Amy’s View
By David Hare
Amy: You never saw it. Dominic was funny and gentle. Ambition destroyed him, that's all. Because he thinks that the world of the media matters. he actually thinks that it's real. So it's been harder to talk to him... for years it's been harder to reach him. It's true. So he's gone off with someone who cares about photos in magazines and opinion columns, and all of those dud London things. But that doesn't mean the man was alwyas contemptible. It doesn't mean I shouldn't have been with him at all. it just means... oh, look... the odds were against us. But i happen to hink it was well worth a try. (Her anger has turned to disress, the tears starting to run down her cheek.) Of course I knew... do you think I'm an idiot? I always sensed: one day this man will trade up. He'll cash me in and he'll get a new model. I always felt it would come. these men, they wait. They wait till they're ready. You make them secure. Then, of course, when you've built the statue... that's when they kick the ladder away. But I did know it. I did it knowingly. It was my choice.
ANTIGONE
A monologue from the play by Sophocles
NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from Greek Dramas. Ed. Bernadotte Perrin. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1904.ANTIGONE: Tomb, bridal chamber, eternal prison in the caverned rock, whither I go to find mine own, those many who have perished, and whom Persephone hath received among the dead! Last of all shall I pass thither, and far most miserably of all, before the term of my life is spent. But I cherish good hope that my coming will be welcome to my father, and pleasant to thee, my mother, and welcome, brother, to thee; for, when you died, with mine own hands I washed and dressed you, and poured drink-offerings at your graves; and now, Plyneices, 'tis for tending thy corpse that I win such recompense as this. And yet I honoured thee, as the wise will deem, rightly. Never had I been a mother of children, or if a husband had been mouldering in death, would I have taken this task upon me in the city's despite. What law, ye ask, is my warrant for that word? The husband lost, another might have been found, and child from another, to replace the first-born; but, father and mother hidden with Hades, no brother's life could ever bloom for me again. Such was the law whereby I held thee first in honour; but Creon deemed me guilty of error therein, and of outrage, ah brother mine! And now he leads me thus, a captive in his hands; no bridal bed, no bridal song hath been mine, no joy of marriage, no portion in the nurture of children; but thus, forlorn of friends, unhappy one, I go living to the vaults of death. And what law of Heaven have I transgressed? Why, hapless one, should I look to the gods any more--what ally should I invoke--when by piety I have earned the name of impious? Nay, then, if these things are pleasing to the gods, when I have suffered my doom, I shall come to know my sin; but if the sin is with my judges, I could wish them no fuller measue of evil than they, on their part, mete wrongfully to me.
The Tempest
By William Shakespeare.
Ariel is an androgynous airy spirit (It can take male or female forms.) It has just returned from a task Prospero sent it to perform, a tempest. In this monologue Ariel relates the story to Prospero, taking the opportunity to brag.
ARIEL:
All hail great master! grave sir, hail! I come
To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly,
To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride
On the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task
Ariel and all his quality.
Perform'd to point the tempest thy bade me.
I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
I flam'd amazement: sometime I'd divide,
And burn in many places; on the topmast,
The yards and boresprit, would I flame distinctly,
Then meet, and join. Jove's lightnings, the precursors
O' th' dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary
And sight-outrunning were not: the fire and cracks
Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune
Seem to besiege, and make his bold waves tremble,
Yea, his dead trident shake!!
Not a soul but felt a fever of the mad, and play'd
Some tricks of desperation. All but mariners
Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel,
Then all afire with me: the King's son, Ferdinand,
With hair-upstaring,-then like reeds, not hair-
Was the first man that leap'd, cried, "Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here!!"
Little Shop of Horrors
By Howard Ashman
Audrey - the girl, not the plant - has lived her entire life in Skid Row, and dated a bunch of guys who have abused her. and here she speaks of what she has always wanted from life.
AUDREY:
I dream of a place where we could be together at last... It's just a daydream of mine. A little development that I dream of. Just off the interstate in a little suburb, far, far from urban Skid Row. The sweetest, greenest place - where everybody has the same little lawn out front and the same little flagstone patio out back. And all the houses are so neat and pretty... 'Cause they all look just alike. Oh, I dream about it all the time. Just me. And the toaster. And a sweet little guy - like Seymour...
