The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights [Paperback]

Nina Shengold (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1987

This is the only book that offers a comprehensive collection of contemporary stage monologues for a complete range of roles. An invaluable tool for actors looking for new audition material or for anyone interested in theater.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA A lifesaving resource for theater teachers and acting students, this book provides a refreshing supply of contemporary monologues for men and women from well-known and more obscure scripts. Readers will find comic, serious, and seriocomic monlogues. An index lists them by the age group of the characters. As a book for leisure, readers will find that the wide assortment of characters demonstrates a full range from the delightful to the dramatic. Informative conversations with a few playwrights, including Christopher Durang, provide greater insight into contemporary drama. High-school drama classes will appreciate this fresh material and its authoritative presentation. Joseph Harper, Episcopal High School, Bellaire
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 355 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Copyright 1987 edition (November 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140096493
• ISBN-13: 978-0140096491
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nina Shengold writes fiction, nonfiction, theatre, and film. Her novel CLEARCUT, a Book Sense Notable selection and Seattle Post-Intelligencer Best Books pick, also won nerve.com's Henry Miller Award for Best Literary Sex Scene; the Washington Post called it a "red-hot love triangle...GRADE: A."

She collaborated with photographer Jennifer May on RIVER OF WORDS: PORTRAITS OF HUDSON VALLEY WRITERS, profiling 76 writers including John Ashbery, Shalom Auslander, Laura Shaine Cunningham, Cornelius Eady, Nick Flynn, Frank McCourt, Susan Orlean, Esmeralda Santiago, John Sayles, and Pete Seeger. www.riverofwordsbook.com

With Eric Lane, Nina has edited 13 theatre anthologies for Vintage Books and Viking Penguin. Her plays include HOMESTEADERS, FINGER FOODS Foods, ROMEO/JULIET, and WAR AT HOME: STUDENTS RESPOND TO 9/11, written with Nicole Quinn and 40 students. www.playscripts.com

She won the Writers Guild Award for her teleplay LABOR OF LOVE, starring Marcia Gay Harden. Other TV credits include BLIND SPOT, starring Joanne Woodward & Laura Linney, and SHINE Award winner UNWED FATHER. Nina lives in the Hudson Valley with her teenage daughter and a somewhat golden retriever. For more information: www.ninashengold.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great sourcebook!, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights (Paperback)

This book is fabulous for people needing audition pieces...these monologues are not overdone, and they all come from recent plays. If you need edgy, witty, or just some awesome pieces, get this book and enjoy!

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I like this book. it should have more teen monologues, December 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights (Paperback)

This book is a good book if you audition a lot at professional and amature theatres. It also is good if you are on a speech team and need different types of monologues. The only drawback is that it dosen't have many teen monologues.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Monologue Book, March 9, 2006

By 

Jonathon B. Ross (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Actor's Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues: More Than 150 Monologues from More Than 70 Playwrights (Paperback)

I love the reference chart in the back. It's organized by sex, then age, then emotion portrayed. It also gives a quick description of each character, so you don't have to read through all of the monologues. Some great choices, too! Great picks from little-known dramas as well as popular ones.