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Classic/Period Monologues: Female | Male Frequently Asked Questions | Sign Up for Our Mailing List The Monologue Database was created in 1999 by the playwright Kellie Powell, and it is maintained by These Aren't My Shoes Productions. It is intended to be a resource to help actors find new monologues, and for playwrights to promote their work. Browse the index, or search for a particular title, playwright, or keywords: Clicking on a character's name below will open the monologue in a new window. You will be able to read the monologue, and find information about the play it is from. If you have any questions, please read our Frequently Asked Questions. Break a leg! |
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Kim - Collaboration by Kellie Powell
Description: Kim confesses to her friend (and
sometimes-lover) Shane, that she has been in love with him for several years.
Quote: "I wanted whatever time and affection you could give me. No matter what it cost me."
Quote: "I wanted whatever time and affection you could give me. No matter what it cost me."
Dogface - Dogface by Kellie Powell
Description: Dogface confronts her friend, Ethan,
demanding to know why he has been ignoring and avoiding her ever since they had sex.
Quote: "How am I supposed to act casual about something this intense, this rare? You're the first person to see me - how can that not be a big deal?"
Quote: "How am I supposed to act casual about something this intense, this rare? You're the first person to see me - how can that not be a big deal?"
Emily - Thanksgiving in the Wilderness by Kellie Powell
Description: Emily describes her polyamorous relationship
with a bitter hipster, and tries to explain why she "settled" for a casual fling.
Quote: "I could have said, 'No, that's not enough for me. I want a real relationship or nothing.' But I didn't say that."
Quote: "I could have said, 'No, that's not enough for me. I want a real relationship or nothing.' But I didn't say that."
Jillian - Thanksgiving in the Wilderness by Kellie Powell
Description: Jillian describes what a realistic
modern romance would be like, and how different it would be from Hollywood
fairytales.
Quote: "I want to see a movie in which the woman figures out that no one is ever going to hold a boom-box over his head for her, and she lowers her expectations accordingly."
Quote: "I want to see a movie in which the woman figures out that no one is ever going to hold a boom-box over his head for her, and she lowers her expectations accordingly."
Rita - Thanksgiving in the Wilderness by Kellie Powell
Description: Rita, angry that her friend Emily has
allowed herself to be treated so badly, yells at the guy on Emily's behalf.
Quote: "You think this honesty makes you a good guy, but really, you're still taking advantage of women who, for whatever reason, don't know that they deserve better."
Quote: "You think this honesty makes you a good guy, but really, you're still taking advantage of women who, for whatever reason, don't know that they deserve better."
Leah - Like Dreaming, Backwards by Kellie Powell
Description: Leah talks about her daughter's history
with depression and her eventual suicide.
Quote:"Why didn't she come to me? I would have done anything for her. Didn't she know that?"
Quote:"Why didn't she come to me? I would have done anything for her. Didn't she know that?"
Natalie - Like Dreaming, Backwards by Kellie Powell
Description: Natalie talks about the night her friend
Nell committed suicide.
Quote: "She seemed normal. Not happy, but... like herself."
Quote: "She seemed normal. Not happy, but... like herself."
Nell - Like Dreaming, Backwards by Kellie Powell
Description: Nell tries to explain what being
suicidal feels like.
Quote: "I can make everyone think I'm normal, that I'm coping, that I'm okay. But I've never been okay. I'll never be okay."
Quote: "I can make everyone think I'm normal, that I'm coping, that I'm okay. But I've never been okay. I'll never be okay."
Carla - Your Money's Worth by Kellie Powell
Description: A therapist provides a scalding critique
of her depressed patience, and completely unsympathetic advice for how to deal
with her mental problems.
Quote: "You think you're in pain, but that's all in your head. Just SNAP OUT OF IT."
Quote: "You think you're in pain, but that's all in your head. Just SNAP OUT OF IT."
Jessie - Your Money's Worth by Kellie Powell
Description: A depressed young woman confronts her
criminally insensitive and condescending therapist.
