Short Scenes and Monologues for Middle School Actors [Paperback]

Mary Hall Surface (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: Young Actors Series

Eleven- to fourteen-year-olds bring unrivaled energy to the work of making theater. They demand dramatic material that speaks directly to them--that captures their every daybutgigantically important struggles with school, parents, and friends; that explores their painful wrestlings with the hard knocks and hard choices of adolescence; and that ignites their desire to imaginatively explore other places and times. This collection of scenes and monologues offers exciting monologues and multiple-actor scenes that are outstanding short audition pieces.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-A welcome find for young actors in search of material for auditions. Drawn from Surface's own plays, the selections are predominantly contemporary slices of life, but there are a few pieces based on figures from history and folklore. The monologues take 1 minute or less in length; the scenes for 2-to-4 actors run 3-to-10 minutes, and those for groups, 7-to-20 minutes. The roles are geared specifically to performers ages 10 to 14, feature different ethnic backgrounds, and are gender balanced. Characters struggle with school, parents, and friends-situations with which students of this age can easily identify. Adolescent angst is very much in evidence, and characters frequently vacillate between the emotional peaks and valleys that mark relationships at this age. While this is in keeping with the middle-school personality, occasionally the changes seem somewhat exaggerated. Also, the treatment of a few themes is a bit hackneyed, such as those in the monologues of a girl who wants to find a boyfriend, and another who is embarrassed by her alcoholic mother. Still, the selections will appeal to most readers and may interest them in the original plays.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Drawing from her 20 years of experience with middle-graders, Surface has created an excellent resource for actors who are between childhood and teen years. Divided between monologues and scenes for two actors, Surface's collection includes a wide range of situations and themes. Diverse rural and urban characters discuss family rivalries, racism, environmental issues, Alice in Wonderland, and even the perfect wave. In the introduction, Surface writes, "Too many monologues are story-driven, in past tense, and overly narrative." She succeeds well in avoiding those pitfalls and offers middle-graders a fine collection of emotionally charged scenes with characters who explore the issues that matter to this age group in language that will ring true. Purchase this where theater material for 12-to 14-year-olds is in demand. Gillian Engberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc; 1 edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575251795
• ISBN-13: 978-1575251790
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Performing Arts > Drama & Theater

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monolouges and Scenes for middle school actors, October 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Short Scenes and Monologues for Middle School Actors (Paperback)

This book was really great and had some fun scenes in it! I really enjoyed acting them out with my friends and they inspired some ideas for my own plays. This is deffinatelly a great book for teenage actors and actresses.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good scenes, but not gender balanced..., January 4, 2010

By 

Eric Shank Van Eenige (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Short Scenes and Monologues for Middle School Actors (Paperback)

Oh, the scenes in this book are actable and entertaining, and will surely inspire students to put forth creative performances. But there is only ONE two-person scene for two males, and EIGHT for two females. Difficult to use this book in a classroom setting if it is your only source for scenes.