on stage" [1] Australian film publication FilmInk talks about WMG providing professional exposure opportunities for actors[2] and writers and reported that 2020 Bronze Medallist winning performance in the Endurance category by Jay Jay Jegathesan led to him being offered his first starring role in a feature film.[3]
The Newcastle Herald calls the competition "the acting Olympics"[4] for actors and the Ballarat Times covered Regional and Global noted the global nature of the competition.[5][6]
Overall, World Monologue Games have had over 300 stories in 25 countries [7] including: Australia [8], UK [9][10], Philippines [11][12], South Africa[13], and Malta [14]
History
The competition was founded by Pete Malicki, an Australian producer and writer.
Spin-off event from World Monologue Games include:
World Monologue Film Festival (WMFF): sister event to WMG, WMFF is seen as a "silver lining to the 2020 Pandemic" [15] and offered a way for filmmakers during the COVID lockdown to continue to create without the need for large cast and crew. Film entry must be shot in one continuous take, have camera movement, and feature only one performer and run for 1 to 2 and a half minutes.
Last Man Standing: An acting competition that requires actors to learn and submit a self-tape every 24 hours. Those who fail to submit the self-tape is eliminated each day. The winner is the Last Man Standing.
References
Category:Monologue competition