Quote: "One of us is being insane, and for once, it's not me."
Quote: "One of us is being insane, and for once, it's not me."
Jodie - One Graveyard by Kellie Powell
Description: Jodie and Sonya are being questioned by
the police after their friend disappeared while exploring a graveyard while on
shrooms.
Quote: "I told Sonya, drugs are only as dangerous as the people who do them. Which, you know, I really believed - at the time."
Quote: "I told Sonya, drugs are only as dangerous as the people who do them. Which, you know, I really believed - at the time."
Sonya - One Graveyard by Kellie Powell
Description: Sonya and Jodie are being questioned by
the police after their friend disappeared while exploring a graveyard while on
shrooms.
Quote: "Tripping, somehow, makes completely impossible things seem somehow totally possible. And that's really amazing and mind-expanding and wonderful - except when it's not."
Quote: "Tripping, somehow, makes completely impossible things seem somehow totally possible. And that's really amazing and mind-expanding and wonderful - except when it's not."
Eve - Rage Is Loud by Kellie Powell
Description: Eve finds herself faced with the
all-but-impossible task of convincing someone that her boyfriend is a serial killer.
Quote: "To Fell, the question isn't, 'Why?' It's, 'Why not?' Motive is incidental."
Quote: "To Fell, the question isn't, 'Why?' It's, 'Why not?' Motive is incidental."
Drew - Richard Fisher's Funeral by Kellie Powell
Description: Drew explains why she can never forgive
her dead father.
Quote: "You don't get it. I've been afraid of my father all my life."
Quote: "You don't get it. I've been afraid of my father all my life."
Joan - Spilled Milk by Kellie Powell
Description: Joan confronts her friend Helen almost a
year after Helen failed to protect Joan from a possible threat of sexual assault.
Quote: "He could have raped you! And you... you sent him back to me! How generous. How benevolent. Why didn't you fucking warn me?"
Quote: "He could have raped you! And you... you sent him back to me! How generous. How benevolent. Why didn't you fucking warn me?"
Rachel - That Was Then by Kellie Powell
Description: Rachel remembers high school - a time in
her life when her friends meant the world to her.
Quote: "I'm very lucky, because not everyone still has a friend who knew them when they were seventeen."
Quote: "I'm very lucky, because not everyone still has a friend who knew them when they were seventeen."
Lindsay - What Are the Chances? by Kellie Powell
Description: Lindsay is at her ex-husband's art
exhibition, when she is forced, by one of his pieces, to confront their past.
Quote: "I think... I think he was happier when he was pining for me... than when I was actually his."
Quote: "I think... I think he was happier when he was pining for me... than when I was actually his."
Kim - The Absence of Gray Matter by Josh Weckesser
Description: Weckesser's Kim, a minor character
lacking in common sense, speaks about her aspirations and hallucinations.
Quote: "Would Keanu Reeves please stand up?"
Quote: "Would Keanu Reeves please stand up?"
Michelle - Interstate by Joe Brofcak
Description: A runaway housewife from Virginia
describes the post-partum depression that drove her to injur her child.
Quote: "Before I knew it, I was in the nursery, shaking him and he slipped out of my hands and... I dropped him, Jack!"
Quote: "Before I knew it, I was in the nursery, shaking him and he slipped out of my hands and... I dropped him, Jack!"
Jane
- Like We Wasn't People by Chelsea Terris
Description: A 15-year-old girl, confined
to a residential center for troubled youth, rants at a therapist and
relates a nightmare to her mother in these two monologues.
Quote: "I'm wasting hours of my life that I'll never get back talking about bullshit!"
Quote: "I'm wasting hours of my life that I'll never get back talking about bullshit!"
Shantrel
- Like We Wasn't People by Chelsea Terris
Description: A 14-year-old black girl
explains the circumstances that led to her confinement in a residential
center for troubled youth.
Quote: "I started givin' that cop the business, 'bout how he can't take this man, this my man, and they's threw a blanket on me and I's here now and ain't neva seen Moms or my man again."
