One on One Read online

  OTHER TITLES FROM THE APPLAUSE ACTING SERIES

  ACTING IN FILM (Book and DVD) Michael Caine

  ACTING IN RESTORATION COMEDY (Book and DVD) Simon Callow

  DIRECTING THE ACTION Charles Marowitz

  DUO!: BEST SCENES FOR THE 90’S John Horvath, Lavonne Mueller, and Jack Temchin (eds.)

  DUO!: THE BEST SCENES FOR TWO FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

  Joyce E. Henry, Rebecca Dunn Jaroff, and Bob Shuman (eds.)

  MICHAEL CHEKHOV: ON THEATRE AND THE ART OF ACTING (4 Audio CDs)

  Mala Powers (ed.)

  THE MONOLOGUE WORKSHOP Jack Poggi

  ON SINGING ONSTAGE (Book and VHS) David Craig

  RECYCLING SHAKESPEARE Charles Marowitz

  SHAKESCENES: SHAKESPEARE FOR TWO John Russell Brown

  SPEAK WITH DISTINCTION Edith Skinner

  STANISLAVSKI TECHNIQUE: RUSSIA Mel Gordon

  THE CRAFTSMEN OF DIONYSUS Jerome Rockwood

  THE ACTOR AND THE TEXT Cicely Berry

  ONE ON ONE: THE BEST MEN’S MONOLOGUES FOR THE NINETIES

  Jack Temchin (ed.)

  ONE ON ONE: THE BEST WOMEN’S MONOLOGUES FOR THE NINETIES

  Jack Temchin (ed.)

  ONE ON ONE: THE BEST WOMEN’S MONOLOGUES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

  Joyce E. Henry, Rebecca Dunn Jaroff, and Bob Shuman (eds.)

  SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS IN PERFORMANCE John Russell Brown

  A PERFORMER PREPARES: A GUIDE TO SONG PREPARATION David Craig

  UTA HAGEN’S ACTING CLASS (2 DVDs)

  Copyright © 2008 by Joyce E. Henry, Rebecca Dunn Jaroff, and Bob Shuman

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

  Published in 2008 by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books

  An Imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation

  7777 West Bluemound Road

  Milwaukee, WI 53213

  Trade Book Division Editorial Offices

  19 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

  Printed in the United States of America

  Book design by Kristina Rolander

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  One on one : the best men’s monologues for the 21st century / edited by Joyce E. Henry, Rebecca Dunn Jaroff, and Bob Shuman.

  p. cm.

  9781476849522

  1. Monologues. 2. Acting-Auditions. 3. Men—Drama. 4. American drama-21st century. I. Henry, Joyce E. II. Jaroff, Rebecca Dunn. III. Shuman, Bob.

  PN2080.O56 2008

  808.82’45089286—dc22

  2008039493

  www.applausepub.com

  Table of Contents

  Part One

  The Adventures Of Nervous-Boy (A Penny Dreadful)

  Aliens, 3 Miles, Turn Left

  An Almost Holy Picture

  An Almost Holy Picture

  At Said

  Auntie Mayhem

  The Beginning Of August

  A Bicycle Country

  Big Bill

  Big Love

  Bitter Bierce

  The Black Monk

  Black Thang

  Black Thang

  The Boss’s Daughter

  Burning The Old Man

  Catch & Release

  Chaucer In Rome

  Chaucer In Rome

  Clean Alternatives

  Communicating Through The Sunset

  Corps Values

  Cuban Operator, Please

  Dedication Or The Stuff Of Dreams

  The Dog Problem

  Doubt

  Dust

  Dust

  End Zone

  The Exonerated

  Expecting Isabel

  Fabulation, Or The Re-Education Of Undine

  Fat Pig

  Fear Itself, Secrets Of The White House

  Fêtes De La Nuit

  Folkdance

  Folkdance

  Freedom High

  Gap

  Gap

  Gem Of The Ocean

  Gem Of The Ocean

  Gone Missing

  Heirloom

  Imagine

  The Impossibility Of Most Things

  Jimmy Jim Jim And The M.f.m.

  Johnny’s Got A Gun

  La Tempestad

  The Language Of Kisses

  The Laramie Project

  The Last Freak Show

  Letters From Cuba

  Light

  Lost Love

  Lost Love

  The Ludicrous Trial Of Mr. P

  Maggie May

  The Mean Reds

  Measure For Pleasure: A Restoration Romp

  The Mercy Seat

  My Chekhov Light

  ’Nami

  The Naturalist

  New York

  On My Head

  Orson’s Shadow

  Orson’s Shadow

  O. T. Fairclough And Roger Mais

  The Paris Letter

  The Pavilion

  The Pavilion

  A Picasso

  The Pilgrim Papers

  The Pillowman

  Platonov! Plato Nov! Platonov!

