In these pages, you will find a rich and varied selection of monologues from recent plays. Many are for younger performers (teens through thirties) but there are also some excellent pieces for women in their forties and fifties, and even a few for older performers. Many are comic (laughs), many are dramatic (generally, no laughs). Some are rather short, some are rather long. All represent the best in contemporary playwriting.

Several of these pieces are by playwrights whose work may be familiar to you such as Don Nigro, Nilo Cruz, Lee Blessing, Theresa Rebeck, Paul Rudnick, Adam Bock, José Rivera and Stephen Belber; others are by exciting up-and-comers like Jim Knabel, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Quira Alegría Hudes, Caitlyn Montanye Parrish, Jenny Schwartz, Qui Nguyen, Kate Fodor, Young Jean Lee and Brett C. Leonard. All are representative of the best of contemporary writing for the stage.

Most of the plays from which these monologues have been culled have been published and, hence, are readily available from the publisher/licensor or from theatrical book stores such as Drama Book Shop in New York. A few plays may not be published for a while, in which case contact the author or his agent for a copy of the entire text of the monologue that suits your fancy. Information on publishers/rights holders may be found in the Rights and Permissions section in the back of this anthology.

Break a leg in that audition! Knock 'em dead in class!

Lawrence Harbison Brooklyn, N.Y.