Quote: "I started givin' that cop the business, 'bout how he can't take this man, this my man, and they's threw a blanket on me and I's here now and ain't neva seen Moms or my man again."
Stefani
- Stefani Speaks from Lucky Duck by Chelsea Terris
Description: Stefani is married to Richard, but has been in love with his brother, Nick, since childhood.
Quote: "What does a husband mean? One day I woke up and I had Richard. It's about choosing, isn't it?"
Quote: "What does a husband mean? One day I woke up and I had Richard. It's about choosing, isn't it?"
Amy - And Turning, Stay by Kellie Powell
Description: Amy finds closure by confronting Mark,
a close friend who led her on and let her down.
Quote: "You're running from what I've searched for all my life."
Quote: "You're running from what I've searched for all my life."
Hannah - Bargaining by Kellie Powell
Description: Hannah, an immortal being, offers her
boyfriend a chance to live forever.
Quote: "Most people, when they say forever, they don't really mean forever. But I do."
Quote: "Most people, when they say forever, they don't really mean forever. But I do."
Angela - Just Looking by Kellie Powell
Description: Angela has unwillingly become the girl
who all her friends run to for advice. Angela freaks out, and ultimately reveals
the true reason for her emotional tumult in three separate monologues.
Quote: "I need to stop feeling people's pain for them. I'm trying to step between my friends and their scars."
Quote: "I need to stop feeling people's pain for them. I'm trying to step between my friends and their scars."
Jamie - Just Looking by Kellie Powell
Description: The character explains her cynical view
that monogamy is pointless.
Quote: "We'd stop being people to each other and start being obligations. And, I love you too much to let that happen."
Quote: "We'd stop being people to each other and start being obligations. And, I love you too much to let that happen."
Cara - Because of Beth by Elana Gartner
Description: Cara's mother has recently died and given
Cara custody of her sister, Penny. Cara visits her mother's grave - but says she
refuses to say goodbye.
Quote: "It's worse than when Dad left because at least then I had you. Now I don't have anyone."
Quote: "It's worse than when Dad left because at least then I had you. Now I don't have anyone."
Penny - Because of Beth by Elana Gartner
Description: Penny's mother has recently died and
given custody to Penny's sister. Penny visits her mother's grave to tell her she
is running away.
Quote: "You know, we used to tell each other everything, Mom! Everything! Or at least I told you everything..."
Quote: "You know, we used to tell each other everything, Mom! Everything! Or at least I told you everything..."
Ramona - Pilar's
Brother by Elana Gartner
Description: Pilar explains in Broken English that her grandmother has been "dying" for her
entire life.
Quote: "I say is good she finally be done with dying and move on to Dios."
Quote: "I say is good she finally be done with dying and move on to Dios."
Darlene - The
Piaggi Suite by Diane Grant
Description: Darlene, a seventeen year old
composer, meets her hero, rock star Ziggy Martiin, and performs an original rap.
Quote: "Is it you? Is it really? I saw you with Dave Matthews. In Syracuse. It was the most beautiful night of my entire life. Did you really sit in with Sting?"
Quote: "Is it you? Is it really? I saw you with Dave Matthews. In Syracuse. It was the most beautiful night of my entire life. Did you really sit in with Sting?"
Gloria
- The Prism by Ed Friedman
Description: Gloria, a waitress in her 40s,
complains about taking care of her aging mother, and her brothers who
don't contribute.
Quote: "Ya know what it would take to get one of my brothers to do something for my mother? She'd have to be held hostage by terrorists."
Quote: "Ya know what it would take to get one of my brothers to do something for my mother? She'd have to be held hostage by terrorists."
Cathy
- Everybody Else (is fucking perfect) by Karen Jeynes
Description: Cathy's husband has just told
her that he is gay. She explains that she has known all along.
Quote: "But that doesn't worry me, I mean, I know he'll be safe, and I don't really care if he goes out and has boyfriends, and... I'm happy this way."