  Prophecy By Karen Malpede

  The Proposal

  Rabbit Hole

  The Rebirth

  Red Roses

  Shyness Is Nice

  Small Domestic Acts

  Some Girl(S)

  Souvenir

  Spin

  Storytellers

  Tales Of An Urban Indian

  They’re Just Like Us

  Third Person

  This Is How It Goes

  Three Days Of Rain

  Three Days Of Rain

  Via Crucis

  The Violet Hour

  The Violet Hour

  The Voyage Of The Carcass

  We Had A Very Good Time

  Wtc View

  Part Two

  The Anniversary

  Aunt Pitti-Pat In The Tower

  The Cost Of Living

  Unequalibrium

  EDITORS’ NOTE

  In some scenes there are other characters onstage or those who will be entering. To indicate this, we have included their speeches or stage directions in brackets. Do not disregard them; your responses provide important clues for your character.

  In the table of contents, you will notice that certain speeches are designated by a specific ethnic identity, as determined by the playwright in the context of the whole play. However, most if not all of the monologues in this book are far more flexible and accessible to a broad range of actors and can be performed by any actor who is drawn to the material. The same is true about the flexibility of the age of designations.

  Some speeches might be longer than are called for in your situation. Again, the material may provide important clues to your motivation and background, but you may need to cut some in the interest of time. Under certain circumstances it may be appropriate to inform the audience that the speech is abridged.

  FOREWORD

  As a Broadway casting director who has cast over seventy-five plays, television films and motion pictures, I have seen countless performed monologues. Some are memorable, but most are difficult to sit through, and some even painful. This book should help to make your audition memorable.

  Choosing the appropriate monologue for an audition is crucial. Monologues are routinely required for most regional companies, Broadway and Off-Broadway companies, and admission to college theatre programs and to private acting classes. Most British directors prefer them to reading from the actual script. As an actor, you undoubtedly will be asked to perform a solo piece at some time, so choose carefully.

  The most important
tip I can provide you about performing a monologue successfully is to make a strong choice. It doesn’t matter what choice it is—BUT it has to have one clear point of view. There’s nothing worse than an actor who thinks he can show many facets of his talent in one reading. Can’t be done. The audition becomes wishy-washy, neither fish nor fowl, and the auditors are left unimpressed. Unless otherwise suggested by your teacher in an acting class, be sure to select a monologue that is age appropriate and close to your persona. This is not the time to stretch.

  Probably the biggest mistake actors make is choosing to perform an overly familiar piece. How many times can a stressed-out casting director listen to Tom’s Act One long speech from The Glass Menagerie? Or Edmund speaking about his memorable days at sea in A Long Day’s Journey into Night? The book you’re looking at now can be a godsend, because all the speeches come from plays written since the year 2000. Some of the speeches are from well-known award-winning playwrights; others are from authors writing in regional theatres or Off-Broadway, but all offer fresh ideas and challenges to the actor. Chances are they will be totally unfamiliar or only partly familiar to the listeners and, even if recognized, will not be identified with Marlon Brando or Rip Torn.

  If you do make a wrong choice, live with it and learn from it. I remember an actress who came in to audition for a Broadway play. She chose material that was not only wrong for the character for which she was auditioning, but also was 180 degrees away from her own personality. As she slogged through her choice, she sensed that the auditors were not responding, but she finished anyway. Then she let go. She swore, stamped her foot, in general made a great scene, and stalked out. Needless to say, she demonstrated that she would not be an asset to any company she worked with, and even if she had been brilliant they would not have hired her. It’s okay to be disappointed in your audition, but wait until you leave the room before letting everyone know how you feel. Then go home and work on a speech more suited to your personality—and talent.

  When the audition process works, it really works. I’ll never forget Joe Morton’s audition for a wonderful Broadway play titled The Mighty Gents. His monologue was telling a friend about a traumatic experience the character had had. We didn’t know the monologue. It was totally unfamiliar. We thought he was telling a true story from his past. When we realized he had just gotten into his audition, we all were blown away. Needless to say, he got the job.

  After you have chosen your speech, if at all possible, read the entire play, to make certain that your interpretation of the character is accurate. This may take an effort, as some of the plays here have been published, and some not, but if you like the author’s work, you owe it to him or her to provide credit, so using a little actor’s ingenuity, you can manage it.

  Choose wisely, prepare well, and good luck—the theatre is always in need of good, hardworking and intelligent actors.

  BARRY MOSS

  Barry Moss is a partner in Hughes Moss Casting, responsible for casting over sixty Broadway plays and musicals, including Nine, Titanic, Jekyll & Hyde, and A Tale of Two Cities. The company also cast The Cosby Show on NBC-TV for nine years and “discovered” or, more accurately, gave first jobs to Tom Cruise, Adam Sandler, Ricky Schroeder, Raven-Symone, James Spader, Catherine Keener, Donna Murphy, Raul Esparza, Matthew McConaughey, and Frances McDormand, among others.

  PART ONE

  A WORLD OF MONOLOGUES

  THE ADVENTURES OF NERVOUS-BOY (A PENNY DREADFUL)

  BY JAMES COMTOIS

  After a rather awkward evening at an avant-garde play and a boring party, the NERVOUS Boy, a young man in his 20s, candidly expresses his feelings for Emily.

