Thank you sincerely for selecting this book. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a working actor for more than two decades in New York, Los Angeles, and throughout the United States. In that time, I have watched many actors develop an uncomfortable “love-hate relationship” with their monologues. Given the com- plex nature of the monologue process, that is understandable. Unfortunately, it is not an approach that will help move any of us towards our goals. As actors, we love capturing the attention of our audiences, and knocking their collective socks o while delivering strong and engaging solo performances. However, the process of finding monologues that ring true for us, and that resonate deeply within our hearts, is an extremely challenging task for even the most experienced and polished of actors.

Practicing and performing monologues, in fact, may well be the single most complex (and widely misunderstood) area of study in the entire world of acting and the performing arts. Though the process can be daunting for actors of all ages, young actors are asked to perform monologues far more frequently than their adult counterparts. Drama school programs and theater companies often require two contrasting monologues – one comedy and one drama – as part of their standard audition process.

This presents a unique challenge for serious young performers, who spend a tremendous amount of time, e ort, and energy researching and testing out new monologues to perform. Under- stand, however, that while this process can sometimes feel over- whelming, the opportunity presented is an extremely valuable one.

In the long run, it is always beneficial to find new monologues that industry professionals haven’t already seen performed by thousands of other actors in hundreds of other auditions and workshops – over and over again through the years.

Young actors who demonstrate the tenacity to dive into new material, practice new monologues weekly, and seek out active feedback and coaching from teachers they trust will surely set themselves apart from the ever-increasing pool of new talent entering the industry each year. This takes hard work and consistent dedication to the craft, of course, but is well worth the effort for young actors who are serious about taking their training to the next level – and booking professional acting jobs on stage and screen.

Continuing to work on new monologues is an excellent way to demonstrate to agents, casting directors, directors, and producers our long-term willingness to think beyond our most recent success- es and disappointments. Young people who continually work on new material are demonstrating highly professional behavior and a genuine commitment to their craft. When industry professionals see these qualities in our teenage performers, they will know those young actors are thinking forward in time and dedicating them- selves to long-term success in our highly competitive industry.

Let’s get down to specifics. A monologue of one hundred- fty to one hundred-sixty words in length roughly translates to one minute of performance time on stage or screen. A longer monologue – around three hundred words – will translate into about two minutes of performance time for actors. There is some variation within these guidelines, due to natural differences among actors in speaking style, rhythm, and cadence. In general, however, this is a useful and accurate guideline.

Always pay close attention to the particular requirements of the audition you’re preparing for. Actors are sometimes specifically asked to perform a one-minute monologue. For these opportunities, you’ll want to select one of the shorter pieces. You will find a nice variety of both shorter and longer monologues included in this book. You can also try one of my favorite monologue exercis- es. Try memorizing one of the longer pieces and then cutting it down to one minute in length. With this technique, you can have two different versions of the same monologue – one longer and one shorter – prepared and ready to go for auditions at all times. This is a simple, but very practical, method that will help young actors become more versatile and better prepared for their auditions.

There is another practical consideration that needs to be ad- dressed. Very often when actors work on new monologues – either from theater scripts, movie scripts, or monologue books – the entire monologue they’re learning is printed out in one long, owing, continuous document. That makes things easier for the printer, but more di cult for the actor. With this in mind, the scripts in this book have been laid out in a far more user-friendly style. Each monologue is broken down into a logical sequence and organized into distinct paragraphs. Every paragraph break indicates a new thought process, reaction, or change in intent. This is commonly called a “beat” or an important story point in which the action changes direction or a character reveals new in- formation, motivation, or actuation. Sometimes, a beat can sim- ply indicate a pause in the actor’s verbal delivery, as well. With the monologues broken down in this manner, I expect that young actors will find the pieces accessible, digestible, and comprehensible. I believe young actors will find these monologues relatively easy to memorize, as well.

Woven throughout these monologues you will also find inspirational messages, ethical questions, and life lessons. We all need a little boost in our attitudes from time to time. Working on material that accentuates the positive can be an e ective strategy to set oneself apart, and truly stand out from the crowd. It is an excellent way to remain memorable long after your audition is over. Through choosing to work on monologues with inspiration- al or thought provoking content beneath the surface of the text, you may find the overall process of selecting and practicing new monologues to be slightly less daunting, as well.