Quote: "But that doesn't worry me, I mean, I know he'll be safe, and I don't really care if he goes out and has boyfriends, and... I'm happy this way."
Mpumi
- I'll Have What She's Having by Karen Jeynes
Description: A sophisticated lawyer loses
her temper with two tourists over one's poor cell phone etiquette.
Quote: "I don't know if you're familiar with the device, but you don't actually have to shout all the way to Pofadder, the technology transmits your voice signal through the air like magic!"
Quote: "I don't know if you're familiar with the device, but you don't actually have to shout all the way to Pofadder, the technology transmits your voice signal through the air like magic!"
Eden
- Dementia by Donna Spector
Description: Eden is a free-spirited young performer
in a theatre group in California, 1969, who strips onstage while impersonating a weather girl.
Quote: "But if you have to live there, remember the animals. Don't wear fur or leather, okay?"
Quote: "But if you have to live there, remember the animals. Don't wear fur or leather, okay?"
Neva
- Another Paradise by Donna Spector
Description: Neva talks to her mother about being ashamed of her family.
Quote: "I wanted us to be acceptable, Ma. And we weren't."
Quote: "I wanted us to be acceptable, Ma. And we weren't."
Alicia
- Hanging Women by Donna Spector
Description: A mother tells her two daughters about the first time she met their father.
Quote: "You don't know what it was like to have an encounter with a god."
Quote: "You don't know what it was like to have an encounter with a god."
Celandine
- Hanging Women by Donna Spector
Description: A 30-year-old intellectual
tells her mother and younger sister that she has given up on men.
Quote: "Men always disappoint you, and I choose to be disappointed with no one but myself."
Quote: "Men always disappoint you, and I choose to be disappointed with no one but myself."
Peony
- Hanging Women by Donna Spector
Description: An impulsive 25-year-old tells
her mother and older sister about running away from home to have casual
sex with strangers.
Quote: "I love that moment when you take off, just getting out of here."
Quote: "I love that moment when you take off, just getting out of here."
Sally
- Strip Talk on the Boulevard by Donna Spector
Description: Sally, 30, describes a dream
about being a waitress in Las Vegas.
Quote: "I dunno what they're hungry for, but it ain't really me, and it ain't burgers and fries."
Quote: "I dunno what they're hungry for, but it ain't really me, and it ain't burgers and fries."
Kelli
- Party for Two by Steve Strangio
Description: Kelli confronts her friend
Tony about his selfish behavior, and sets the record straight that
she's not interested in him.
Quote: "You are my friend, not my boyfriend. And if you are my friend, you should be able to deal with me being with someone."
Quote: "You are my friend, not my boyfriend. And if you are my friend, you should be able to deal with me being with someone."
Laura -
Connecting Flight by Tony Yajko
Description: Laura is a college student,
about to marry her girlfriend, Toni. She is waiting for her parents to
arrive for the wedding.
Quote: "My folks didn't speak to me for a year... said they 'needed time to accept us'."
Quote: "My folks didn't speak to me for a year... said they 'needed time to accept us'."
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Alice - Arden
of Aversham - Anonymous/Writer Unknown - Elizabethan
Description: A married woman tries to break
up with her lover, then changes her mind and begs for his forgiveness.
Quote: "Look on me Mosby, or I'll kill myself: Nothing shall hide me from thy stormy look. If thou cry war, there is no peace for me."
Quote: "Look on me Mosby, or I'll kill myself: Nothing shall hide me from thy stormy look. If thou cry war, there is no peace for me."
Cassandra -
Agamemnon by Aeschylus
Description: Cassandra forsees her own
brutal death.
Quote: "Brewing a poisoned cup, She will mix my punishment while sharpening, The dagger for her husband."
Quote: "Brewing a poisoned cup, She will mix my punishment while sharpening, The dagger for her husband."
Tamyra - Bussy
D'Ambois by Chapman - Elizabethan
Description: The Countess of Montsurry is
planning to run away with her secret lover.
