60 Seconds To Shine Volume I: 221 One-Minute Monologues for Men [Paperback]

John Capecci (Editor), Irene Ziegler Aston (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 157525400X | ISBN-13: 978-1575254005 | Publication Date: April 2006

Actors looking for short pieces to work on in class or to use for auditions need look no further. This volume is loaded with choices from contemporary and classic plays, novels, and stories. Shakespeare, Molière, and Chekhov are represented, along with contemporary writers such as Philip Roth and Steve Tesich. Many of the monologues in this book are from less well-known authors, making it the perfect choice for actors looking for something fresh--something auditioners have never seen before.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

When my publisher, Eric Kraus, first suggested my writing a book of 101 one-minute monologues, I had a mixed response. Half of me felt that this could be the easiest book of monologues I’ve ever written, and the other half felt that it could be the most difficult. Well I was right, on both counts. As actors, I’m sure you’re aware, that one minute of dialogue is short; very short! It’s almost over before it begins. So the real task in working on these monologues would be to try to fit a character, a situation, an emotional arc, a beginning, middle, and end, and possibly even a conflict all into one minute.

From the Inside Flap

Upon learning of today’s typical cattle-call audition process, Dustin Hoffman—who hasn’t had to audition in a long, long time—once declared that if he had only a minute to make an impression, he’d take off his clothes. For those of us who would rather think inside the box, here are two hundred and twenty-one monologues, all one minute or under in performance length.

For those auditions or class assignments where brevity is crucial, you need a monologue that gets to the point. You need a defined character, strong emotional content, and a resonant ending. Just as important, you need a lot of monologues from which to choose. This book offers you that, and more.

In our continuing effort to offer you new sources of monologues, we’ve drawn from plays, novels, short stories, poems, original monologues, essays, comics, novellas, radio plays, film scripts, and personal narratives.

How to Use This Book. At the back of this volume, you’ll find all 221 monologues indexed according to age, tone, and voice, to help identify those most suited to your needs:

Age is noted exactly only when specified by the author. More often, we’ve indicated an age range (20s, 20s-30s). In some instances, we’ve used a plus sign to show the character could be older than indicated, as in 40+.

Classic/Contemporary refers to when the monologue was written, not necessarily when the character is speaking. "Classic" texts are those that were written prior to the early 1920s.

Voice refers to indications of class, geography, ethnicity, nationality, sexual identity, or physicality that may help performers gain entry into an individual character, or closely "match" themselves to a monologue. The language of any text will reveal a certain level of education, class, or knowledge. Sometimes, however, a monologue arises out of specific cultural experience, demonstrated either through content or language. Those are the selections you’ll find listed in the "Voice" index.

Whenever possible, we’ve attempted to excerpt monologues with a minimum of editing. Where editing was necessary, omissions are indicated by parenthetical ellipses ( . . . ). All other ellipses were part of the original text.

We offer appropriately brief contexts to help you gain some entry into the monologues. But, of course, in order to fully understand and ultimately embody the characters, you are strongly advised to read the play, novel, poem, etc. from which the monologue was drawn. The greater context must be fully explored in order to answer the all-important questions: who, what, when, where, why.

So—go forth and be brief. Just keep your shirt on.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc (April 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157525400X
• ISBN-13: 978-1575254005
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #641,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)