I hope you will enjoy great success with the monologues in this book. I hope that in working with this material, you will also learn to appreciate the process of immersing yourself in the acting craft and developing your talents to their fullest. Most of all, I hope you will experience a high level of personal fulfillment in all your areas of study – and your future professional work. I wish you the very best of everything as you embark upon this exciting new journey.

You can do it. If someone else has done it, then you can do it too.

Mike Kimmel

Los Angeles, California

Monologues for Teens II: A Creative Idea as You Begin

It’s a good idea for actors to also try their hands at writing. As you begin to read, study, and memorize the monologues in this book, start thinking about writing a monologue or scene of your own to practice and perform.

It’s a terrific exercise for actors. More than anything, writing helps reinforce the idea that we are all collaborators in theater, lm, and television productions. Writers are not simply technicians who create printed pages for actors to read – just as actors are not merely verbal technicians who read the words on those printed pages out loud.

Writing a scene or monologue will give you great insights into the writing process. I believe you’ll also nd that the creative writing process is very similar to the creative acting process. Acting and writing are two halves of the same whole. They are far more similar than they are different. Immersing ourselves occasionally in the writing process can be extremely valuable to actors. I hope you will try it for yourself. I believe you will experience a tremendous bene t.

This may be challenging at first. That’s okay. If you’re having difficulty creating new material, then try adding something extra to the ending of a monologue you’re already practicing from this book. Better still, ask yourself how the monologue you’ve selected would play out for an audience if we were able to follow it up with a sequel – or a second part to the monologue you’re practicing. You may nd it easier to write “Part Two” than create “Part One.”

There’s One in Every Bunch

My dad got all upset yesterday. He came home from work in the worst mood. This new guy at his job was very annoying ... very difficult to work with. That put Dad in a bad mood all day.

Then, my mom said the same thing happened at her job! Someone was not acting properly. Very rude to all the customers. Very unprofessional to my mom and her other co-workers. Every- body had a problem with this one lady. But they couldn’t re her ... because she knew someone pretty high up in the company.

And I remembered last year ... I had a kid in my class who used to bother everybody too. Every student wished he was in a different class. Maybe a different school. Or reform school.

This all reminded me of something my teacher said: “There’s one in every bunch.” There’s always gonna be one person who annoys you ... irritates you a little bit. Sometimes they’re even doing it on purpose! That’s the weirdest part!

But the most important thing is not how they act ... but how we react.

We have to be the kind of people who don’t get annoyed, don’t get irritated ... and stay calm and mentally strong no matter what anyone does or doesn’t do. And that’s the best way to react.

Because you’re the only person who can think in your mind. I’m the only person who can think in my mind. And so ... if somebody else isn’t behaving properly ... isn’t acting right ... well, then... I don’t have to mind!

How Many Thin Mints?

I’m trying to trim down. Knock off a couple of pounds, you know? But it’s hard. I think it is, anyway.

And it’s a process. Step by step. I nd that if I can just get past those first ten candy bars ... if I can give up those rst ten or twelve ... then I’m in good shape for the rest of the day. And I don’t mean little fun size. I’m talking king size.

And I’m learning to replace those bad habits with good habits. Eating more fruits and veggies. Nuts and seeds. Those are the healthy foods your body needs.

But you gotta be smart. A lot of people have knowledge, but no wisdom. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

But how do you know when something’s ripe or not ripe? Ready to eat or not ready? Because some of our fruit and vege- table choices are just too squishy when you peel ’em or pop ’em open. Especially grapefruits. Grapefruits are vicious too. They go right for the eyes.

So, as you can plainly see, I’m trying. You can see that, right? I even found a dietary supplement at the supermarket to help me kick start this whole weight loss program. But it’s not quite work- ing like I expected.

Maybe you can tell me ... how many boxes of thin mints do I have to eat before I start to see results?

The Best Worst Mood

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Pretty grumpy.

We’ve all had those days. One of those “nobody better get in my way” kind of days. Maybe you can relate. We’ve all been there. I sure wasn’t at my best. I wasn’t acting friendly or helpful to anyone. Not my little brother, not my friends, not the bus driver, not anyone.