Quote: "Our loves like sparkles are that brightest shine, When they go out; most vice shows most divine."
Quote: "Our loves like sparkles are that brightest shine, When they go out; most vice shows most divine."
Anna Petrovna - Ivanov by Chekhov
Description: A sick and depressed woman
defends her husband, who she loves despite his poor treatment of her.
Quote: "I am beginning to think that fate has cheated me, Doctor."
Quote: "I am beginning to think that fate has cheated me, Doctor."
Natasha - Proposal by Chekhov
Description: Natasha wants nothing more than to get married,
and fears Lomov might be her last chance. Lomov comes to propose, and
Natasha babbles like a schoolgirl.
Quote: "You know, you're looking kind of cute these days."
Quote: "You know, you're looking kind of cute these days."
Masha - The Seagull by Chekhov
Description: Masha has resolved to kill her unrequited love
for Treplev by marrying someone else. She tells her plan to Trigorin, a
writer who she has just met.
Quote: "My schoolmaster is none too clever, but he's kind, and a poor soul, and he loves me very much."
Quote: "My schoolmaster is none too clever, but he's kind, and a poor soul, and he loves me very much."
Nina - The Seagull by Chekhov
Description: Nina, a young Russian actress, left her boyfriend
Kostya long ago to have an affair with a world famous playwright.
Several years later, she returns, and shares the truths she has learned the hard way.
Quote: "I've been walking around, walking around and thinking, thinking and even believing that my soul grows stronger every day."
Quote: "I've been walking around, walking around and thinking, thinking and even believing that my soul grows stronger every day."
Bellafront - The Honest Whore by Dekker - Elizabethan
Description: A former prostitute resists
the advances of a would-be client after undergoing a moral conversion.
Quote: "She's common as spotted leopards, whom for sport, Men hunt, to get the flesh, but care not for't."
Quote: "She's common as spotted leopards, whom for sport, Men hunt, to get the flesh, but care not for't."
Celimene - The Misanthrope by Moliere
Description: Celimene is a gossip, and she insults a boring
elderly woman behind her back for the entertainment of others.
Quote: "You may consult the clock, or yawn twenty times, but she stirs no more than a log of wood."
Quote: "You may consult the clock, or yawn twenty times, but she stirs no more than a log of wood."
Mrs. Morehead - The
Women by Clare Luce Boothe - 1937
Description: Mrs. Morehead gives her
daughter advice about her husband's affair.
Quote: "There's nothing like a good dose of another woman to make a man appreciate his wife. Mother knows!"
Quote: "There's nothing like a good dose of another woman to make a man appreciate his wife. Mother knows!"
Mrs. Zero - The
Adding Machine by Rice - 1950's
Description: A housewife archetype rants at
her husband, an archetypical white-collar slave.
Quote: "There's no five-thirty for me. I don't wait for no whistle."
Quote: "There's no five-thirty for me. I don't wait for no whistle."
Estelle - No
Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
Description: Estelle, now dead, watches the world slip away from her - and reveals herself to be manipulative, selfish, and
vindictive.
Quote: "What's that she's said? "Poor Estelle wasn't exactly- " No, I wasn't exactly - True enough."
Quote: "What's that she's said? "Poor Estelle wasn't exactly- " No, I wasn't exactly - True enough."
Inez - No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
Description: In two monologues, sardonic and sadistic lesbian
Inez fights with and antagonizes Garcin.
Quote: "I prefer to choose my hell; I prefer to look you in the eyes and fight it out face to face."
Quote: "I prefer to choose my hell; I prefer to look you in the eyes and fight it out face to face."
Adriana - The
Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare
Description: A jealous wife tries to confront her husband about his philandering ways - but mistakenly
attacks his identical twin instead.
Quote: "Ay, ay, Antipholus, look strange and frown: Some other mistress hath thy sweet aspects; I am not Adriana nor thy wife."
Quote: "Ay, ay, Antipholus, look strange and frown: Some other mistress hath thy sweet aspects; I am not Adriana nor thy wife."
