~Here Are Some Female Monologue Suggestions for You!!!~

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 7:02pm

One of my friends was looking for female monologues for her acting class (they had to be from plays, not from monologue books) and asked for my help. I compiled the following list of suggestions for her, and I thought I'd post it in case it might help any of you. I'm posting it pretty much exactly as I sent it to her, so you might want to ignore my commentary (the messages were to her, but I left them in). Hope you find this helpful!

~ff~


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Here are a few plays to look at. Try doing a search to find the plays (or maybe just the monologues) online. You'd be surprised at how many you'll be able to track down if you try. Then, if you really like one, you can hunt down a real copy of the play. Do you need the whole play, or just a copy of the monologue? Because if you’re interested in any of these, I either own or can track down pretty much anything on here in its monologue form (and I own some of the plays in play-form as well). Let me know what you’re interested in. I have placed *** after the things that I like best and would suggest for you.

First off, I must ask a question… Do the monologues have to be "pure" or can they be "edited"? Like, if the monologue is interrupted by another characters response and then continues, can you ignore the response, and like 'compile' the monologue front multiple separate lines?

The following plays might have things in them, if so:

- "A Girl's Guide to Chaos" by Cynthia Heimel (Cynthia)
- "And Turning Stay" by Kellie Powell (Amy)
- “Beau Jest” by James Sherman (Sarah explaining to James that he has to pretend to be her boyfriend when she goes to visit her parents)
- "Beautiful Bodies " - Laura Cunningham (Can't quite remember... I think that Lisbeth and Martha are best)
- "Courting Prometheus" by Charles Forbes (Rita)
- "Gwen and Gwen" by Nancy Kiefer ('Gwen I' has better options than 'Gwen II')
- "Independence" by Lee Blessing (Kess has a great speech about realizing she was a lesbian)
- "Loose Ends" by Michael Weller (Janice)
- "Museum" by Tina Howe (Tink Solheim’s monologue given while hiding with a sculpture)
- "Painting Churches" by Tina Howe (Mags reminds her parents of how they behaved at her first portrait show)
- “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” by Steve Martin (Suzanne and Germaine both have good ones. I think I might try to work on one for URTAs.)***
- “The Odd Couple (Female Version)” by Neil Simon (you could easily eliminate response lines to create great monologues as either Olive or Florence. I would try the one Florence gives about her husband walking out on her. It’s hilarious.)
- “Women of Manhattan” by John Patrick Shanley (Rhonda)


And these contain "pure" pieces (note, I tried to make Word alphabetize this list, but it sorta did it in two chunks and I can’t figure out why. Oh well!):


