Harbison - Best Contemporary Monologues for Men 18-35

Copyright 2014 by Lawrence Harbison

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Published in 2014 by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
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Permissions can be found in Play Sources and Acknowledgments, which constitutes an extension of this copyright page.

Printed in the United States of America

Book design by John J. Flannery

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Best contemporary monologues for men 18-35 / edited by Lawrence Harbison.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4803-6961-0 (pbk.)
1. Monologues. 2. Acting--Auditions. 3. Men--Drama. I. Harbison, Lawrence, editor.
PN2080.B415 2014
812.6--dc23
2014012575

www.applausebooks.com

Contents

by Sherry Kramer

by Nicole Pandolfo

by Chad Beckim

by Chad Beckim

by Mark Leib

by John P. McEneny

by Kimberly Pau

by Alena Smith

by Don Nigro

by Laura Marks

by Christina Anderson

by Stephen Simoncic

by Stephen Simoncic

by Eric Simonson

by C.S. Hanson

by Michael Weems

by Itamar Moses

by Josh Tobiessen

by J. Thalia Cunningham

by J. Thalia Cunningham

by Craig Pospisil

by Don Nigro

by Don Nigro

by Yasmine Beverly Rana

by Will Power

by Rachel Bonds

by Duncan Pflaster

by Duncan Pflaster

by Daniel Guyton

by Terrence McNally

by Terrence McNally

by Rod MacLachlan

by Rod MacLachlan

by John Patrick Bray

by Greg Kalleres

by Trish Harnetiaux

by Trish Harnetiaux

by Sherry Kramer

by Frederick Stroppel

by Kevin Kautzman

by Daniel Pearle

by Chad Beckim

by Kermit Frazier

by John William Schiffbauer

by Charles Evered

by Charles Evered

by Kristina Poe

by Sean Christopher Lewis

by Joe Calarco

by Joe Calarco

by David Jenkins

by Stephen Adly Guirgis

by Stephen Adly Guirgis

by Guillermo Caldern (translation by Andrea Thome)

by Lucas Hnath

by Brenton Lengel

by Charles Fuller

by Reina Hardy

by Reina Hardy

by Anne Garca-Romero

by Marlane Gomard Meyer

by John P. McEneny

by Robert Askins

by Cusi Cram

by Don Nigro

by Jonathan Caren

by Jonathan Caren

by Sherry Kramer

by Adam Rapp

by R. N. Sandberg

by R. N. Sandberg

by Don Nigro

by Mat Smart

by Emily Mann

by Merridith Allen

by Michael Mitnick

by Kent Thompson

by Sharr White

by Sharr White

by Jonathan A. Goldberg

by Reina Hardy

by Mat Smart

by Dominique Morisseau

by Dominique Morisseau

by Megan Hart

by Lauren Yee

by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

by Rich Orloff

by Joseph Gallo

by Steven Levenson

by Steven Levenson

by Brian Pracht

by Cori Thomas

by Cori Thomas

by Adam Szymkowicz

by Adam Szymkowicz

by Matt Freeman

by Matt Freeman

by Crystal Skillman

by Crystal Skillman

by Y York

Here you will find 101 terrific monologues for men, all from recent plays. Most have a present-tense dramatic action, because I believe that these are the most effective, whether in class or for auditions. In the cases where I have included a story monologue, though, it was a great story. Some are comic (laughs), some are dramatic (generally, no laughs). Some are rather short, some are rather long.

Several of the monologues are by playwrights whose work may be familiar to youwriters such as Don Nigro, Itamar Moses, Terrence McNally, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Charles Fuller, Adam Rapp, and Emily Mann. Other monologues are by exciting up-and-comers such as Nicole Pandolfo, C.S. Hanson, Kimberly Pau, J. Thalia Cunningham, Rachel Bonds, Rod MacLachlan, Greg Kalleres, Chad Beckim, Lucas Hnath, Merridith Allen, Reina Hardy, and Dominique Morisseau. All represent the best in contemporary playwriting.

Many of the plays from which these monologues have been culled have been published previously and, hence, are readily available either from the publisher/licensor or from a theatrical bookstore such as the Drama Book Shop in New York. A few of the plays might not be published for a while, in which case you can contact the author or his or her agent to request a copy of the entire text of the play that contains the monologue that suits your fancy. Information on publishers/rights holders may be found in the Play Sources and Acknowledgments section in the back of this anthology.

Break a leg at that audition! Knock em dead in class!

Lawrence Harbison
Brooklyn, NY

Sherry Kramer

Seriocomic

ROB, late 20s to early 30s

ROB is an assistant district attorneya fine, upstanding, and very frustrated young man. He is in love with AMALIA and she with him, but she wont sleep with him because shes scared that if they touch, or even get too close, they will explode into flames. ROB tries to bring his considerable legal skills to bear on the problem, listing possible causes of the irrational fear AMALIA has of loving him.

ROB Lets face facts, Amalia. If youre not afraid of me because of the way I look, it follows that you do not love me for the way I look. Thats assuming a cause-and-effect relationship between love, fear, and spontaneous combustion. Because theres a certain beauty about being loved for your looks. A certain... certainty. If someone loves you for your looks, chances are they are not going to change their mind. How could they change their mind about your looks? You look the way you look. They either love you for it or they dont. And your looks are something you can be sure of, because... they are a self-evident fact, anybody can see them, you can see them, too. The further beauty of this system is that if you loved me for my looks but there was this one particular part, or two parts, even, of my looks you didnt lovesay these were the parts that frightened youI could, without too much trouble, change them. If you loved me for my looks, Id be crazy not to. But if you dont love me for my looks, I dont know where to start. There is a limit, a range, acertaintyto the sound of my voice, in the color of my eyes. If you loved me for that particular sound, that shade of colorId be safe, secure. But theres no telling what the rest of meif its the rest of me you lovecan do. If its something inside mesomething I can never see and can never knowhow will I identify it? How will I ever be able to make it go away? And if what has got you frightened is also what you lovethen why should I?

Nicole Pandolfo

Seriocomic

TOMMY, 20s

TOMMY tends bar at a go-go joint in New Jersey. He is talking to B.J. , a local cop, who has observed that some of the women in the bar have been eyeing TOMMY . TOMMY is not interested in them, which amazes B.J.

TOMMY Ive banged so many hot chicks its ridiculous. I used to be in a band. MTV2 played our music video like on the hour the whole month of March 2009. We filmed the video ourselves. We did a major tour of New England. Played shows all up in Boston, Providence; even hit up some spots in Connecticut and Long Island. The Jersey Shore scene like mad. Then we started getting the Lower East Side spots, and then we started to really hit peoples radar.