Countess of
Salisbury - Edward III by Shakespeare
Description: The Countess of Salisbury must
resist the overtures of King Edward III, as delicately as possible.
Quote: "That love you offer me you cannot give, For Caesar owes that tribute to his queen; That love you beg of me I cannot give, For Sarah owes that duty to her lord."
Quote: "That love you offer me you cannot give, For Caesar owes that tribute to his queen; That love you beg of me I cannot give, For Sarah owes that duty to her lord."
Queen Margaret - Henry
VI by Shakespeare
Description: Queen Margaret of Anjou
demoralizes the Duke of York before executing him.
Quote: "Alas, poor York! but that I hate thee deadly, I should lament thy miserable state."
Quote: "Alas, poor York! but that I hate thee deadly, I should lament thy miserable state."
Mistress Page - The
Merry Wives of Windsor by Shakespeare
Description: A happily married woman reacts
to un unwanted love letter from the bumbling Sir John Falstaff.
Quote: "One that is well-nigh worn to pieces with age to show himself a young gallant!"
Quote: "One that is well-nigh worn to pieces with age to show himself a young gallant!"
Lady Anne - Richard
III by Shakespeare
Description: Lady Anne curses the man
responsible for the death of Henry VI - in front of the man responsible.
Quote: "Cursed be the hand that made these fatal holes! Cursed be the heart that had the heart to do it! Cursed the blood that let this blood from hence!"
Quote: "Cursed be the hand that made these fatal holes! Cursed be the heart that had the heart to do it! Cursed the blood that let this blood from hence!"
Julia - The
Two Gentlemen of Verona by Shakespeare
Description: Julia asks her servant, Lucetta, to help her disguise herself as a man so that she can follow
her beloved Proteus to Milan.
Quote: "A true-devoted pilgrim is not weary to measure kingdoms with his feeble steps; Much less shall she that hath Love's wings to fly."
Quote: "A true-devoted pilgrim is not weary to measure kingdoms with his feeble steps; Much less shall she that hath Love's wings to fly."
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Phil - I Can Build You by Joe Brofcak
Description: A struggling science fiction author is
robbed and calls the FBI to investigate, only to find himself their prime suspect.
Quote: "It is entirely possible that one of my stories have come too close to the actual, real truth of closely guarded national secrets!"
Quote: "It is entirely possible that one of my stories have come too close to the actual, real truth of closely guarded national secrets!"
Jack - Interstate by Joe Brofcak
Description: A strung-out young man desperately
races across the country to make peace with his dying step-father.
Quote: "I'm at over 80 miles per hour and I lose my shit."
Quote: "I'm at over 80 miles per hour and I lose my shit."
Ryan - Bargaining by Kellie Powell
Description: Ryan explains why he had to leave the woman who gave him eternal life.
Quote: "Being with you... was the most meaningful thing I've ever done. It was magic, and it was every day."
Quote: "Being with you... was the most meaningful thing I've ever done. It was magic, and it was every day."
Shane - Collaboration by Kellie Powell
Description: Shane must convince his friend
and collaborator, to sign off on a production of his re-write of a
script she wrote."
Quote: I've got the chance of a lifetime here - Christ, you too. You may never get another opportunity like this one."
Quote: I've got the chance of a lifetime here - Christ, you too. You may never get another opportunity like this one."
Yale - Like
Dreaming, Backwards by Kellie Powell
Description: A college student reacts to
the suicide of a casual acquaintance who he happend to see on the night she died.
Quote: "I couldn't have known what she was feeling. But then, I didn't ask, did I?"
Quote: "I couldn't have known what she was feeling. But then, I didn't ask, did I?"
Seth - That
Was Then by Kellie Powell
Description: Seth describes having to lie
to his parents and hide the fact that he is gay.
Quote: "I have to keep lying so they don't throw me out of the house."
Quote: "I have to keep lying so they don't throw me out of the house."
Paul - Gray
Matter by Josh Weckesser
Description: Paul Deters, recently deceased, appears to his best friend in a dream, and describes the
events that led to his death.
