Monologues for Actors: A Library of Original Pieces

How to Choose Monologues for a Casting

Four questions narrow almost any search. Answer them in this order, and the right piece usually stands out.

Start With the Project

Theater calls and drama schools tend to welcome a more theatrical text and a bigger voice. Film and TV calls want something smaller and closer to everyday speech. Commercials like light pieces that show charm in a few seconds. When the call names a genre, bring that genre, and browse the open theater castings to see what is being asked right now.

Match Your Age Range

Stay within a few years of your real playing age. Because the people watching have to picture you in the role today, so a character who is clearly older or younger works against you. For that reason, each piece in the library prints its age range above the text.

Pick the Tone

Comedy shows timing and charm, while drama shows depth and listening. So if the casting does not say, bring one of each. Then offer the one that fits the project best, because a contrasting second piece is often welcome.

Check the Length

A minute is about 130 to 150 words at a natural pace. Many calls ask for one to two minutes, so read the requirements before you cut anything. Time the piece out loud and with its pauses, because reading in silence always fools you. Our guide to monologues for auditions goes deeper on how to prepare, and the self-tape guide covers filming it.

How to Prepare Monologues Before the Call

Do not memorize first. Instead, answer three questions about the text: who is speaking, who they are speaking to, and what they want from that person. Choose a verb you can actually play, like to convince or to stop, because “being sad” gives you nothing to do.

Next, split the piece into sections, one for each change of tactic. Then rehearse it with opposite intentions, as if you were begging and then threatening, so you are ready when the room asks for an adjustment. Also, say your title and the source clearly at the start, and for these pieces “original monologue by Casting and Acting” is enough.

3 Short Sample Monologues

Here are three short originals to try, each between 80 and 120 words. They differ in tone and age on purpose, so you can feel how a comic, a quiet and a warm piece ask different things from you.

Pitch Day

Adult, ages 18 to 30, any gender · comic, overconfident · about 40 seconds. In a driveway, a small business owner pitches a lemonade stand to a row of imaginary investors.

Okay, investors. Thank you for coming to my driveway.

Lemonade is a very old industry, and nobody has disrupted it. Until now. (Gestures at the pitcher.) This is not lemonade. This is lemonade with a story. The lemons are local, which is to say they came from my neighbor’s tree, which is to say she doesn’t know yet.

Our margins are incredible. The cups were free. The sign cost me one marker and a lot of feelings. (Beat.) We’re asking for just one thing today: a yes, and an honest review. And please say it’s sweet. I added a lot of sugar. I panicked.

Believe every word of the pitch. The laugh comes from your confidence, and the honest panic at the end is the turn.

Spare Key

Adult, ages 30 to 50, any gender · quiet drama · about 40 seconds. This person returns a house key to a former partner at the door.

I’m giving you back the key. I should have done it in the spring, when you asked, but I kept it in the kitchen drawer, next to the batteries and the tape, like it might be useful.

It was never going to be useful. (Beat.) I used to stand on your porch with groceries, and I’d think, I’m someone who has a key. That was enough to make me feel like I belonged somewhere.

(Sets it on the table.) It’s the small, silver one. It still sticks a little in the lock. You have to jiggle it, left, then right. (Beat.) Somebody else will have to learn that.

Keep your voice level and let the objects do the work. The last line is a decision, so say it to the other person instead of to yourself.

The Last Bus

Man or woman, ages 55 and over · gentle and a little rebellious · about 45 seconds. At night, a passenger leans toward the bus driver.

Driver, I need to ask you something, and I’ll understand if the answer’s no. Could you drive past my stop?

I’ve gotten off at Fourth and Maple every night for thirty years. My house is there. My dinner is there, in a pan, I’m sure of it. But tonight it’s Friday, and the lights on the river are on, and I haven’t seen the river from this window since the day I retired.

(Settles into the seat.) Just to the end of the line. I’ll ride back with you. I’m in no hurry. (Looks out.) For once in my life, I’m in no hurry.

Start the question as a timid request and end it as a gift to yourself. Then let the repeated line change, because the second “no hurry” is a discovery.

Guide to the Monologues Library by Type

Each page below has its own set of originals and its own angle, so pick the one that matches your next call.

• Comedic monologues: eight funny pieces for ages 18 to 60 and over, built around comic timing.
• Dramatic monologues: pieces where the real feeling hides under the words, so subtext does the work.
• Monologues for women: women of different ages, voices and situations, from comedy to drama.
• Monologues for teens: school, family, friendship and first jobs, suitable for all audiences.
• Monologues for men: men from young adults to older ones, with plenty of range in tone.
• Shakespeare monologues: public-domain speeches with the play, character, act and scene, plus a plain-language context and a way to approach each one.

More Guides on Monologues

A few related pages also help once you have chosen your piece.

• Monologues for auditions: six more short originals and a full preparation guide.
• What is a soliloquy? A speech to yourself, and how it differs from a monologue.
• Audition tips for the rest of the day, from arrival to exit.
• How to choose acting classes, if you want a coach to work on your pieces.