Customer Reviews

The Actor's Book of Monologues for Women

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book in hope that I could find some interesting monologues I could use for theatre class and various auditions, but it was of no use! Most items in this book are in verse and are too short in length to be of much use to the average actor. Also, the range isn't overwhelmingly broad and the written text is poor. The different works all manage to present women in a similar and cliché way, somehow it is overly apparent that the "collector" of these pieces is a male. Some selections are interesting or by famous authors, however, they're out numbered greatly by B.S. wastes of ink and trees. I encourage anyone who is considering buying this book to keep looking because they don't deserve the disappointment I suffered after reading this collection. Good Luck in finding the "perfect" monologue (unless I'm auditioning against you, just kidding! ;) )!

I am writing mostly to refute the previous reviewer. Unlike her, I found this book to be quite useful and interesting. Yes, it is heavily skewed toward older works, many of which would be unsuitable for auditions for contemporary plays, but there are many other uses for monologues besides auditions. As for the monologues being too short for auditions, in my experience these days, most auditions require a 2 minute monologue or less, with many requesting only one minute, and some directors prefer only 30 seconds! So I am happy to find shorter monologues. In addition, I found one of the best audition pieces ever in this book -- "Telling Mom" by Karen Dale Wolman. I wish this book contained more witty contemporary essays such as this one, but perhaps Mr. Rudnicki will grace us with another book that is more oriented toward modern pieces. That said, it is certainly useful to have a book full of monologues which you can be virtually sure that no-one else has seen, and I'm glad somebody thought of compiling a collection from "non-dramatic sources."

I ordered the monologue book for my teenage daughter. It arrived in great condition and in a timely manner. I have no complaints about my experience.

I audition a lot. And I know people use the same pieces over and over again. I have used several pieces from this book and each time the casting folks have been so "relieved" to hear something new, and they always question me about the source in a good way; which extends the "interview" time in a positive manner. This anthology has a great and eccentric collection of pieces for women; I especially enjoyed using the Frankenstein monologue. It's not easy stuff; but gives some great choices if you are looking for that "second" monologue that's not Shakespeare but is classical. I keep it on my frequently used book shelf!

I thought this was a great book!