Contemporary Theater Monologues for Teens
As a theater teaching artist and arts administrator, I’ve had the opportunity to work with student actors of all ages, across regional theaters and different performing arts organizations. As a result, I’ve continued to source new monologues, scenes, and tools for my students to have, rehearse and audition with. I’d love to share some of them with you!
For the sake of this blog post, I’ll narrow down some of my favorites and categorize them into sections, including gender, style and genre.
What is a Monologue?
For context, a monologue is an un-interrupted chunk of dialogue performed by a single character (on screen or on stage). Think of your favorite film, television or on-screen speeches! In this blog post, we’ll be focusing on theater monologues for teens.
The length of a monologue can vary drastically, depending on factors like length of play, character intention, and context of show.
Where to Find Monologues
A monologue typically exists in a play or theatrical narrative of some sort, in which case, it’s important to familiarize yourself with different types of plays that feature teen or relatively young characters (similar to the ones you will be playing). In some cases, monologues exist on their own, as educational resources for actors looking for a singular performance piece.
If you’re looking for a quick piece to audition (or simply practice with), check out some of these notable monologue websites. They offer monologues of all types and resources for teen actors, student performers (and even drama teachers):
Concord Theatricals (great for researching and/or licensing a show you’re looking to produce)
How to Choose a Monologue
There are many factors to consider when selecting a monologue. You’ll want to choose a monologue that’s:
Active not passive – where you’re “talking” directly to someone, instead of reminiscing about something that happened in the past. This creates a sense of urgency and high stakes, immediately drawing people in (casting directors or whoever it is that’s assessing your talent).
Has a clear objective – a clear and strong objective (or intentional motive) drives a scene, monologue or moment forward. Think: what is it that my character wants and how will I get it? If your monologue answers these questions, then you’ve likely picked a good one!
Has a strong arch – a clear beginning, middle and end, details a natural rise and fall allowing audience members to easily follow along.
Other logistical factors to consider include:
Keeping it short – for the most part, auditions won’t grant you much time. You want to select a piece that offers plenty of emotional range but a piece that’s equally succinct and to the point as well. Typically, 1 minute – 90 seconds is enough time (unless otherwise stated).
Your actor type – choose a monologue that falls in line with your actor type and the roles that you can realistically play.
Genre and Style – similar to your actor type, you want to pick a genre (comedy or drama) and a style (contemporary or classical) that compliments your talent. At the end of the day, auditions serve as a place to put your best foot forward – so pick something you can do well!
How do Actors use Monologues?
Most actors use monologues for audition purposes. Teen actors might find themselves auditioning for a wide range of projects, including play and musical auditions at their school or local theater, as well as BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) or other college theater programs. In other cases, student actors might use monologues for acting competitions.
I’ve compiled a short list of comedic and dramatic monologues for teen actors. Take a look at them below!
A reminder that this list includes shorter and longer pieces, for those who might be interested in cutting them to fit their length requirements.
Comedic Monologues for Teen Girls
All the Girls Hate me at West Haddock High | by: A.M Dittman| Character: Allison | Notes: a high school girl asks another student to prom, in the hopes to use him as a social experiment.
“You know, I think maybe I will go to the dance with you. (Beat.) Not of course as your date. It won’t be a date date. As you know, I’m interested in the human condition. I am prepared to go to the dance with you as a social experiment. I will take notes and then write a paper based on my findings. You will be judged on a scale of one to ten in a variety of different categories. Your score will be tabulated at the end and that’s for you to keep. It’ll be your number. A number between one and ten. I will judge you on appearance, smell, likability, conversation skills, social graces, dancing ability. Things like that. Everything you say or do will go into my report. Whether or not you try to kiss me, what you wear, how you smell, how sweaty your hands are. Etcetera. (Beat.) I don’t know if it will be in a scientific journal or just online for everyone to peruse. But it will be made widely available. In the end, it’s all about helping humanity. (Beat.) You are saying no to me? You are not brave.”
The Dining Room | by: A.R Gurney | Character: Sarah | Note: a rebellious teenager offers her friend an alcoholic beverage while sharing details about her family dynamic.
“Which do you want? Gin or Vodka? (Looking at bottles) Well, there’s more gin, so it’s less chance they’ll notice. But the reason there’s more gin is that I put water in it last week. Tell you what. We’ll mix in a little of both. Whenever they’re home, my father insists that we all eat in the dining room at seven o’clock. (Hands Helen her drink) Here. Gin and vodka and Fresca. The boys are bringing the pot. We have to lug things out, and lug things back, and nobody can begin till everything’s cold, and we’re supposed to carry on a decent conversation, and everyone has to finish before anyone can get up, and it sucks, if you want to know. It sucks out loud. My parents said they tried eating in the kitchen when I went to boarding school. But when I got kicked out, they moved back in here. It’s supposed to give me some sense of stability. It just makes me nervous. They take the telephone off the hook so no one can call, and my brother gets itchy about his homework, and when my sister had anorexia, she still had to sit here and watch, for God’s sake, and my parents spend most of the meal bitching, and the whole thing bites, Helen. It really bites. It bites the big one. Want another?”
