My youngest son has a Grinch-inspired holiday party coming up this week, and in discussing this, I’ve realized how many Grinch dramatizations we’ve actually seen. If you’re looking to add another Grinch-drama to your holiday mix, check out these 5 incarnations of the classic green-haired creature (and beware—there are tons more grinchy-dramas out there!).
Read MoreCheck out my November 2019 Newsletter, featuring new monologues, parent/child acting, and a collection of funny monologues about food.
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Read MoreI’m a bit buried in planning two 12-hour road-trips next week, followed by family visits, lots of volunteering, parties, events, writing, theater—so Christmas is kind of sneaking up on me this year. It doesn’t help that Thanksgiving comes late in the month, as it seems everyone has observed. But tonight, I stopped in my leaf-raking tracks when I received this message from a friend:
“Just got an email from Netflix about ‘The Knight Before Christmas.’ I am so excited!”
My heart just did a little back flip.
Is there any better pre-Thanksgiving reminder that the Christmas season is ready to burst through the door?
I mean, come on, look at this write-up of the movie:
Read MoreHave you ever dreamed of being that special person chosen to hear the voice of an animal? Or better yet, to be chosen to be the friend of a very special animal? Say…a special animal who knows someone pretty famous, especially come December 24? Annie gets to experience just that in the play, Christmas Superpowers and Believing in Blitzen. Santa’s reindeer, Blitzen, chooses to befriend her, and he supports her during Christmas crafts, her role in the local pageant, and even through a single-parent household. This is one cool reindeer! So enjoy this 30-second monologue, Meeting Blitzen, when Annie tells her friends that she’s seen a talking reindeer for the first time. The monologue is designed for children, but really could apply to anyone of any age who might dream of being seen by someone special—as someone special.
Read MoreWe all know high school is not easy. But it’s especially difficult when you have a classmate making your life miserable! Find out how Sarah handles her resident mean girl in this new free monologue, Those Jimmy Choo Shoes. This comedic/dramatic monologue runs about 1 minute long, and is great for teens and young adults.
Read MoreWell, it’s the day after Halloween. Crisp, light candy wrappers in the trash. Piles of crushed red-dye candy coating on the floor. Parents—did you check your kids’ candy last night and “skim” any off the top? Kids—did you do an inventory last night and confirm your tally this morning? Okay, so a lot of families are happily generous with their candy on Halloween (thank you!), but transparency is nice, right?
So today, on the morning after October 31st, enjoy this duo of monologues about disappearing Halloween candy! In the first one, My Missing Skittles, Sal catches his dad, red-handed at midnight, eating his Halloween candy! In the second, A Dad’s Defense, Doug justifies to Sal that he’s never pretended to be perfect in the first place. But he comes up with the resolution that hopefully satisfies both parties (Just don’t tell Mom!).
Enjoy these funny monologues, from child to parent, and parent to child! My Missing Skittles is about 1 minute long and suitable for any child! A Dad’s Defense is about 1.5 - 2 minutes long and great for adults. If you've been looking for a monologue duo perfect for a child and adult to act out together (Parent/Child Theater, here we come!), this is a great match! Have fun!
Read MoreEnjoy my October 2019 Newsletter, featuring creepy monologues for Halloween, a new dark comedy play, a new funny children’s Halloween monologue, great plays for Halloween, and Juan Agudelo's captivating performance of my dark comedy, Disappointing Hell.
If you’re looking for some plays with a thrilling, weird, scary or eerie nature, just in time for Halloween, check out my list of 6 GREAT PLAYS FOR HALLOWEEN! From a domineering talking bingo chip to an apartment enveloped in human hair to a line of diamonds which seems rather painful—these dark comedies, dramas and thrillers give you a fun dramatic ride!
Read MoreHalloween is less than a week away, friends, so if you’re indulging in some creepy theater right now (or indulge year-round), check out my new monologue, Pieces of Coal. This thriller, horror, dramatic monologue is great for creepy auditions, eerie Halloween competitions or just for some chilling acting fun. The monologue is suitable for a female or male actor, ages teen through adults. It runs about 1.5 to 2 minutes long (pauses tell a lot here too!), and has lots of room for creative and interesting acting and directing. So, what is the monologue about? Well, have you heard those eerie ghost stories about centuries-old children appearing in bedroom mirrors in the middle of the night?…
Read MoreIf you’re looking for a thriller, dark, horror, or dramatic monologue, check out This Heat In My Brain. This monologue is free, about 1.5 minutes long, can be for a male or female actor, and allows for unleashing some disturbing and versatile acting. In it, Sloane implores his victim to sympathize with him and his assault. Check out the excerpt below:
Read MoreIf you’re looking for some creepy monologues this Halloween, check out these 10 monologues. From a disappointing journey in Hell to a blood-stained Banana Republic dress, take an eerie ride with these unique characters and their drama.