Crimes of the Heart
by: Beth Henley
Years of living married without any return of love from her husband, Babe begins to have an affair with a sixteen year old black boy, Willie Jay. When she is denied this hope of love, her last string is cut and she shoots her husband. In this monologue, she is relating this story to her sister. (spoken in a southern drawl if possible)
Babe: After we did it, we were just standing around on the back porch playing with Dog (her pet dog). Well, suddenly Zackery comes from around the side of the house. And he startled me 'cause he's supposed to be away at the office, and there he is coming from round the side of the house. Anyway, he says to Willie Jay, "Hey, boy, what are you doing back here?" And I say, "He's not doing anything. You just go on home, Willie Jay! You just run right on home." Well, before he can move, Zackery comes up and knocks him once right across the face and then shoves him down the porch steps, causing him to skin up his elbow real bad on that hard concrete. Then he says, "Don't you ever come around her again, or I'll have them cut out your gizzard!" Well, Willie Jay starts crying- these tears come streaming down his face-then he gets up real quick and runs away, with Dog following off after him. After that, I don't remember too clearly; let's see? I went on into the living room , and I went right up to the davenport and opened the drawer where we keep the burglar gun? I took it out. Then I - I brought it up to my ear. That's right. I put it right inside my ear. Why I was gonna shoot off my own head! That's what I was gonna do. Then I heard the back door slamming and suddenly, for some reason, I thought about Mama? how she'd hung herself. And here I was about ready to shoot myself. Then I realized-that's right, I realized how I didn't want to kill myself! And she-she probably didn't want to kill herself. She wanted to kill him, and I wanted to kill him, too. I wanted to kill Zackery, not myself. 'Cause I-I wanted to live! So I waited for him to come on into the living room. Then I held out the gun, and I pulled the trigger, aiming for his heart but getting him in the stomach. (pause) It's funny that I really did that.
The Marriage of Bette and Boo
By: Christopher Durang
Enter Bette, still in her wedding dress. In the following speech, and much of the time, Bette talks cheerfully and quickly, making no visible connections between her statements.)
Bette: Hurry up, Boo. I want to use the shower. (Speaks to the audience, who seems to be her great friend:) First I was a tomboy. I used to climb trees and beat up my brother Tom. Then I used to try to break my sister Joanie's voice box because she liked to sing. She always scratched me though, so instead I tried to play Emily's cello. Except I don't have a lot of musical talent, but I'm very popular. And I know more about the cello than people who don't know anything. I don't like the cello, it's too much work and besides, keeping my legs open that way made me feel funny. I asked Emily if it made her feel funny and she didn't know what I meant:; and then when I told her she cried for two whole hours and then went to confession twice, just in case the priest didn't understand her the first time. Dopey Emily. She means well. (Calls offstage:) Booey! I'm pregnant! (To audience:) Actually I couldn't be because I'm a virgin. A married man tried to have an affair with me, but he was married and so it would have been pointless. I didn't know he was married until two months ago. The I met Booey, sort of on the rebound. He seems fine though. (Calls out:) Booey! (To audience:) I went to confession about the cello practicing, but I don't think the priest heard me. He didn't say anything. He didn't even give me a penance. I wonder if nobody was in there. But as long as your conscience is all right, then so is your soul. (Calls, giddy, happy:) Booey, come on!
BrightonBeach Memoirs by Neil Simon
Blanche (dramatic)
Talking to Nora
I’m not going to let you hurt me, Nora. I’m not going to let you tell me that I don’t love you or that I haven’t tried to give you as much as I gave Laurie…God knows I’m not perfect because enough angry people in this house told me so tonight…but I am not going to be a doormat for all the frustration and unhappiness that you or Aunt Kate or anyone else wants to lay at my feet…I did not create this Universe. I do not decide who lives and dies, or who’s rich or poor or who feels loved and who feels deprived. If you feel cheated that I had a husband who dies at thirty six. And if you keep on feeling that way, you’ll end up like me…with something much worse than loneliness or helplessness and that’s self-pity. Believe me, there is no leg that’s twisted or bent that is more crippling than a human being who thrives on his own misfortunes…I am sorry, Nora, that you feel unloved and I will do everything I can to change it except to apologize for it. I am tired of apologizing. After a while it becomes you life’s work and it doesn’t bring any money into the house…if it’s taken your pain and Aunt Kate’s anger to get me to start living again, then God will give me the strength to make it up to you, but I will not go back to being frightened, helpless woman that I created’!...I’ve already buried someone I love. Now it’s time to bury someone I hate.
