The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook: An Actor's Guide to over 1000 Monologues and Dialogues from More Than 300 Contemporary Plays (Paperback)

by Ed Hooks (Author) "Synopsis: Set in the Vatican, 1655..." (more)
Key Phrases: audition purposes, sophisticated actors, play publishing, Samuel French, Female Monologues, New York City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Preparing for an audition and unsure of what you want to do? The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook is the book you've been waiting for.



Unlike “scene books” that reprint 50 to 75 monologues excerpted from plays but don't include any background information, this annotated guide tells you what you really need to know about audition material from more than 300 contemporary plays.



Here is how the book works. Suppose that you're looking for a dramatic male/female scene. When you scan “Part One: Play Synopses and Analyses,” you come across an entry for The Middle of the Night by Paddy Chayefsky. This is what you see:



The Middle of the Night
by Paddy Chayefsky (Samuel French)
Synopsis: A kindly 53-year-old widower falls in love with a 23-year-old woman who is unhappily married to a musician. No one in their circle of acquaintances approves of this union, but their love is true.

Analysis: Excellent human drama, frequently touching. Actors who play the widower need to have a good feel for New York City/Brooklyn speech patterns. This sensitivity isn't as essential for the part of the woman. All levels.

Scenes/Monologues: Male Monologues (1), Female/Female Scenes (1), Male/Female Scenes (2)



In addition to basic information about the play (author and publisher), the entry provides you with the story line, a critique of the play, and the number of audition-worthy monologues and scenes it contains. If the description of this particular play piques your interest, your next step is to turn to “Part Six: Male/Female Scenes” for specifics about the selection. This is what you'll see there:



The Middle of the Night
by Paddy Chayefsky (Samuel French)
Drama: Act II, Scene 2, pp. 40-44; The Manufacturer (53) and The (23).
After an unsatisfactory attempt at lovemaking, The Manufacturer feels awful that he wasn’t able to perform ually. The is very understanding. He then asks her to marry him. The actor playing The Manufacturer must have a good feel for regional New York speech patterns. This skill is less critical for the actress playing The . Start, The Manufacturer: “I’m sorry, Betty.” End, The Manufacturer: “Oh, my sweet , I love you so much you don’t know. If you change your mind tomorrow, I won’t be angry with you. I won’t lie to you, Betty. I’m afraid.”



This entry tells you what type of scene this is (dramatic), where you'll find the selection (act, scene, and page numbers), the length of the scene, the names and ages of the characters, the context in which the characters are speaking, and the first and last lines of the scene. If the material seems appropriate, all you have to do is get a copy of the play and get to work.



Because The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook enables you to make informed decisions about the suitability of more than 1,000 monologues and scenes-which you can find easily through the book's extensive cross indexes—you’ll gain a critical edge in the auditioning process.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Back Stage Books; annotated edition edition (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823077713
• ISBN-13: 978-0823077717
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #267,490 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's a reference book, June 18, 2000

By	"wallestadn" (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Just a word of clarification, especially to those new to this kind of material (like myself). This book is like a catalog of monologues and scenes, but does not reprint the actual scenes. You'll need to find the actual scripts elsewhere.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ULTIMATE way to find Monologues, October 25, 2002

By	Vincent B Eaton (South Orange, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This is unquestionably the best book an actor can use to find monologues. While many people have complained about the fact the monologues aren't included in the book, this is actually a very good thing. The book gives a synopsis of the scene or monologue in the play, and tells you what publisher you can get the play from. Many young actors when they find a monologue in a collection memorize and perform it, without understanding the subtext behind the scene. This book forces the actor to read the play and get a strong concept of the character they plan to play. The book also mentions a few monologues and scenes which are heavily performed in professional auditions and should be avoided if at all possible. This book is a valuable resource if for nothing else then to get you looking at some new plays and authors, many of them relatively obscure compared to Arthur Miller and Neil Simon. With 300 plays featured, this book can keep a dedicated actor very well occupied.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WORTH EVERY PENNY!, February 27, 1999

By A Customer

This book has saved me the time and agony of sifting through hundreds of plays trying to find good material. It has summaries of each scene and monologue, and where to begin and end. I'm just starting acting, and this resource has given me guidelines and direction when choosing pieces. I feel it would be a good book for actors of all levels who are looking for creative, interesting and challenging new scenes to work on. How about a book on film and TV work Ed?