Best Contemporary Monologues for Women 18-35

Introduction
Here you will find close to one hundred terrific monologues for women,
all from recent plays. Most have a present-tense dramatic action, because
I believe these are the most effective, whether in class or for auditions.
In the cases where I have included a story monologue, though, it
was a great story. Some are comic (laughs), some are dramatic (generally,
no laughs). Some are rather short, some are rather long.
Several of the monologues are by playwrights whose work may be
familiar to you—writers such as Don Nigro, Itamar Moses, Adam Bock,
Adam Rapp, Jane Martin, and David Ives. Other monologues are by
exciting up-and-comers such as Nicole Pandolfo, Erik Gernand, Laura
Marks, David Johnston, Crystal Skillman, Kimberly Pau, Greg Kalleres,
and C. Denby Swanson. All represent the best in contemporary playwriting.
Many of the plays from which these monologues have been culled
have been published previously and, hence, are readily available either
from the publisher/licensor or from a theatrical bookstore such as the
Drama Book Shop in New York. A few of the plays may not be published
for a while, in which case you may contact the author or his or her agent
to request a copy of the entire text of the play that contains the monologue
that suits your fancy. Information on publishers/rights holders
may be found in the Play Sources and Acknowledgments section in the
back of this anthology.
Break a leg at that audition! Knock ’em dead in class!
Lawrence Harbison
Brooklyn, NY
xi