Read MoreImagine graduating from High School, marrying your sweetheart, relishing one week together as husband and wife, then seeing your love off to fight a war in another country—and then finding out you’re pregnant with his child! Your husband may, or may not, return. You’re a newlywed, young, excited, elated—but also nervous, worried, frightened, alone. My new dramatic piece takes us back to 1940s WWII, as this scenario unfolds in Alice’s monologue, The Adventure of the Seed. This monologue stands alone as its own piece, but it also comes from the collection of shorts in the full-length play, The The Victory Garden Plays. Forever grateful to Megan Benjamin who originated this role beautifully in the Winter 2019 production. It runs approximately 4-5 minutes, for a female actor, late teen to early adult.
Read MoreFood and Humor just go together, don’t they? I don’t know why, but isn’t a scene just funnier if someone mentions cheetos or some moldy blueberries (hm…idea for a new monologue?)? Food is real, tangible, something we all know. It’s messy, it tastes good or it tastes bad, it can make you sick, it can make you choke, it can make you happy, it can distract you. It brings out jealousy, love, anger, pride, selfishness, selflessness. Food is, when it comes down to it, a really powerful tool in life that fuels a lot of heavy emotion! So, of course it’s dramatic! Here are fourteen (14) funny monologues about food! From donuts and apple pies to skittles and jelly beans (and even a dog toenail in a can of corn), check out these comedic monologues all featuring food!
Read MoreIt’s so much fun to see wildly different interpretations of the same monologue, right? Yet within all the differences, it’s telling to find the commonalities that run throughout. Unknown Playwrights Monologue Monday series does a great job of showcasing new monologues, and then compiling an A-Z video list of actors performing the piece. You can see three videos below of actors performing my monologue, March in Line, just to show how very different they can be!
Read MoreAre you ready for a little history leading up to a new 5-minute dramatic monologue? So in the early 1940s, “Victory Gardens” sprang up around the US in an effort for Americans at home to lend their support to armed forces and allies fighting overseas in WWII…
(click READ MORE below for the new 5-minute dramatic monologue, His First English Words)
As Halloween approaches, children’s minds and salivary glands start turning toward candy…but when so much candy is too much, it’s great some dentists offer a candy-for-money exchange, right? Well, check out Fred’s reaction to the deal his dentist set up. Does he think it’s so great? In this 1-minute comedic monologue for children, Fred confronts his dentist when he realizes the deal is not exactly what he was promised at his last visit! Enjoy this short funny monologue, entitled, THE REAL VALUE OF CANDY, suited for male or female actors (around ages 4-12)!
Read MoreIf you’re looking for an autumn-themed monologue, check out these 5 monologues below, for some crisp weather theater! From halloween candy to ants in apple pies to frankenstein—enjoy!
Read MoreOkay, so I was beyond elated when I first read Ionesco’s La Cantatrice Chauve (the Bald Soprano) in 9th grade French Class, as it confirmed a name for the style of theater my teenage self had already been unknowingly writing in: Theater of the Absurd. It was weird, it was dark, it was funny. I loved the feeling of laughing then cringing, cringing then laughing, laughing while cringing. After I read through Ionesco at my school library, my teacher suggested I try Albee, and these two writers (perhaps along with the tv show, Northern Exposure) were important influences in my writing.
So huge thanks to Bryan for this nice write-up on his blog, Unknown Playwrights, about my monologue, Ferret Envy, including A through Z video performances of the monologue.
”Sometimes you see Ionesco‘s name thrown around with Theatre of the Absurd. Same deal with Albee. Nah, Meddaugh is where it’s at. Picture this: You are SO jealous of your friend’s ferret that you (probably) killed said ferret because…you want to be your friend’s ferret!!!! This is a fun, funny goofed-up piece of theatrical brilliance.”
Bryan, I am blushing that you can put me in a category with these writerly gentlemen. Thanks for the shout-out, and you can check out prolific playwright Bryan Stubbles’ work here.
If you like dark comedies (cringe and laugh, laugh and cringe—then pause to think seriously for a minute…), check out my new 10-minute play, Alfred and Lily and Their Marvelous Tank in the Forest. Yes, it has two frogs in it who jump around, chew on sticks, and get jealous of pond creatures with purple scarves—but this allegory doesn’t only provide fun entertainment; it’s thought provoking and generates great discussion. Does a horror have to affect you personally for you to notice something is wrong? How long will you accept happy lies until you’re willing to see what is in front of you? How can two individuals have such contrasting views of reality?…
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