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I'm looking for a dramatic monologue for my drama class and would appreciate some suggestions. It can be from a play(though preferably not Shakespearean, we're doing those later), a book excerpt, or a movie(for example, one person is doing Neo's lines from where he is talking on the phone at the end of the first MAtrix). It has to be a minute to a minute and a half, but I can cut it down.
I like the nightmare poems from Stephen Vincent Benet. There's one about machines taking over the world that is particularly fun if you can do a NYC accent.
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You want a cool but really hard one? How about Gollum's talking-to-himself monologue in the Two Towers?
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I've got two for you, one from film and one from theater.
Suicide Kings...the monologue where Denis Leary's character is talking about finding his father had abused his mother and teaching him a lesson with a baseball bat. Great stuff.
The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie...strange play, and might be hard to find, but it's really good. More of a dark comedy than a drama, but it works. The story is about a morbidly obese young man (Benno) who decides to kill himself by eating himself to death.
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I've done internet and library searches. Can't find anything that's a challenge.
Interesting: I found a book titled "Best Men's Monologues of '99". They were all A. murderers or B. druggies.
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Don't limit yourself to one year. Get a monologue book that covers a long period of time, they're much better.
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Yes, I found several long-range books, but most of the monologues run close to ten minutes--I would have to cut too much out or off. Hatrack is, admittedly, my last resort. I have a few I might use, but most are completely opposite my character--as in, from the perspective of a jock, etc--but I s'pose that's good for me. ..
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There's a fabulous monologue in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" by Tom Stoppard. It's Rosencrantz's, about death and boxes (and no, it's not morbid, it's really... cute. But Amazing. See the movie. It's very... intellectual.)
Alan Bennett wrote six classic monologues, which are really good. But very British, and you might have to hear them. I also think most of them are females. Not morbid suicide/murder type things.
Almost every play has a monologue. Find a play, read it.
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I'm really fond of Lucky's long speech in the middle of "Waiting for Godot" but I suppose it's not everyone's cup of tea. Also I don't know that it would run that long. But it may. Lucky is my favorite character in the play. He's really great.
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Every time I watch The Maltese Falcon, I always think how well the ending dialogue would work as a dramatic interp. You know, the one where Bogey tells Mary Astor why he's going to turn her in even though he loves her. It may take a bit of cut-and-paste, but it's not too long, and it's really powerful and cool.
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I think all the critics have been wrong these 75 years on HPL. It's not that he can't write dialogue to save his life, but rather prefers to write it all as monologue, as a sort of literary rule-bending. You know, like Joyce, or Beckett.
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If you ever need to do a humorous monologue, check out 'A Warm Welcome' by Rowan Atkinson.
"As the more perceptive of you have realized by now, I'm sure... this is hell. And I am the Devil, but you may call me Toby. We try to keep things informal around here, as well as infernal."
"And to the Mormons, whom we realized put in a lot of hard work, God does sends his condolences. It seems God had a bit of a tiff with your fore fathers and damned the whole nation. Well, thats the way the wafer crumbles. ::chuckles:: "
Of course, if you're not into the whole 'taking up a character that swears' thing, then that might not be for you.
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I was just about to start a threa dasking for monologue help too, what a coinkydink. And the "Please hear what I'm not ssying" one is very good, thank yee, I shall use that one I dink.
Rhaegar
[ January 12, 2004, 02:24 PM: Message edited by: Rhaegar The Fool ]
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One of friends wrote a monologue after reading the (bear with me here) Satanic Bible. It was for a class that encourages free thinkers. It is a very interesting read and no, she doesn't worship the Dark Lord, and neither do I for that matter, but nevertheless, it is an interesting read and I will forward it to anyone who wants to read it but I will not post it. Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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In High School I did Prometheus's monologue from one of the Greek Tragedies (darn, I can remember the monologue, but not the play).
Its a classic, and you get to be a god!>
"Oh air of heaven, oh swift winged winds, oh running river's waters, behold what I, a god, recieve at the hands of gods, through what tortures I must suffer, through endless years of time...."
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I love Pacino's monologue in Scarface when he's making a scene in the restaurant. It's the one where he says the line, "I always tell the truth, even when I lie." And that great accent! I love that part.
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Wow, Valentine. That is good. That is really good. I hate that I'm gonna have to cut some o' it.
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Good resource site. Mostly from public domain works, but does have some nice stuff in it. In general, the best monologues are the ones in which one character is actually speaking to another, on an individual basis. You need to be able to bring your audience into the action. Also, look for something where you can show off a range of emotions. Poems sound pretty, but don't showcase any acting ability whatsoever; only the ability to make your voice sound nice.
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Performing "The Laboratory" by Browning was one of the highlights of my high school career.
What about "Porphyria's Lover?"
"Perfectly pure and good: I found A thing to do, and all her hair In one long yellow string I wound Three times her little throat around, And strangled her. "
We had expected everything but revolt And I kind of wonder myself when they started thinking --- But there's no dice in that now. I've heard fellows say They must have planned it for years and maybe they did. Looking back, you can find little incidents here and there, Like the concrete-mixer in Jersey eating the wop Or the roto press that printed "Fiddle-dee-dee!" In a three-color press all over Senator Sloop, Just as he was making a speech. The thing about that Was, how could it walk upstairs? But it was upstairs, Clicking and mumbling in the Senate Chamber. They had to knock out a wall to take it away And the wrecking-crew said it grinned.
...
Okay, you may not know this guy, but he won a Pulitzer and this is actually one of my favorite poems.
It probably would work just fine as a monologue.
If you are allowed to repeat a racial slur like "wop" for dramatic effect, of course.
I'm Italian, so I give you permission.
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Check out “The Ice Fishing Play”: by Kevin Kling. There are three beautiful monologues there. Sorry No link. There are two good monologues in “Glengarry Glenross” by David Mamet. Its also a film if you want to check it out first. If you’re looking for something classical, check out Talthybius’ speech in Kenneth Cavender’s translation of “The Trojan Women” where he is begging forgiveness for throwing Hector’s child off the city walls. Powerful stuff. Aurthur Miller has some good ones. A couple of really good ones in “All My Sons” and “A View From a Bridge”. Some other Playwrites you might want to peruse are Arthur Kopit, Tom Stoppard, Don Nigro, Nikki Silver, and believe it or not W.B. Yeats.
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The Seagull is great. I played Sorin my senior year of college. Chekhov always looks good on an acting resume too.
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