Proof by David Auburn
Catherine (age 25)
After my mother died it was just me here. I tried to keep him happy no matter what idiotic project he was doing. He used to read all day. He kept demanding more and more books. I took them out of the library by the carload. We had hundreds upstairs. Then I realized he wasn’t reading: He believed aliens were sending him messages through the dewy decimal numbers on the library books. He was trying to work out a code. Answers to everything. The most elegant proofs, perfect proofs, proofs like music. Later the writing phase: scribbling, nineteen, twenty hours a day…I ordered him a case of notebooks and used every one. I dropped out of school…I’m glad he’s dead.
Charlotte’s Web
Adapted from the book by E.B. White
Play by Joseph Robinette
Charlotte-a spider
My name is Charlotte. Charlotte A. Cavatica. I’m a spider. This is my home. I know it
looks fragile. But it’s really very strong. It protects me. And I trap my food in it. My
breakfast is waiting for on the other side of my web. It’s a fly. I caught it this morning.
Actually, I drink their blood. That’s the way I’m made. I can’t help it. Anyway, if I
didn’t catach insects and eat them, there would soon be so many they’d destroy the earth,
wipe out everything. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have my breakfast.
Proof by David Auburn
Claire (age 29)
Good coffee. We have a place where we buy all our coffee. They roast it themselves, they have an old roaster down in the basement. You can smell it from our place, four stories up. It’s wonderful. “Manhattan’s Best”: some magazine wrote it up. Who knows. But it is very good.
Dolly
Situation: A rag doll, who has been neglected by her owner Sally, reflects on her disappointing life in her nursery.
(a doll sits in the middle of a table, with her head down)
Sure, everyone thinks being a doll is fun. (looks at the audience) All of the other toys say, "why wouldn’t you want to be a rag doll? Little girls adore you. You would be their favorite toy." Right and what would the other toys at the store say now about my perfect life? All I do all day is sit up on this shelf, collecting dust.
It has been a long time since I have been to a tea party. (looks around the room) It has been such a long time since I have even left this spot. I used to be Sally’s favorite toy. I remember the first day I arrived home from Eaton’s department store. My box was wrapped in pretty gold paper, with a big green bow on the front. "Oh Mommy, oh Daddy, I love it. I going to play with her for ever and ever and ever and I am going to love her for ever and ever and ever."
Where are you now Sally? Are you off with your collection of Barbies or are you watching television? She doesn’t even realize how hard it is for me to watch her play with her other toys. I just sit here, hour after hour, day after day, watching. I’m not alone though. Numerous Care Bears have been stuffed in the closet, her Cabbage Patch Kids collection is over in that corner (points to right corner), and we can’t forget the Disney Store in the left corner (looks to the other corner). At least I got a shelf.
Please, don’t get me wrong, when I first arrived in this nursery, everything was wonderful. That month was the happiest month of my life. Sally would play with me every day. We would have tea parties, we would read books together. (sigh) We did everything together. Sally would take me everywhere. I once got to go to show and tell with her. (pause) I was always there for her. She could tell me anything, and I wouldn’t tell the other toys. But, on that cold November day, her Daddy brought home her first Barbie, and our life together was over.
I never even got a name. All of her other dolls have names. I am just referred to as "her" or "dolly". Why didn’t she give me a name? Naming a doll is not the hardest thing to do in the world. It only takes a few seconds of thought.
Sally will occasionally stop and talk to me. Just last week she picked me up and brushed my hair. (pause) But I soon returned to my spot. Is this my destiny? I want to have fun again. I want to play again with a person. I want someone to love me. I don’t want to spend my life on a shelf, collecting dust. It doesn’t look like I have a choice, does it?
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
EMILY. (softly, more in wonder than in grief) I can't bear it. They're so young and beautiful. Why did they ever have to get old? Mama, I'm here. I'm grown up. I love you all, everything. - I cant look at everything hard enough. (pause, talking to her mother who does not hear her. Shespeaks with mounting urgency) Oh, Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really saw me. Mama, fourteen years have gone by. I'm dead. You're a grandmother, Mama. I married George Gibbs, Mama. Wally's dead, too. Mama, his appendix burst on a camping tripto North Conway. We felt just terrible about it - don't you remember? But, just for a moment now we're all together. Mama, just for a moment we're happy. Let's look at one another. (pause, looking desperate because she has received no answer. She speaks in a loud voice, forcing herself to not look at her mother) I can't. I can't go on. It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another. (she breaks down sobbing, she looks around) I didn't realize. All that was going on in life and we never noticed. Take me back - up the hill - to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look. Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners, Mama and Papa. Good-bye to clocks ticking, and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths, and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. (she asks abruptly through her tears) Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? - every, every minute? (she sighs) I'm ready to go back. I should have listened to you. That's all human beings are! Just blind people.