Then my teacher was so nice to me in class. She was nice to all the students, actually. And she explained that math problem nobody understood yesterday in a whole different way today. Now everybody gets it.

Then, one of my classmates gave me my favorite candy bar at lunch. Because his mom packed him two instead of the usual one. Then my mom texted me for no reason whatsoever. Just to say how much she loves me and how proud I always make her.

Pretty soon I wasn’t acting so grumpy anymore. Because I was so busy noticing how nice everybody was acting to me ... whether I was acting grumpy or not. It kinda surprised me, to tell you the truth. I wasn’t expecting so much ... niceness when I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

My teacher, my classmate, my mom ... they’re amazing. They turned everything around. These people ... I don’t know how they did it. But they ruined the best worst mood I ever had.

Stop Kicking My Chair, Please ...

Iwas at the movies last weekend ... but my date didn’t wanna sit in my usual spot ... the very last row. Yeah, that’s right. I like the very last row. Because, in the past, every time I would go to

see a movie, somebody would always be kicking away at the back of my chair.

Kicking, kicking, kicking. Very frustrating ... extremely annoy- ing, actually. I have to keep turning around to say, “Stop kicking my chair, please.”

Fifteen minutes later, I have to say it again. “Stop kicking my chair, please.”

Because the cushiony thing they’re kicking is on the ip side of my back. Is this a di cult concept? Is this hard to gure out? No. So why do I have to keep explaining it?

And why do I feel like the bad guy whenever I point it out to people? I shouldn’t. But I still do.

So the logical thing is to avoid the issue ... and sit way back in the last row. Date or no date. Because I don’t go to the movies so I can keep turning around and explaining this to people.

So pay attention, avid movie-goers. Pay attention to the back of the people in front of you.

And stop kicking their chairs, please.

Pet Peeves

My mom says her pet peeve is people cutting in line. My dad’s pet peeve is cell phones. People never disconnecting. Most of my friends have their pet peeves too.

Know what mine is? I know you don’t. My pet peeve is ... nothing.

I don’t have a pet peeve. Theoretically, hypothetically ... my friends shouldn’t either. Maybe if my friends and family didn’t invite all those peeves in ... and make them feel so welcome and comfortable ... they would never have a chance to turn into pet peeves. But it’s almost like people have adopted them or some- thing.

So ... no wonder these things keep bugging them! No wonder these things keep showing up in their lives!

Well, guess what? People can un-adopt them too. That pro- cess is just as simple and straightforward. You just decide. You say to yourself, “Self ... these things aren’t going to bother me any more.” And then you make sure to keep that promise you just made.

This way, you’re prepared. So the next time that little pet peeve shows up to annoy you ... it can’t. It won’t be able to do it. You’ll be ready. And when that peeve sees that you’re not going to take it in, feed, it, clothe it, and talk about it any more ... maybe then it’ll stop showing up in your life.

Yes, I mean permanently. Class dismissed.

Stand for a Lady

I drove my grandfather to his appointment yesterday. Grandpa still gets around okay, but he doesn’t drive anymore.

He had some kinda appointment with his insurance. I had to drive him to this big o ce building downtown. The lady he met with was pretty young. Early twenties, I think.

Grandpa stood up when she came to get us. Right away ... before she even introduced herself ... she said, “No, no, sir. We can complete your paperwork right here. We’re not moving into the conference room today.”

Grandpa said, “I’m just standing for a lady.”

She said ... “What?”

Grandpa replied, “I’m standing because a lady just entered the room.”

This lady got kind of a blank look on her face. And then she blushed. And then she told my grandfather that was really sweet of him. She looked a little embarrassed too. I don’t think a man ever stood up for her before. But I’ve seen my grandfather do it a million times.

Grandpa may not get around as well as he used to, but he always stands up for a lady. He says a gentleman always stands when a lady enters the room. Maybe that’s a little corny and old-fashioned.

But ... you know ... maybe we need a little more corny, old-fashioned, gentlemanly behavior ... in this fast- paced, fast- moving, fast-walking, fast-talking, fast-texting world we all live in today. Take time to stand. Stand for a lady, gentlemen. That’s how we roll.