Quote: "I refused to be afraid anymore, so I turned down this lonely road and stepped on the gas. I never knew anything could move so fast."
Quote: "I refused to be afraid anymore, so I turned down this lonely road and stepped on the gas. I never knew anything could move so fast."
Seth - Gray
Matter by Josh Weckesser
Description: Seth Lyons reacts to the death
of his best friend.
Quote: "Fuck you, Thomas! I'll curse as much as I goddamned want to. And right now I fucking want to. I don't give a damn what you think, Thomas. Paul's dead."
Quote: "Fuck you, Thomas! I'll curse as much as I goddamned want to. And right now I fucking want to. I don't give a damn what you think, Thomas. Paul's dead."
Thomas - Gray
Matter by Josh Weckesser
Description: Thomas Moore explores the high
school experience, love, ignorance, and disillusionment in a series of
monologues.
Quote: "Whatever you do in your life, do it with love."
Quote: "Whatever you do in your life, do it with love."
Tim - It Came
From Texas by Josh Weckesser
Description: Tim, frustrated by the ignorance of those
around him, blows up at Beth, attacking her pathetic attempts to
recapture her ex-boyfriend.
Quote: "Do you enjoy the heartache? He'll be there only when he is bored with himself. Run, Beth, run while you can."
Quote: "Do you enjoy the heartache? He'll be there only when he is bored with himself. Run, Beth, run while you can."
Josh - Untitled
Autobiography by Josh Weckesser
Description: Josh narrates and reflects on
events from his past, including beating up a would-be aggressor with
his friends, and developing his first crush.
Quote: "I even wrote poetry. Original poetry. But I'm not going to subject you to that."
Quote: "I even wrote poetry. Original poetry. But I'm not going to subject you to that."
Todd - Untitled
Autobiography by Josh Weckesser
Description: Todd tries to explain the
significance of "Magic Night" and waxes metaphysical on the confusion of being.
Quote: "What is necessary about the Magic Night memory, Josh, is that there was some true brotherhood there, something special. Peace on earth and goodwill towards man bullshit."
Quote: "What is necessary about the Magic Night memory, Josh, is that there was some true brotherhood there, something special. Peace on earth and goodwill towards man bullshit."
Jared - Everybody
Else (is fucking perfect) by Karen Jeynes
Description: Jared, a bartender in his
twenties, confronts Gavin, a 40-year-old married gay man who is about
to become a father.
Quote: "How can you just fucking sit there and deny everything you are?"
Quote: "How can you just fucking sit there and deny everything you are?"
Devon - I'll Have What She's Having by Karen Jeynes
Description: Devon tries to make up with
his girlfriend, who is angry that he hasn't proposed.
Quote: "I'm admitting it, you are right, we don't know each other as well as we should, but do you know something else? That's not all my fault."
Quote: "I'm admitting it, you are right, we don't know each other as well as we should, but do you know something else? That's not all my fault."
Louis - I'll
Have What She's Having by Karen Jeynes
Description: A vacationing salesman
romances his wife of twenty years in their hotel room.
Quote: "I'm going to have the most gorgeous woman in the place tonight, I'll have to fight off all the other guys who want to get close to you!"
Quote: "I'm going to have the most gorgeous woman in the place tonight, I'll have to fight off all the other guys who want to get close to you!"
The Narwaiter - I'll
Have What She's Having by Karen Jeynes
Description: The narrator/waiter describes
what he observes in Cape Town, South Africa.
Quote: "I don't judge, you know, it's not my place, I just smile and nod, yes sir, no sir, anything you say sir. Or madam."
Quote: "I don't judge, you know, it's not my place, I just smile and nod, yes sir, no sir, anything you say sir. Or madam."
Josh - Bang
Bang You're Dead by William Mastrisomone
Description: Josh re-lives the morning he
murdered his parents, and talks to them as though they can only now truly hear him.
Quote: "I guess I'm just sick of you being disappointed in me all the time."
