Use these for auditions or classes with no restrictions. You may not publish or distribute these without written permission.
A PERMISSION FORM for the California Thespian State Festival (or other venues requiring one) can be obtained on request by sending an email to info (at) arthurjolly (dot) com.
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THE BOAT SINKS from
Bailing Out M, 60's-80's. Seriocomic. 2 minutes. A contemporary monologue for an older actor. An elderly man in a hospice ward for the terminally ill tells his young nurse why he won't take his meds. |
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YOU CAN'T FIGHT FOR PIE from
Every Battle, Every War, available from Original Works Online. M, 30's. Comedic. 1 minute. A short comic monologue in a British Accent. An British Lieutenant confronts an American Doughboy in the World War One trench they share. |
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THE HONEYMOON SUITE This piece contains strong language. IT'S JUST A KISS THE TIGER... AND HIS PREY from Tiger in a Cage, available from Original Works Online. THREE CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUES. M, 30's. 2-3 mins. A recidivist sex offender, trapped in a jail cell, rants at his psychiatrist - whom he also is in love with. In a twisted way. Lots of fun, a chance to run the gamut of emotions. |
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BARBED WIRE FENCE
inspiration for Better by Candlelight. M, 20's. 2 mins. A traumatized man recalls a particularly painful accident from his childhood. This monologue was the original inspiration for the play, rather than the other way around, although a lot of it did not make it intact into the final version. |
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THE
BRICKLAYER M, 50's- 60's. 2 mins. An original monologue, first produced by the Atlantis Playmakers in Lowell, MA as a selection in the 2006 Short Attention Span PlayFEST on July 20th, 2006. It was directed by Bill Spera and performed by Jim Sullivan. The photo to the left is Paul Messinger in the 2008 production in Los Angeles. 
You can also purchase this monologue from InterJACtions - Monologues at the Heart of Human Nature. from JAC Publications.A bricklayer talks to his son about the the importance of making each brick square and true, the importance of the big picture, of small parts playing roles in larger issues... as he builds an industrial chimney in a concentration camp. Watch Bruce Barton perform this one on You Tube courtesy of the NYC Playwrights Monologue Project.
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THE FINE PRINT from
The Fine Print U, ageless. 2 mins. A monologue from my short play "The Fine Print", Audience Favorite Award winner at The New Plays Festival and Competition, June 2009, Los Angeles., available from Original Works Online. The Devil tempts an Electrical Systems Designer with the specs for a new weapons system. |
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MOPPING THE STAGE M, 30's up. 20 mins. This contemporary monologue - a full twenty minutes long when performed - is actually a stand alone short play in its own right. It was developed over a year long process as part of the ensemble drama I SHOULDA EATEN MY PEAS AND CARROTS, created by Bill Hyatt and Jeni Elliot. A writer mops the stage in preparation for a play - while discussing his choices to become an instructor pilot for the U.S. Army at the start of the Iraq War, and his decision to quit to become a writer. And mop stages. |
