Janet Milstein - The Ultimate Audition Book for Teens, Volume 1. 111 One-Minute Monologues

THE ULTIMATE AUDITION BOOK FOR TEENS:

111 One-Minute Monologues

A Smith and Kraus Book
Published by Smith and Kraus, Inc.
177 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH 03755
www.SmithandKraus.com

Copyright 2000 by Janet B. Milstein
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover and Text Design by Julia Hill Gignoux

First Edition: June 2000
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that the material in this book is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound taping, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproductions such as CD-ROM and CD-I, information storage and retrieval systems and photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Milstein, Janet B.
The ultimate audition book for teens : 111 one-minute monologues / by Janet B. Milstein.-- 1st ed.
p. cm. -- (Young actors series)
Summary: A collection of 111 original monologues, all about one minute long, to be used by male and female teenage actors in auditions.
ISBN-10: 1-57525-236-8 ISBN-13: 978-1-57525-236-0
1. Monologues. 2. Acting. 3. Auditions. [1. Monologues.
2. Acting--Auditions.] I. Title. II. Young actor series.
PN2080 .M47 2000
812'.6--dc21

00-035864

THE ULTIMATE AUDITION BOOK FOR TEENS:

111 One-Minute Monologues

By
Janet B. Milstein

YOUNG ACTORS SERIES

A Smith and Kraus Book

SPECIAL THANKS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Barbara Lhota. I cannot thank her enough for all of her time, feedback, patience, and support as I endlessly subjected her to one monologue after the other. She is an extraordinary person, a gifted writer, and a true friend.

I would also like to thank Karen Milstein for editing the non-monologue text in this book. She is a fabulous writer and editor, and I am truly honored and lucky to have her as my sister.

In addition, I am extremely grateful to Maureen Aitken for kindly offering me her guidance, advice, knowledge, and time at the beginning stages of my efforts. She is a remarkably talented writer and a wonderful person.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following people for their generous work on the monologues in this book, and others for their inspiration and support:

Maureen Aitken

Jamie Allain

Robert Bobby Allen

Jason Amato

Mary Elisabeth Armstrong

Brendan Arnold

Alexandra Bean

James Bezy

Allie Bianchi

Melanie Braxton

Carla Bruni

Adam Budz

Lauren Carnevale

Edson Castillo

Crystal Celestaine

Marissa Cerar

Justin Cholewa

Philip Cole

Angelique Cooper

Ellen Crabill

Yolanda Craig

Chris Cullen

Martin Czerep

Heather Dannewitz

Erin Davidson-Mary

Eric Davis

Mark Davis

Anthony DiGiorgio

Jenni Dunn

Joseph Durkin

Eleni Filippi

Brittani Franklin

Lacey Free

Jennifer Gifford

Cosima Mina Greco

Tracy Gromek

Michael Harrah

Taylor Harris

Patricia Heath

Allison Hillary

Jane Hoffman

Patrick Johnson

Barbara Kanady

Jenna Klym

Millie Larson

Christy LaVigne

Jessica Lewis

John Lewis III

Stephanie Magoon

Alice Mayo

John Miller

Amethyst Milstein

Donald Milstein

Freda Milstein

Karen Milstein

Karen Kovy Milstein

Kathryn Milstein

Joshua Milstein

Melissa Milstein

Natalie Novy Milstein

Peggy Darla D Milstein

Jessel Monteverde

George Moskal

Marisa Nasti

Charlotte Noordzy

Donna & Drew Peel

Danielle Plesh

LaNeda Pitts

Dianna Poulos

Victor Pratt

Amber Rabe

Brandon Ramsey

Alma Ruiz

Jeremy Sklar

Diana Skrypek

Sharon Smyers

Ricky Staub

Brenda Stock

Kimberly Tabor

Coretha Timko

Angela Ventrella

Greg Vojtanek

Chas Vrba

Kevin Walsh

Stephanie Welander

Alison Wilbur

Heather Winter

Matt Wisner

Jennifer Yale

INTRODUCTION

A s an actor and acting teacher, I am all too familiar with the difficult task of finding a good monologue. After listening to my peers and students voice the same frustrations, I decided to try writing monologues specifically for them. Remarkably, they loved the pieces, and I was grateful that they had helped me discover a dormant talent. Then came the second request. I only have a minute. Can you cut this down? Its true that most audition slots have shortened from the standard two-minute to one-minute intervals. How could I refuse?

About the same time I began training actors to participate in the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) competitions. The conventions are huge, the competition is steep, and the agents, casting directors, and personal managers come from all over the world to scout for new talent. Actors would be asked to perform comedic and dramatic monologues. The time allotted? You guessed itone minute. Unfortunately, when these actors showed me their selected monologues, it seemed that every piece was overdone, not in their casting range, requiring dialects, inactive, or, most importantly, not showcasing their potential. The teenagers were having an especially hard time finding good pieces because there are so few monologues from plays for actors in their age range. Furthermore, the original pieces they found usually sounded like speeches to no one in particular and presented the actors as cranky, whiny, rude, or (like, ya know, like, ya know) dumb. What they needed were powerful, direct, one-minute monologues in language and situations they could relate to without being stereotyped as obnoxious. I picked up a pen and a tiny notebook and dove in. The result is this book.

Many of the pieces have now been performed at the IMTA conventions by actors I have coached. Some have won awards. Other monologues have been worked and revised but never performed in competition. Therefore, if an award is not noted, it does not mean a piece is less effective than those that won awards.

What you will find in the pages to follow is a multitude of monologues that are new to the public, but have been put to the test. They are packed with emotional depth, hilarious experiences, honesty, pain, and charm, in a variety of voices that you can relate to. The monologues have direct, active openings that immediately connect the actor to the invisible other. No dialects or accents are required. The majority of the pieces are one minute in length; I have included a few that are slightly shorter or longer. Most importantly, the pieces in this book are written in real language and real situations, and they are really fun to work on.

I have given titles to the monologues in this book. DO NOT LOOK FOR PLAYS WITH THESE TITLES BECAUSE THEY DO NOT EXIST. I titled the pieces simply for convenience when auditioning since an actor is often asked, So, what will you be doing for us today? Think of the monologues as titled solo pieces.

My hope is that you will find not one but several monologues within these pages to use for virtually all of your audition needs. And when it is time to expand your repertoire, you will come back to this book to choose more. Good hunting, best wishes, have fun, and break a leg!