- "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" by Peter Nichols (Sheila has a very powerful monologue at the end of Act I discussing her severely disabled daughter. I LOVE this play, and I almost chose to submit to direct this.)***
- "A Map of the World" by David Hare (Peggy Whitton, a movie actress)
- "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (probably too famous, but Blanche has great stuff)
- "A Weekend Near Madison" by Kathleen Tolan (Nessa has a couple. I don’t know how you feel about cursing, but you’d definitely have to be okay with it for this character.)
- "Anna Christie" by Eugene O'Neill
- "Appearances" by Tina Howe (Grace and Ivy each have several disturbing monologues regarding their mother’s critical illness)***
- "Aunt Dan and Lemon" by Wallace Shawn (Aunt Dan)
- "Between Daylight and Boonville" by Matt Williams (Marlene, a trailer-park housewife.)
- "Birdbath" by Leonard Malfi (Velma, a cafeteria worker from the Bronx)
- "Blue Window" by Craig Lucas (Libby)
- "Calm Down Mother" by Megan Terry (Sue’s monologue about fertility)
- "Catch a Falling Star" by Lee Murphy (Ginny's confession of being a porn star is decent)
- "Catholic School Girls" by Casey Kurtti (there are at least 4 or 5 great ones in this. I especially like Elizabeth’s explaining Jesus)***
- "Cowboy Mouth" by Sam Shepard (Cavale. A young rock-and-roll-loving kidnapper talking to a friend. You would have to be comfortable with swearing and discussing masturbation.)
- "Crimes of the Heart" by Beth Henley (Meg or Babe, a couple of Southern Belles with screwed up lives. This play is Beth Henley’s best work. Don’t bother with reading ‘Miss Firecracker’ or anything else, as the monologues in her other plays will not stand alone)***
- "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" by John Patrick Shanley (Roberta’s dream about the ocean. She’s an Italian from the Bronx. Scenes from this were prevalent in the Irene Ryan competition last year.)
- "David's Red-Haired Death" by Sherry Kramer (Jean and Marilyn each have good options)
- "'dentity Crisis" by Christopher Durang (Jane. This is a bizarre monologue. A manic depressive recants strange production of Peter Pan she saw as a child to her therapist. Very creepy/funny, as most Durang is. Might be too passive, but you could give it a shot. It would be fun to try.)
- "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" by Alan Ball (there are several)***
- "For Keeps" by F. Hugh Herbert (Nancy)
- "Getting Out" (Arlene is a former prostitute whom has just been released from an 8-year prison sentence. Sometimes there are flashbacks to her days as a juvenile delinquent. There are monologues at both ages.)
- "Heart in the Ground" by Douglas Hill (Karen)
- "In the Boom Boom Room" by David Rabe (Chrissy or Susan. Interesting play involving go-go dancing.)
- "Jesse and the Bandit Queen" by David Freeman (Belle Starr, a train robber)
- "Kennedy's Children" by Robert Patrick (Carla’s drunken monologue about being a model)
- "Later" by Corinne Jacker (Kate)
- "Love Allways" by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna (there are a few monologues in here. Try Barbara's to her unborn child)
- "Lunchtime" by Leonard Melfi (Avis makes a sandwich for Rex)
- "Mama Drama" by Leslie Ayvazian, Donna Daley, Christine Farrell, Rita Nachtmann, and Ann Sachs (there are several... try Anna's about finding her daughter)***
- "Marco Polo Sings a Solo" by John Guare (Diane talks about how it felt to be a musical prodigy, and why she gave up the piano.)
- "My Mother Said I Never Should" by Charlotte Keatley (one of my all-time favorite plays. There are a few, but I would try Doris at the very end.)***
- "Necessary Targets" by Eve Ensler (there are LOADS of them in this. We’re doing this play on mainstage in the spring, and I’m acting as dramaturge for it. It’s an all-female cast, talking about the situation in Bosnia 15 years ago.)***
- "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder (You probably remember... Emily at the end, Mrs. Soames at the wedding, Mrs. Webb at the wedding)
- "Passing Game" by Steve Tesich (Julie)
- "Reckless" by Craig Lucas (Rachel or Pooty)
- "Savage in Limbo" by John Patrick Shanley (Linda or Denise Savage)
- "Say Goodnight, Gracie" by Ralph Pape (Catherine, an airline stewardess)
- "Shivaree" by William Mastrosimone (Shivaree)
- "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You" by Christopher Durang (Diane Symonds)
- "Soap Opera" by Ralph Pape (Lucy)
- "Still Life" by Emily Mann (Cheryl)
- "Strange Snow" by Steve Metcalfe (Martha)
- "Table Settings" by James Lapine(Wife)
- "Taken in Marriage" by Thomas Babe (Annie)
- "The Art of Dining” by Tina Howe (Elizabeth Barrow Colt, a nearsighted writer)
- "The Big Scene" by Arnold Schnitzler (Sophie)
- "The Days and Nights of BeeBee Fenstermaker" by William Snyder (BeeBee is a Southern would-be novelist. Use her talking about getting to NYC, or about fortune-telling)
- "The Death of a Miner" by Paula Cizmar (Mary Alice Hagar telling Jack why she wants to work in a mine)
- "The Foreigner" by Larry Shue (Catherine, a Southern debutaante)
- "The Great Nebula in Orion" by Lanford Wilson (Louise, a fashion designer)