Dramatic Monologues for Teen Girls
The Little Foxes | by: Lillian Hellman | Character: Alexandra | Notes: Alexandra confronts her mother, in an effort to break a cycle and demonstrate her independence.
“Mama, I’m not coming with you. I’m not going to Chicago. I mean what I say with all my heart. There is nothing to talk about. I’m going away from you. Because I want to. Because I know Papa would want me to. Say it, Mama, say it. And see what happens. That would be foolish. It wouldn’t work in the end. You only change your mind when you want to. And I won’t want to. You couldn’t, Mama, because I want to leave here. As I’ve never wanted anything in my life before. Because I understand what Papa was trying to tell me. All in one day: Addie said there were people who ate the earth and other people who stood around and watched them do it. And just now Uncle Ben said the same thing. Really, he said the same thing. Well, tell him for me, Mama, I’m not going to stand around and watch you do it. Tell him I’ll be fighting as hard as he’ll be fighting some place where people don’t just stand around and watch. Are you afraid, Mama?”
This is our Youth | by: Kenneth Lonergan | Character: Jessica | Notes: Jessica confronts Warren, the guy she recently slept with.
Don’t you guys get into like, comparing notes and stuff? Well…OK…It’s just – This is getting a little weird now, because when I talked to Valerie, she asked me if anything happened with us last night, and for some reason, I guess I didn’t really tell her that anything did. So now she’s gonna talk to Dennis and I’m gonna look like a total liar to someone I’m just starting to be close friends with and who I really care about…! I just should have figured that you would like rush off to tell your friends that you f— me – whereas I might be more inclined to be a little more discreet about it till I found out where I stood with you. Ok, but you know what? It really doesn’t matter – So you just tell him anything he wants to know no matter what the consequences are for somebody else?! But honestly, Warren? I really don’t care who you told, or what you told them, because people are gonna think whatever they think and you know what? There’s nothing I can do about it. I should just really listen to my instincts, you know? Because your instincts are never wrong. And it was totally against my instinct to come over here last night, and it was definitely against my instinct to sleep with you, but I did and it’s too late. And now my Mom is totally furious at me, I probably ruined my friendship with Valerie, and now like Dennis Ziegler thinks I’m like, easy pickins, or something – ! And it’s not like I even care what he thinks, OK? Because I don’t actually know him. Or you. Or Valerie, for that matter! So it doesn’t really matter! I’ve made new friends before, I can make more new friends now if I have to. So let’s just forget the whole thing ever happened, you can chalk one up in your book or whatever – and I’ll just know better next time! Hopefully. OK?
Oleanna | by: David Mamet | Character: Carol | Notes: Carol confronts her college professor and stands up for herself.
“Why do you hate me? Because you think me wrong? No. Because I have, you think, power over you. Listen to me. Listen to me, Professor. It is the power that you hate. So deeply that, that any atmosphere of free discussion is impossible. It’s not unlikely. It's impossible. Isn't it? Now. The thing which you find so cruel is the selfsame process of selection I, and my group, go through every day of our lives. In admittance to school. In our tests, in our class rankings. Is it unfair? I can't tell you. But, if it is fair. Or even if it is unfortunate but necessary for us, then, by God, so must it be for you. You write of your responsibility to the young. Treat us with respect, and that will show you your responsibility. You write that education is just hazing. But we worked to get to this school. And some of us. Overcame prejudices. Economic, sexual, you cannot begin to imagine. And endured humiliations I pray that you and those you love never will encounter. To gain admittance here. To pursue that same dream of security you pursue. We, who, who are, at any moment, in danger of being deprived of it. By the administration. By the teachers. By you. By, say, one low grade, that keeps us out of graduate school; by one, say, one capricious or inventive answer on our parts, which, perhaps, you don’t find amusing. Now you know, do you see? What it is to be subject to that power. Who do you think I am? To come here and be taken in by a smile. You little yapping fool. You think I want revenge. I don’t want revenge. I WANT UNDERSTANDING.”
Comedic Monologues for Teen Boys
Basketball Therapy | by: Gabriel Davis | Notes: in this serio-comedic monologue, a character deals with grief and mental health in an un-traditional way.