Quote: "I guess I'm just sick of you being disappointed in me all the time."
Richard
- Love Is from Lucky Duck by Chelsea Terris
Description: Richard's wife, Stefani, is in love with his brother, Nick.
Quote: "It is real love, not romance, that keeps me by her still."
Quote: "It is real love, not romance, that keeps me by her still."
Sean - Fairely
Speaking by Steve Strangio
Description: Sean responds to his
girlfriend's accusation that he doesn't communicate.
Quote: "I couldn't use words to tell you how much I cared for you. I couldn't find the words. There are no words."
Quote: "I couldn't use words to tell you how much I cared for you. I couldn't find the words. There are no words."
Dom - Leather
Bound Concrete by Tony Yajko
Description: Aggressive Dom attempts to
convince his friend and murder accomplice that they can get away with a crime.
Quote: "It sounded like a good idea at the time, but then again, we were pretty shit-faced."
Quote: "It sounded like a good idea at the time, but then again, we were pretty shit-faced."
Ivanov - Ivanov
by Chekhov
Description: Ivanov talks about the
combination of guilt and emptiness he feels about the impending death of his wife, whom he has
inexplicably lost interest in.
Quote: "I am in no way remarkable, and I have sacrificed nothing."
Quote: "I am in no way remarkable, and I have sacrificed nothing."
Treplev - The Seagull
by Chekhov
Description: Treplev, an aspiring playwright, laments his
poor relationship with his famous-actress mother and his disgust for
traditional theatre values.
Quote: "When I'm not there, my mother is only thirty-two, but when I am, she's forty-three - and for that, she hates me."
Quote: "When I'm not there, my mother is only thirty-two, but when I am, she's forty-three - and for that, she hates me."
Alceste - Misanthrope by Moliere
Description: A jealous boyfriend's accuses his lover of encouraging other men
to flirt with her.
Quote: "No, madam, there is no need for a stick, but only a heart less yielding and less melting at their love-tales."
Quote: "No, madam, there is no need for a stick, but only a heart less yielding and less melting at their love-tales."
Eliante - Misanthrope by Moliere
Description: Eliante mocks love, and those
who it captures.
Quote: "Thus a passionate swain loves even the very faults of those of whom he is enamoured."
Quote: "Thus a passionate swain loves even the very faults of those of whom he is enamoured."
Enrique - School
for Wives by Moliere
Description: Enrique speaks to the sister
of his dead wife.
Quote: "As soon as I saw you, before anyone could tell me, I should have known you."
Quote: "As soon as I saw you, before anyone could tell me, I should have known you."
Charles - The
Adding Machine by Rice - 1950's
Description: Lt. Charles explains
reincarnation to Mr. Zero, an archetypical white-collar wage-slave.
Quote: "You're a failure, Zero, a failure. A waste product. A slave."
Quote: "You're a failure, Zero, a failure. A waste product. A slave."
Garcin - No
Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
Description: Garcin brags about abusing his
wife, puts on a brave face for the valet, attempts to find salvation, and failing,
laments the cunning cruelty of his torturers.
Quote: "So this is Hell. I'd never have believed it."
Quote: "So this is Hell. I'd never have believed it."
Shylock - Merchant
of Venice by Shakespeare
Description: In this universally-known monologue, Shylock attacks Anthony,
of whom he demands a pound of flesh, and defends his brutality and his race.
Quote: "Hath not a Jew eyes?"
Quote: "Hath not a Jew eyes?"
Ariel - The Tempest
by Shakespeare
Description: Ariel, a powerful androgynous spirit, returns with
good news to his master, Prospero, and takes the opportunity to brag.
Quote: "I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak, Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, I flam'd amazement."
Quote: "I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak, Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, I flam'd amazement."
Orsino - Twelfth
Night by Shakespeare
Description: Orsino laments his lost cause - his love for the
fair Olivia.
Quote: "If music be the food of love, play on..."
Quote: "If music be the food of love, play on..."