- "The Lady and the Clarinet" by Michael Cristofer (Luba, a wine merchant. This role was at one point played by Stockard Channing.)
- "The Lives of Great Waitresses" by Nina Shengold (Melissa. An actress tries to be a waitress.)***
- "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" by Christopher Durang (Bette’s monologue on the phone after her second miscarriage)
- "The Primary English Class" by Israel Horovitz (Debbie Wastba, young English teacher)
- "The Sea Horse" by Edward J. Moore (Gertrude Blum)
- "The Three Daughters of Monsieur Dupont" by Eugene Brieux (Julie)
- "The Typists" by Murray Schisgal (Sylvia)
- "The Woolgatherer" by William Mastrosimone (Rose. She curses a fair amount.)
- "Theives" by Herb Gardner (Sally Cramer)
- "Three Tall Women" by Edward Albee (all have great monologues, but 'C' has a great on in act II about her first sexual encounter)***
- "Two Rooms" by Lee Blessing (Ellen and Lainie both, although some of Lainie's are interrupted. I'm directing this play next semester. It's very powerful)***
- "Uncommon Women and Others" by Wendy Wasserstein (Holly Kaplan)***
- "Vieux Carre" by Tennessee Williams (Jane, monologue about a fear of cockroaches that is rather amusing)***
- "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by Edward Albee (not completely right age-wise, and very well-known but Martha is very well-written)
- “A Chorus Line” by Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood Jr. (Val’s monologue about coming to NYC. Or, you could turn the song “Nothing” into a monologue, which would be great. Except you’d have to pretend to be from San Juan…)
- “Brilliant Traces” by Cindy Lou Johnson (Rosannah. I worked on a long scene from this play for a class last year and loved it. She’s kinda out there, but she doesn’t realize it. There are some pure monologues, and a couple you could create by eliminating Henry Harry’s interruptions)***
- “Butterflies Are Free” by Leonard Gershe (Jill’s monologue about getting married. I’m working on this one this semester.)
- “Defying Gravity” by Jane Anderson (Elizabeth. This is a play about the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion in 1986, and this character is the daughter of the teacher who died talking about the events surrounding the event. She has a couple. I’m working on one from this play this semester.)***
- “Fame” by Christopher Gore (Hilary’s monologue rationalizing her abortion)
- “Psycho Beach Party” by Charles Busch (MarvelAnn’s about psychiatry, and maybe something from Chicklet/Ann Bowman. Now, generally, this play is produced by a gender-bending all-male cast. But I think that you could take things out of it, as there is a movie based off of it in which Marvel Ann is played by a female)
- “Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark” by Ariel Dorfman (There are TONS. I was in this play awhile back and we brought it to the ACTF Evening of Scenes last year. The whole play is almost entirely monologues from real-life human rights defenders from around the world. My favorite ones are Helen Prejean, Rana Husseni, Fauziya Kassindja, and Digna Ochoa – I did Digna, among others. She was a lawyer and a nun, and her monologue talks about pretending she knew karate in order to evade police. It might be tricky to get a copy of the play… but it’s good stuff.)***
- “Street Scene” by Elmer Rice (Rose)
- “Talking with…” by Jane Martin (I don’t know if this will count for you… It’s an entire play made up of separate monologues for women… All of them are GREAT. If you can use something like this, then also see “Vital Signs” by the same author, which is an alias used by Jon Jory)***
- “The Day They Shot John Lennon” by James McLure (Fran’s monologue about Edward Hopper’s paintings. It’s a bit passive, but I like it.)
- “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” by Paul Zindel (try Tillie’s monologue that starts “He told me to look at my hand…”)
- “The Fantasticks” by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (Luisa’s monologue about the bird, her hair, and not wanting to be normal. Actually, now that I think about it, this might not be great out of context…)
- “The Guys” by Anne Nelson (Joan has a couple. It’s recalling September 11)
- “The Memory of Water” by Shelagh Stevenson (Catherine’s monologue about her problems with men is one of the best monologues I have ever seen performed. I played Vi in a production of this last year. It’s a British play, but you could do this monologue without the accent and be fine.)***
- “The O’Conner Girls” by Katie Forgette (There’s a great monologue in there about why women mature faster than men.)***
- “The Pretentious Young Ladies” by Moliere (Madeleine has one about marriage. It’s kinda long, but you could cut it.)
- “The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe” by Jane Wagner (Trudy. This is a very fun one-woman show. The biggest problem is that the character is very much associated with its originator, Lily Tomlin. For a class, it might do.)
- “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” by Clark Gesner (There are tons. Everyone seems to do Sally's monologue about a coat hanger sculpture.)