“I don't need therapy! I don't need to be here. I'm not insane, I'm Linsane. As in I've got "a condition" called Linsanity! And anyone in their right mind who has seen point guard Jeremy Lin do his thing on the basketball court would have it too! That's what my mom and sister don't get. That's why they wanted me to come talk to you. But I don't need to be here. I'm only here because my mom caught me talking about Jeremy Lin at my father's wake. I never would have said anything, but out of the blue my cousin Arnie is like, "Jeremy Lin's a passing fad." If my dad had heard that, he'd have jumped out of that coffin and whooped Arnie. I actually looked over at dad, lying there in our living room, wearin' his sunday best, I half expected to see him get up. Of course he didn't, so I had to tell Arnie myself how Lin's got this low dribble that throws the defense, how his pick and rolls and combinations driving to the net are sick. Arnie tells me, the only reason he's getting any attention is because he's like one of the first few Asians in basketball. Oh boy, I thought. Dad would have kicked Arnie out of the house by now. But I didn't, I just got into I guess a slightly ah heated debate with him where I like, dared him to a game of air basketball in the mud room. That's around the time some of the relatives said it seemed insensitive of me to go and play air basketball in the mud room with everyone else trying to mourn and pay their respects and honestly, I don't even care. It was my dad. I'm the most relative to the situation if you know what I mean.”
Unbearable Hotness | by: Gabriel Davis | Notes: a desperate confession ensues, after a house party goes terribly wrong.
“I just fuckin’ killed Chuck. I think. I mean, he’s just laying out there. He's not moving. I don't think he's breathing. I mean, there I was just up on the roof with Marissa – talking, laughing, having a great time. I tell her she reminds me of Sandra Bullock. I tell her I loved “Hope Floats.” Who knew those would be the magic words? Next thing I know her clothes are off and we’re loosening roof shingles like there’s no tomorrow. And then there’s biting and kissing and touching and suddenly someone starts beating on me, I mean, just pounding on me and growling. Yeah, growling. And I look up and there’s Chuck. And I’m like, “What’s the problem?” and he says “The problem is, dude, you’re fucking my girlfriend.” So I look at Marissa and I’m like “You’re someone’s girlfriend?” And she says “No.” Then it comes out Chuck just wishes she’s his girlfriend but actually she’s his cousin or something, so he’s got these feelings of guilt about wanting her...and then he starts crying. So that ruined the mood. Marissa puts her clothes on, and she goes back down through the window, back into the party. And I’m left with Chuck. Blubbering, whining, crying Chuck. And he starts in on how he’s just this total fuck up and maybe he should just throw himself off the roof. And for a split second I’m thinking “YES! Throw yourself off the roof! Do it!” But I don’t say that. I say I “You’re gonna get a girl, buddy, just maybe not your cousin, huh?” And then I give him a friendly pat on the back. A nice manly slap on the back. And he looked heavy, I mean, who knew he’d go flying. Who knew he’d go flying right off the roof?”
Brighton Beach Memories | by: Neil Simon | Character: Eugene | Notes: Euguene, a 15-year-old hopeful baseball player shares an awkward secret.
“One out, a man on second, bottom of the seventh, two balls, no strikes... IN A MINUTE MA! This is for the World Series! One pitch, Mom? I think I can get him to pop up. I have my stuff today! They’re clean. I’m wearing a glove. Eugene Morris Jerome... I hate my name! EUGENE MORRIS JEROME... How am I ever going to play for the Yankees with a name like Eugene Morris Jerome? You have to be a Joe... or a Tony... or Frankie... If only I was born Italian... All the best Yankees are Italian... My mother makes spaghetti with ketchup, what chance do I have? [Pause] What I am about to tell you next is so secret and private that I’ve left instructions for my memoirs not to be opened until thirty years after my death... I, Eugene Morris Jerome, have committed a mortal sin by lusting after my cousin Nora. I can tell you all this now because I’ll be dead when you’re reading it... If I had the choice between a tryout with the Yankees and actually seeing her bare breast for two and a half seconds, I would have some serious thinking to do...”
Brighton Beach Memories | by: Neil Simon | Character: Eugene | Notes: Euguene explains why his aunt continues to live with his family.
Let me explain Aunt Blanche's situation . . . You see, her husband, Uncle Dave, died six years ago from . . . (He looks around.) . . . this thing . . . They never say the word. They always whisper it. It was- (He whispers) Cancer! . . . I think they're afraid if they said it out loud, God would say, "I HEARD THAT! YOU SAID THE DREAD DISEASE! - (He points finger down.) JUST FOR THAT, I SMITE YOU DOWN WITH IT!!" . . . There are some things that grown-ups just won't discuss . . . For example, my grandfather. He died from (He whispers)- Diptheria! . . . Anyway, after Uncle Dave died, he left Aunt Blanche with no money. And she couldn't support herself because she has (He whispers.) Asthma . . . So my big-hearted mother insisted we take her and her kids in to live with us. My father thought it would just be temporary but it's been three and a half years so far and I think because of Aunt Blanche's situation, my father is developing — (He whispers.)— High blood pressure!