  SCENE

  A New York bar

  TIME

  The present

  NERVOUS BOY: I’ve . . . I mean . . . I just think you’re so funny, and . . . smart, and . . . interesting . . . and beautiful. I just feel like I’m throwing myself at you, and . . . I’m sorry. I just . . . think you’re wonderful. I’ve had feelings for you since we first met, and . . . I’ve been trying to snap out of it for the longest time, but . . . no. I love you. That is . . . I’m falling in love with you. I care about you. And I worry about you. I worry about your career and whether or not you’re being exploited. I worry about your father. I care about what you want in life and I care about you getting it. It’s just so many times we talk and I’m listening but part of me is terrified that you see the hearts in my eyes and . . . I just . . . think you’re wonderful. And I love you. And . . . I’m sorry. (Pause.) I haven’t been able to find a full-time job since I got laid off two years ago. I really don’t know what I’m doing with my life and I’m kind of freaking out about it but I think I’m too lazy to really fix that problem and I get so sick of being lost in my thoughts and being by myself and I’m tired of being too scared to look at anyone in the eye anymore and I just love seeing you, Emily, and talking to you, because when I do I forget about all my anxieties for a short while and it feels like a giant weight has been lifted for a brief time and I’m not filled with guilt or self-loathing. . . . I just like . . . being with you. I feel like a real person. You know? And . . . I’m sorry. I just . . . I haven’t felt like that in a while and I’m sorry and I’m rambling.

  ALIENS, 3 MILES, TURN LEFT

  BY STEPHEN A. SCHRUM

  In his living room, cluttered with pizza boxes and other signs of bachelor living, a MAN in his late 30s talks about his eerie close encounter with aliens in his backyard.

  SCENE

  The living room

  TIME

  The present

  MAN: And then, one night last spring, They came. I was just coming home from one of our poker nights, and it was pretty late. As I came up the driveway, I saw something out in the field. There was this weird greenish light. I didn’t know what it could be, so I turned off the truck and drifted to a stop. I. also pulled out my rifle I keep in the gun rack, and I snuck out to the field. And there I saw it.

  Right then, I knew it was all true. I’d read about it in the National Enquirer and the Weekly World News, but here it was right in front of me. Space aliens. There were three of them, about four or five feet tall, with long arms and legs, wearing some strange clothes, with these funny helmets, that looked sorta familiar but I couldn’t quite figure it out. They were walking around outside their ship, picking up rocks and weeds and stuff, and checking them out with some kind of small box they had, just like on (mispronounces) Star Track. But they didn’t see me; they just kept on doing what they were doing, and I just kept watching them moving around, picking up rocks and weeds and stuff.

  After a couple of minutes, two of them walked over to the ship and start staring at some kind of crystal thing, and it starts turning purple. It was the weirdest thing, them just holding this big crystal and it starts glowing. This was kind of interesting, so I just kept watching them staring at this thing. Then all of a sudden, out of the corner of my right eye, I see that the third one is standing next to me, staring at me, and he’s got some kind of little box pointed right at me. Hell, I don’t know if it’s a gun or what, so I take the butt of my rifle and I knock it out of his hands. But he doesn’t do anything, he just stands there, staring at me with these big weird eyes. And then I hear footsteps, and I look over and the other two are running toward us, and the crystal’s glowing brighter, and I figure I’m in some kind of deep shit now.

  So I shot ‘em. I shot all three of’ em. First I shot the two running at me, and then the third. I musta scared the crap out of him, ‘cause he started singing, uh, some kind of high-pitched opera thing. It gave me the shivers! So I shot him too. Man, that was weird. It was easier than shooting deer. I just shot ’em.

  So there I am, out in this field, with three dead aliens and an alien spaceship. And I’m trying to figure out what to do next. And then it hits me. I gotta hide this. I mean, I read these articles about when people call the government about crashed ships, and they come in and they take it all away and you can’t e
ven prove that it really happened. And everybody thinks you’re nuts.

  AN ALMOST HOLY PICTURE

  BY HEATHER MCDONALD

  SAMUEL GENTLE is a groundskeeper for The Church of the Holy Comforter. HE is 49, has thinning hair, and wears glasses. His gardening clothes include a tattered tweed jacket, a straw hat, and a highly polished silver concha belt.

  SCENE

  The grounds and a crypt in a cathedral, The Church of the Holy Comforter. Stained glass, soaring columns, some soft light coming through the darkness. Wind. Fallen leaves.

  TIME

  November

  SAMUEL: At the age of 42, Miriam gave birth to a tiny girl child covered all over in a white-gold swirl of hair. The doctor (another one, not the fuckwad) held her high and said, “Lanugo.” Lanugo? I’d only ever heard this word in relation to the garden. There is a climbing plant, a native to China, called “Clematis Lanuginosa.” It’s a dark green vine, and the undersurface of the leaf is covered with the softest grey wool. What did this have to do with my daughter?