"A Girl's Guide to Chaos" by Cynthia Heimel (Cynthia) - "And Turning Stay" by Kellie Powell (Amy) - Beau Jest

by James Sherman (Sarah explaining to James that he has to pretend to be her boyfriend when she goes to visit her parents) - "Beautiful Bodies " - Laura Cunningham (Can't quite remember... I think that Lisbeth and Martha are best) - "Courting Prometheus" by Charles Forbes (Rita) - "Gwen and Gwen" by Nancy Kiefer ('Gwen I' has better options than 'Gwen II') - "Independence" by Lee Blessing (Kess has a great speech about realizing she was a lesbian) - "Loose Ends" by Michael Weller (Janice) - "Museum" by Tina Howe (TinkSolheims monologue given while hiding with a sculpture) - "Painting Churches" by Tina Howe (Mags reminds her parents of how they behaved at her first portrait show) - Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin (Suzanne and Germaine both have good ones. I think I might try to work on one for URTAs.)*** - The Odd Couple (Female Version) by Neil Simon (you could easily eliminate response lines to create great monologues as either Olive or Florence. I would try the one Florence gives about her husband walking out on her. Its hilarious.) - Women of Manhattan by John Patrick Shanley (Rhonda)

And these contain "pure" pieces (note, I tried to make Word alphabetize this list, but it sorta did it in two chunks and I cant figure out why. Oh well!):

- "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" by Peter Nichols (Sheila has a very powerful monologue at the end of Act I discussing her severely disabled daughter. I LOVE this play, and I almost chose to submit to direct this.)*** - "A Map of the World" by David Hare (Peggy Whitton, a movie actress) - "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams (probably too famous, but Blanche has great stuff) - "A Weekend Near Madison" by Kathleen Tolan (Nessa has a couple. I dont know how you feel about cursing, but youd definitely have to be okay with it for this character.)

- "Anna Christie" by Eugene O'Neill - "Appearances" by Tina Howe (Grace and Ivy each have several disturbing monologues regarding their mothers critical illness)*** - "Aunt Dan and Lemon" by Wallace Shawn (Aunt Dan) - "Between Daylight and Boonville" by Matt Williams (Marlene, a trailer-park housewife.) - "Birdbath" by Leonard Malfi (Velma, a cafeteria worker from the Bronx) - "Blue Window" by Craig Lucas (Libby) - "Calm Down Mother" by Megan Terry (Sues monologue about fertility) - "Catch a Falling Star" by Lee Murphy (Ginny's confession of being a porn star is decent) - "Catholic School Girls" by Casey Kurtti (there are at least 4 or 5 great ones in this. I especially like Elizabeths explaining Jesus)*** - "Cowboy Mouth" by Sam Shepard (Cavale.A young rock-and-roll-loving kidnapper talking to a friend. You would have to be comfortable with swearing and discussing masturbation.) - "Crimes of the Heart" by Beth Henley (Meg or Babe, a couple of Southern Belles with screwed up lives. This play is Beth Henleys best work. Dont bother with reading Miss Firecracker or anything else, as the monologues in her other plays will not stand alone)*** - "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" by John Patrick Shanley (Robertas dream about the ocean. Shes an Italian from the Bronx. Scenes from this were prevalent in the Irene Ryan competition last year.) - "David's Red-Haired Death" by Sherry Kramer (Jean and Marilyn each have good options) - "'dentity Crisis" by Christopher Durang (Jane. This is a bizarre monologue. A manic depressive recants strange production of Peter Pan she saw as a child to her therapist. Very creepy/funny, as most Durang is. Might be too passive, but you could give it a shot. It would be fun to try.) - "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" by Alan Ball (there are several)*** - "For Keeps" by F. Hugh Herbert (Nancy) - "Getting Out" (Arlene is a former prostitute whom has just been released from an 8-year prison sentence. Sometimes there are flashbacks to her days as a juvenile delinquent. There are monologues at both ages.) - "Heart in the Ground" by Douglas Hill (Karen) - "In the Boom Boom Room" by David Rabe (Chrissy or Susan.Interesting play involving go-go dancing.) - "Jesse and the Bandit Queen" by David Freeman (Belle Starr, a train robber) - "Kennedy's Children" by Robert Patrick (Carlas drunken monologue about being a model) - "Later" by Corinne Jacker (Kate)

- "Love Allways" by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna (there are a few monologues in here. Try Barbara's to her unborn child) - "Lunchtime" by Leonard Melfi (Avis makes a sandwich for Rex) - "Mama Drama" by Leslie Ayvazian, Donna Daley, Christine Farrell, Rita Nachtmann, and Ann Sachs (there are several... try Anna's about finding her daughter)*** - "Marco Polo Sings a Solo" by John Guare (Diane talks about how it felt to be a musical prodigy, and why she gave up the piano.) - "My Mother Said I Never Should" by Charlotte Keatley (one of my all-time favorite plays. There are a few, but I would try Doris at the very end.)*** - "Necessary Targets" by Eve Ensler (there are LOADS of them in this. Were doing this play on mainstage in the spring, and Im acting as dramaturge for it. Its an all-female cast, talking about the situation in Bosnia 15 years ago.)*** - "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder (You probably remember... Emily at the end, Mrs. Soames at the wedding, Mrs. Webb at the wedding) - "Passing Game" by Steve Tesich (Julie) - "Reckless" by Craig Lucas (Rachel or Pooty) - "Savage in Limbo" by John Patrick Shanley (Linda or Denise Savage) - "Say Goodnight, Gracie" by Ralph Pape (Catherine, an airline stewardess) - "Shivaree" by William Mastrosimone (Shivaree) - "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You" by Christopher Durang (Diane Symonds) - "Soap Opera" by Ralph Pape (Lucy) - "Still Life" by Emily Mann (Cheryl) - "Strange Snow" by Steve Metcalfe (Martha) - "Table Settings" by James Lapine(Wife) - "Taken in Marriage" by Thomas Babe (Annie) - "The Art of Dining by Tina Howe (Elizabeth Barrow Colt, a nearsighted writer) - "The Big Scene" by Arnold Schnitzler (Sophie) - "The Days and Nights of BeeBeeFenstermaker" by William Snyder (BeeBee is a Southern would-be novelist. Use her talking about getting to NYC, or about fortune-telling) - "The Death of a Miner" by Paula Cizmar (Mary Alice Hagar telling Jack why she wants to work in a mine)