Updated On: 9/13/06 at 07:02 PM

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 7:04pm

Wow! Them's a lot of monologues! Thanks ~FF~!

[gustof777]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:12pm

hey thats awesome...not lets get a list for us guys

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:23pm

thank you so much. i always have such trouble with finding monologues. that's a great list!

[Aigoo]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:20pm

Many thanks!

[nychick9876]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:23pm

yeah thanks so much. i love the YAGMCB one, i've used that one a few times its great!

[GypsyRoseLee]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 11:05pm

Awesome list! May I add a few things? First of all, because of the very extreme nature of Durang's shows, I've been taught that it's a good idea to avoid his stuff in audition settings. A Streetcar Named Desire, The Days and Nights of Beebee Fenstermaker and Crimes of the Heart are considered overdone, as is most of Neil Simon's work.

It's a great list! I will definetly be looking into many of those shows.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 11:19am

Thanks for the suggestions!

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/20/05 at 10:24pm

Thanks for the notes, GypsyRoseLee!

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 12/20/05 at 3:18pm

*bump*

[Kristen_0509]

Posted: 12/21/05 at 11:37am

That list is awesome! Thank you!!

Posted: 12/22/05 at 12:56am

YAY thats gonna help me sooooo much I love you!LoL

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 1/16/06 at 10:05am

*bump*

[penECheery]

Posted: 1/16/06 at 9:25pm

Wow, that's a great list! Thank you.

[Bwaybaby109]

Posted: 1/16/06 at 11:55pm

thansk for putting so much time into doing that. it's so hard to find a monologue for a young character actress like myself so hopefully ic an find something! many thanks!

and about Danny and the Blue Sea, i'm pretty sure you saw the 2 from my school doing a scene from that for Irene Ryan. Awesome little play!

Updated On: 1/17/06 at 11:55 PM

[DancerGirl16]

Posted: 1/19/06 at 11:03am

You rock thank you so much!

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 6/24/06 at 4:23pm

bump

[Dancinqueen123]

Posted: 6/24/06 at 4:59pm

Thanks for the list, this rocks!

Posted: 6/24/06 at 8:00pm

Thanks for saving me a full 72 hours of frustration.

That list is wonderful!

[jaesdare]

Posted: 6/25/06 at 3:05am

on the CCM don't do list, I'm pretty sure it says not to do anything from Talking With...though they are pretty great and interesting monologues

[i love idina]

Posted: 6/25/06 at 9:04am

YOU ARE A LIFESAVER

[Awesome]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:27pm

oh man that must've taken forever!! thanks man

why do people keep saying bump?

[ThenBlowOnIt1st]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 10:31pm

Thanks so much! I was about to post a thread because I just can't seem to find good college audition monologues, even though I have my songs already. Thank you so much!

[forni-kate]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 5:36pm

Thank you so so much! Very much appreciated!

[Mrfreeze]

Posted: 8/24/06 at 9:38pm

Thank you for that list. Here's one more

"It had to be you" by Renee Taylor and Joe Blogna has 2-3 good ones too(comedic).