Importance of Monologues / 5 Great Monologues For Men
Importance of Monologues / 5 Great Monologues For Men.
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Every actor should have a few acting monologues prepared and ready just incase a monologue battle breaks out. Just kidding….
Looking for more? Search all 362 monologues in our database by age, gender, tone and length.
The reason is simple: the monologue is an invite into a character’s world (point of view) through their speech, movements, tone, and feelings he or she conveys to the audience. It’s the moment when a character vocalizes their thoughts, giving us insights that’ll get to know them better and move the story forward.
The better you get at delivering monologues, the sharper your acting skills get. There seems to be an “idea” around monologues that automatically connects them to a long, overly-dramatic block of text. We can actually categorize monologues into three different types. ·
Dramatic: The word “dramatic” here doesn’t necessarily mean that the character’s speech will be sad. A dramatic monologue can be serious, but it can also be funny depending on the plot. The main characteristic of this kind of monologue is that it’s given to the audience or to another character. · Interior: In an interior monologue, characters vocalize their thoughts. In film and TV, internal monologues are the words heard in the character’s voice during voiceovers, for example.
Soliloquy: A soliloquy can be described as a character talking to themselves as if they were alone, or “thinking out loud” as though the audience isn’t listening or watching the scene unfold.
The Importance of Monologues for Actors
There’s a number of reasons why actors should have at least one monologue memorized and ready to go.
You can use it as a training tool anytime
Memorized that monologue? Great. Now perfect it. Try different things with it. Understand the character’s motivation behind it. One of the best things about any monologue is that you only need yourself to hone your skills and learn a lot more about who you’re playing.
They’re a great supplement to your acting reel.
Having a demo reel is a must but also having a great monologue separately recoded can be super useful. Why? Because it could be the turning point when a director decides to cast you. Besides a collection of jobs you’ve been a part of, it’s essential to have something that shows what you are capable of as an actor.
They Take the Edge Off “What Else Have You Got for Us?”
Get a monologue on tape or have it memorized and you’ll always have something else to show. Also, you’ll be ready to submit it anytime. Having it ready not only reveals your commitment to a certain job, but it shows you’re capable of performing a variety of roles.
Examples of Monologues (For Men)
Below are a few renowned monologues you can start working on right now. Remember to choose one that better represents you. Some of these are one-minute monologues, others are slightly longer.
01
Pale
Burn This · Lanford Wilson
Men 20s–30s Dramatic Play About 1:45
“Well, see, fine, you got these little social phrases and politenesses–all they show me is this–like–giganticness of unconcern with your “I’m sorrys,” man. The fuckin’ world is going down the…”
02
Faustus
Doctor Faustus · Christopher Marlowe
Men 20s–50s Classical Play About 1:45
“Ah, Faustus,Now has thou but one bare hour to live, And then thou must be damn’d perpetually. Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven, That time may cease and midnight…”
Faustus’s final speech as the clock strikes midnight. Public domain.
Read full monologue
Ah, Faustus,Now has thou but one bare hour to live,
And then thou must be damn’d perpetually.
Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven,
That time may cease and midnight never come;
Fair nature’s eye, rise, rise again, and make
Perpetual day; or let this hour be but
A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
That Faustus may repent and save his soul.
O lente lente currite noctis equi!
The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike,
The devil will come, and Faustus must be damn’d.
O, I’ll leap up to my God! Who pulls me down?
See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament!
One drop would save my soul, half a drop. Ah, my Christ! –
Rend not my heart for naming of my Christ;
Yet will I call on him. O, spare me, Lucifer! –
Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years,
A hundred thousand, and at last be sav’d.
O, no end is limited to damned souls.
Curs’d be the parents that engender’d me!
No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer
That hath depriv’d thee of the joys of heaven.
O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air,
Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell!
O soul, be changed into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found.
My God, my God! Look not so fierce on me!
Adders and serpents let me breathe awhile!
Ugly hell, gape not! Come not, Lucifer;
I’ll burn my books! – Ah, Mephostophilis!
03
Don Juan
Don Juan · Molière
Men 30s–40s Comedic Play About 2:45
“What! Would you have a man tie himself up to the first woman that captures his fancy, renounce the world for her, and never again look at anyone else? That…”
04
Algernon
The Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde
Men 30s–40s Comedic Play About 1:00
“I haven’t the smallest intention of dining with Aunt Augusta. To begin with, I dined thereon Monday, and once a week is quite enough to dine with one’s own relations…”
05
Tom
The Glass Menagerie · Tennessee Williams
Men 20s–30s Dramatic Play About 1:45
“I didn’t go to the moon. I went much further–for time is the longest distance between two places. Not long after that I was fired for writing a poem on…”
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