- "The Foreigner" by Larry Shue (Catherine, a Southern debutaante) - "The Great Nebula in Orion" by Lanford Wilson (Louise, a fashion designer) - "The Lady and the Clarinet" by Michael Cristofer (Luba, a wine merchant. This role was at one point played by Stockard Channing.) - "The Lives of Great Waitresses" by Nina Shengold (Melissa. An actress tries to be a waitress.)*** - "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" by Christopher Durang (Bettes monologue on the phone after her second miscarriage) - "The Primary English Class" by Israel Horovitz (Debbie Wastba, young English teacher) - "The Sea Horse" by Edward J. Moore (Gertrude Blum) - "The Three Daughters of Monsieur Dupont" by Eugene Brieux (Julie) - "The Typists" by Murray Schisgal (Sylvia) - "The Woolgatherer" by William Mastrosimone (Rose. She curses a fair amount.) - "Theives" by Herb Gardner (Sally Cramer) - "Three Tall Women" by Edward Albee (all have great monologues, but 'C' has a great on in act II about her first sexual encounter)*** - "Two Rooms" by Lee Blessing (Ellen and Lainie both, although some of Lainie's are interrupted. I'm directing this play next semester. It's very powerful)*** - "Uncommon Women and Others" by Wendy Wasserstein (Holly Kaplan)*** - "Vieux Carre" by Tennessee Williams (Jane, monologue about a fear of cockroaches that is rather amusing)*** - "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by Edward Albee (not completely right age-wise, and very wellknown but Martha is very well-written) - A Chorus Line by Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood Jr. (Vals monologue about coming to NYC. Or, you could turn the song Nothing into a monologue, which would be great. Except youd have to pretend to be from San Juan) - Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson (Rosannah. I worked on a long scene from this play for a class last year and loved it. Shes kinda out there, but she doesnt realize it. There are some pure monologues, and a couple you could create by eliminating Henry Harrys interruptions)*** - Butterflies Are Free by Leonard Gershe (Jills monologue about getting married. Im working on this one this semester.) - Defying Gravity by Jane Anderson (Elizabeth. This is a play about the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion in 1986, and this character is the daughter of the teacher who died talking about the events surrounding the event. She has a couple. Im working on one from this play this semester.)***

- Fame by Christopher Gore (Hilarys monologue rationalizing her abortion) - Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch (MarvelAnns about psychiatry, and maybe something from Chicklet/Ann Bowman. Now, generally, this play is produced by a gender-bending all-male cast. But I think that you could take things out of it, as there is a movie based off of it in which Marvel Ann is played by a female) - Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark by Ariel Dorfman (There are TONS. I was in this play awhile back and we brought it to the ACTF Evening of Scenes last year. The whole play is almost entirely monologues from real-life human rights defenders from around the world. My favorite ones are Helen Prejean, RanaHusseni, FauziyaKassindja, and Digna Ochoa I did Digna, among others. She was a lawyer and a nun, and her monologue talks about pretending she knew karate in order to evade police. It might be tricky to get a copy of the play but its good stuff.)*** - Street Scene by Elmer Rice (Rose) - Talking with by Jane Martin (I dont know if this will count for you Its an entire play made up of separate monologues for women All of them are GREAT. If you can use something like this, then also see Vital Signs by the same author, which is an alias used by Jon Jory)*** - The Day They Shot John Lennon by James McLure (Frans monologue about Edward Hoppers paintings. Its a bit passive, but I like it.) - The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel (try Tillies monologue that starts He told me to look at my hand) - The Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (Luisas monologue about the bird, her hair, and not wanting to be normal. Actually, now that I think about it, this might not be great out of context) - The Guys by Anne Nelson (Joan has a couple. Its recalling September 11) - The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stevenson (Catherines monologue about her problems with men is one of the best monologues I have ever seen performed. I played Vi in a production of this last year. Its a British play, but you could do this monologue without the accent and be fine.)*** - The OConner Girls by Katie Forgette (Theres a great monologue in there about why women mature faster than men.)*** - The Pretentious Young Ladies by Moliere (Madeleine has one about marriage. Its kinda long, but you could cut it.) - The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner (Trudy. This is a very fun one-woman show. The biggest problem is that the character is very much associated with its originator, Lily Tomlin. For a class, it might do.) - Youre a Good Man, Charlie Brown. by Clark Gesner (There are tons. Everyone seems to do Sally's monologue about a coat hanger sculpture.)

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