Dramatic Monologues for Teen Boys
This is our Youth | by: Kenneth Lonergan | Dennis | Notes: Dennis is totally shocked after the death of a young friend and begins to contemplate life.
“I just can’t believe this, man, it’s like so completely bizarre. And it’s not like I even liked the guy that much, you know? I just knew him. You know? But if we had been doing those speedballs last night we could both be dead now. Do you understand how close that is? I mean … It’s death. Death. It’s so incredibly heavy, it’s like so much heavier than like ninety-five percent of the shit you deal with in the average day that constitutes your supposed life, and it’s like so totally off to the 124 side it’s like completely ridiculous. I mean that was it. That was his life. Period. The Life of Stuart. A fat Jew from Long Island with a grotesque accent who sold drugs and ate steak and did nothing of note like whatsoever. I don’t know, man. I’m like, high on fear. I feel totally high on fear. I’m like—I don’t even know what to do with myself. I wanna like go to cooking school in Florence, or like go into show business. I could so totally be a completely great chef it’s like ridiculous. Or like an actor or like a director. I should totally direct movies, man, I’d be a genius at it. Like if you take the average person with the average sensibility or sense of humor or the way they look at the world and what thoughts they have or what they think, and you compare it to the way I look at shit and the shit I come up with to say, or just the slant I put on shit, there’s just like no comparison at all. I could totally make movies, man, I would be like one of the greatest movie makers of all time. Plus I am like so much better at sports than anyone I know except Wally and those big black basketball players, man, but I totally played with those guys and completely earned their respect, and Wally was like, “Denny, man, you are the only white friend I have who I can take uptown and hang out with my friends and not be embarrassed.” Because I just go up there and hang out with them and like get them so much more stoned than they’ve ever been in their life and like am completely not intimidated by them at all. You know?”
This is our Youth | by: Kenneth Lonergan | Dennis | Notes: Dennis aggressively confronts his friend, who accuses him of not having his back.
“You are really making me mad. That’s what you’re mad about? Because of that time I said that girl Susan had a horse face? That’s just the way I talk, man. We all talk that way, it doesn’t mean anything. You can’t like suddenly turn around and act all fuckin’ hurt and sensitive about that shit, that’s the way we are with each other. Besides, that girl Susan did have a horse face, and everybody else could see it. I’m just the only one who says it. And when you’re with a really good-looking 132 girl I fuckin’ say that. So don’t give me this shit from the back benches of the fuckin’ peanut gallery because it’s total bullshit, and I am already so sick of you after hanging out with you for less than twenty-four hours in a row that I’m like two seconds away from beating the fucking shit out of you, you little fuckin’ asshole! (Pause.) What do you mean I’m not on your side?”
Peanuts on the Dollar | by: Joseph Arnone | Character: Chester | Notes: Chester expresses his concern surrounding the care of his mother.
“You know what I’m worryin’ ’bout? Feeding my mom’s. Taking care of my mom’s. Yeah? Who’s gonna pay for her medicine? Who? You? How she gonna make that surgery she needs? Eh? I gotta see her scream in pain each night? I got a mother who I’m takin’ care of like I’m her father. Wanna get her what she needs. I’m gonna GET HER what she needs man. I don’t fk’n care about it! Takin’ her outta this hell and into a new apartment with stainless steel appliances. You know those big steel refrigerators and them marble kitchen countertops with the backsplash? No more roaches that come to sleep with you at night. I want big windows so our house is filled with light, lots of light with a view of the ocean, so my mom can go to the beach and laugh with the dolphins and get tan whenever she wants. I want her to smile and be free without a care in the world because she knows her son’s got her back. So yeah man, I gotta do a few things to make that happen and if that’s the risk I gotta take then I’m taking it man. What choice do I got?? Keep working at the shoe store for peanuts on the dollar? That ain’t no life. This needs to change and I’m a change it.”
Choosing the Right Monologue
At the end of the day, there are a wide range of monologues to choose from, but choosing the right one depends on you.
Take some time to understand what your actor type is, where you will be performing these monologues and what genre and style suits you best. After that, begin your search, reading and familiarizing yourself with different types of plays that feature young or teen characters (just like you!)
Choosing the right monologue means choosing one that compliments your TALENT! Putting your best foot forward starts at the beginning – so pick something that’ll make you STAND out!
