So well-liked was the first collection of these contemporary monologues that we offer this sequel by popular demand. The monologues are wildly funny, tragically sad and yet courageous. The ultimate journey for this collection is to create the possibility of living lovingly as equals in our modern world. The monologues are organised in chapter themes with brief sketches to set the scene. The collection features well-known playwrights - Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson - and many superb, emerging new writers. There are several original monologues written especially for classroom discussion and exploration. Sample titles include: "The Last Yankee" by Arthur Miller, "Boy Meets Girl" by Wendy Wasserstein, "The Underpants" adapted by Steve Martin, "Romantic Fools2 by Rich Orloff, "Voices from September 11" by Lavonne Mueller, "Funnylogues for Women" by Mort Kaufman, Roger Karshner and Zelda Abel, "W.A.C. Iraq" by Mel Nieves and many more.
It's 1909 and the shirtwaist industry in New York is making profits of $50 million. But the young girls who work in the factories earn barely enough to live on, and their working conditions are brutal. When their pleas for help are rejected by the male-dominated union, the young girls who work at Johannsen's Shirtwaist Factory band together to fight for a better life. They endure beatings, starvation, and even prison but ultimately prevail ... This play is based on real people and actual events.
How does a computer scientist hook up with a molecular biologist? He blinds her with science, of course. When Elliot builds a computer program to help Molly with her research project, the variables in their evolving relationship shift as rapidly as the terms of their experiment. This deft and imaginative new ROM-comedy shows that even the most sophisticated algorithm may freeze in the face of life's infinite possibilities.
This eclectic collection of 78 monologues and eight duologues for women from produced contemporary plays is ideal for auditions, contests, workshops, and acting classes, offering selections from both established and emerging new writers. Taken all together, they weave a rich and vivid tapestry of uncommon women who enlarge our perspective on the issues they discover along their journeys. The compilation is presented in chapter themes arranged by mood with brief sketches to introduce the characters and set the scene for each monologue or duologue. The high quality of the writing lends itself to classroom discussion, text analysis, and performance. This fine resource features well-known playwrights like Pulitzer Prize winners Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson, and Doug Wright, as well as a host of emerging new authors whose works are sure to challenge you in both character interpretation, and performance. Some of the excerpts are formal comic or dramatic texts, and some experiment with form and language. Special features include introductory chapter discussions on audition practices, text analysis principles, and rehearsal techniques. There are also a number of original, independent monologues written especially for classroom discussion and exploration.
All actors and acting teachers need The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook, the invaluable guide to finding just the right piece for every audition. The unique format of the book is ideal for acting teachers who want their students to understand each monologue in context. This remarkable book describes the characters, action, and mood for more than 1,000 scenes in over 300 plays. Using these guidelines, the actor can quickly pinpoint the perfect monologue, then find the text in the Samuel French or Dramatist Play Service edition of the play. Newly revised and expanded, the book includes the author’s own assessment of each monologue.
Preparing for an audition and unsure of what you want to do?The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebookis the book you've been waiting for. Unlike “scene books” that reprint 50 to 75 monologues excerpted from plays but don't include any background information, this annotated guide tells you what you really need to know about audition material from more than 300 contemporary plays. Here is how the book works. Suppose that you're looking for a dramatic male/female scene. When you scan “Part One: Play Synopses and Analyses,” you come across an entry forThe Middle of the Nightby Paddy Chayefsky. This is what you see: The Middle of the Night by Paddy Chayefsky (Samuel French) Synopsis: A kindly 53-year-old widower falls in love with a 23-year-old woman who is unhappily married to a musician. No one in their circle of acquaintances approves of this union, but their love is true. Analysis: Excellent human drama, frequently touching. Actors who play the widower need to have a good feel for New York City/Brooklyn speech patterns. This sensitivity isn't as essential for the part of the woman. All levels. Scenes/Monologues: Male Monologues (1), Female/Female Scenes (1), Male/Female Scenes (2) In addition to basic information about the play (author and publisher), the entry provides you with the story line, a critique of the play, and the number of audition-worthy monologues and scenes it contains. If the description of this particular play piques your interest, your next step is to turn to “Part Six: Male/Female Scenes” for specifics about the selection. This is what you'll see there: The Middle of the Night by Paddy Chayefsky (Samuel French) Drama: Act II, Scene 2, pp. 40-44; The Manufacturer (53) and The (23). After an unsatisfactory attempt at lovemaking, The Manufacturer feels awful that he wasn’t able to perform ually. The is very understanding. He then asks her to marry him. The actor playing The Manufacturer must have a good feel for regional New York speech patterns. This skill is less critical for the actress playing The . Start, The Manufacturer: “I’m sorry, Betty.” End, The Manufacturer: “Oh, my sweet , I love you so much you don’t know. If you change your mind tomorrow, I won’t be angry with you. I won’t lie to you, Betty. I’m afraid.” This entry tells you what type of scene this is (dramatic), where you'll find the selection (act, scene, and page numbers), the length of the scene, the names and ages of the characters, the context in which the characters are speaking, and the first and last lines of the scene. If the material seems appropriate, all you have to do is get a copy of the play and get to work. BecauseThe Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebookenables you to make informed decisions about the suitability of more than 1,000 monologues and scenes-which you can find easily through the book's extensive cross indexes—you’ll gain a critical edge in the auditioning process.
This book charts the journey, in terms of both stasis and change, that masculinities and manhood have made in Irish drama, and by extension in the broader culture and society, from the 1960s to the present. Examining a diverse corpus of drama and theatre events, both mainstream and on the fringe, this study critically elaborates a seismic shift in Irish masculinities. This book argues, then, that Irish manhood has shifted from embodying and enacting post-colonial concerns of nationalism and national identity, to performing models of masculinity that are driven and moulded by the political and cultural practices of neoliberal capitalism. Masculinities and Manhood in Contemporary Irish Drama charts this shift through chapters on performing masculinity in plays set in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, and through several chapters that focus on Women’s and Queer drama. It thus takes its readers on a journey: a journey that begins with an overtly patriarchal, nationalist manhood that often made direct comment on the state of the nation, and ultimately arrives at several arguably regressive forms of globalised masculinity, which are couched in misaligned notions of individualism and free-choice and that frequently perceive themselves as being in crisis.
