Orpheus Descending
Val monologue from Orpheus Descending
- Play
- Tennessee Williams
- Men
- Playing age 20s–30s
- About 0:45
- Dramatic
Val’s monologue from the play Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams. A dramatic piece for men with a playing age of 20s–30s, running about 0:45.
The full speech. Read it out loud twice before you start working it.
Val’s monologue
I can sleep or not sleep as long or short as I want to. I can sleep on a concrete floor or go without sleeping, without even feeling sleepy, for forty-‐eight hours. And I can hold my breath three minutes without blacking out, I made ten dollars betting I could do it and I did it! And I can go a whole day without passing water. That's a fact. I served time on a chain gang for vagrancy once and they tied me to a post all day and I stood there all day without passing water to show the sons of bitches that I could do it.
Excerpt for study and audition practice. Read the full play for context.
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About Orpheus Descending
- Tennessee Williams reworked it from his earlier play Battle of Angels (1940).
- It was filmed as The Fugitive Kind (1960) with Marlon Brando.
All 3 monologues from Orpheus Descending All 11 Tennessee Williams monologues
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