I'm looking for good contemporary (written in the last century) comedic male monologues, specifically characters that are under 30 years old. My knowledge of plays is mostly limited to dramatic/serious works, and I struggle with finding good comedy outside of Shakespeare. I've tried to do some research but most of what I've found has been monologues that stand alone, and are not from actual plays, which I don't want. Any help would be much appreciated.
Broadway Star Joined: 10/28/17
A guy in an acting class I took a few years ago did part of Scene 2 from Martin McDonagh's 'A Behanding in Spokane.' It might be a little older than 30 since Sam Rockwell played the role a few years ago, but it's a fun chunk of text that could probably be played younger. You'd have to trim it.
The main character Francis in One Man, Two Guvnors has a number of good monologues to choose from, if I'm remembering the play correctly. I believe Alan as a good one as well.
Also try Lorenzo from Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play, I believe he has a few.
Peter and the Starcatcher is full of monologues; I'm sure you'd find a great one in there. Stache especially has a couple of great bits.
There's a great little monologue (don't know how long you need/want it to be) from a one act play called Removing the Glove (playscripts.com) The play is an allegory about coming out...but instead of gay characters, it's left handedness that is the culprit. The monologue is about when the main character realized he was, indeed, left handed. VERY funny. (The character is in HS, but I think a college aged looking actor could get away with it.) I can't remember the character's name, but it is the only monologue in the play.
Lots of Christopher Durang plays have
monologues that are very funny. In
LAUGHING WILD the entire second
act is a monologue for a male. (You'd
have to do your own cutting.)
Thank you all for the suggestions!
Dramamama - that monologue is hilarious! It made me laugh out loud. It's a bit short for what I need in this instance, but I'm definitely saving it for potential future use.
If anybody has any more suggestions, don't be shy!
The whole play is pretty wonderful.
I’m 35 and still haven’t found a fail-safe comedic monologue, but I will say that you must absolutely avoid monologues from monologue books for auditions. It is very frowned upon for various reasons.
The piece I’ve used the most over the years is from one of Eric Bogosian’s one-man shows. He does lots of different characters and could be a great resource.
One of my favorites is Yvan's entrance in Art by Yasmina Reza.
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