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Updated January 2009
In 2006, ten industry professionals who see thousands of monologue auditions were asked to rate the “overdone-ness” of over 100 frequently-performed monologues. Since then, monologues have been added to the list at the recommendation of at least two industry pros, usually after they’ve seen several days of auditions for their theaters, apprentice programs, graduate or conservatory programs. Since the original survey was over 3 years ago, I have taken away the individual ratings, because at this point, all of the monologues on this list can be considered to be overdone.
Note: it is not always a bad thing to audition with an overdone monologue! To find out when you should worry about this issue, and when you should not, read How to Choose a Monologue for Any Audition.
Most of the monologues below are overdone because they’re great writing—and you should definitely read the plays they are from for that reason. Rather than be discouraged that the monologue you love is overdone, go to www.Doollee.com, and look up that playwright’s lesser-known plays and shorter works. You can also read hundreds of new plays online for free at www.Playscripts.com.
Playwright/Year first produced/Character/Identifying line or topic
BAITZ/The End of the Day/1990/HELEN/I think you married me so as to become an American citizen
BALL/Five Women Wearing the Same Dress/1993/GEORGANNE/Tommy Valentine
BALL/Five Women Wearing the Same Dress/1993/ALL OTHERS
BOGOSIAN/Talk Radio/1985/DENISE/Paranoid caller, spoon in the garbage disposal, etc.
BOGOSIAN/Talk Radio/1985/LINDA/Sleeping with Barry Champlain
CRAVIATTO/Pizza Man/1991/ALL
CRISTOFER/Shadow Box/1975/Beverly/I Want you to come home
CRISTOFER/Lady and the Clarinet/1989/LUBA/Vomiting on desk of lover’s secretary
DANIELS/Apartment 3A/1996/ANNIE/Sesame Street telethon speech
DORFMAN/Death and the Maiden/1991/PAULINA/When I heard his voice last night
DURANG/Beyond Therapy/1981/ALL
DURANG/'Dentitiy Crisis/1978/JANE/Peter Pan monologue
DURANG/Laughing Wild/1987/WOMAN/Tunafish monologue
DURANG/The Marriage of Bette & Boo/1973/ALL
DURANG/Sister Mary Ignatius…/1979/Speech about mother’s death
FEIFFER/Feiffer’s People/1968/ALL
FEIFFER/Hold Me!/1977/ALL
FEIFFER/Little Murders/1966/Patsy
FORNES/Fefu and her Friends/1977/ALL
GARDNER/A Thousand Clowns/1962/SANDRA/I didn't go to work this morning (blouse speech)
GERSHE/Butterflies are Free/1969/Jill Tanner/ALL
GESNER/LIPPA/You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown/ALL
GILMAN/Spinning into Butter/1999/SARAH/ALL
GUARE/Marco Polo Sings A Solo/1977/DIANE/I really started cookin’ when I was eight
GUARE/Landscape of the Body/1984/ROSALIS/Gorilla suit - porn audition speech
GUARE/House of Blue Leaves/1986/Bananas/Picks up the Pope, Bob Hope, Jackie Kennedy, etc. in the Green Latrine
GUARE/House of Blue Leaves/1986/BUNNY/I won’t cook for you til you marry me
GUEST/Waiting for Guffman/1996/Libby Mae Brown’s audition (bonus features)
GUIRGIS/Jesus Hopped the A Train/2001/ALL
HAMPTON/ Dangerous Liaisons/1985/ALL
HANLEY/Slow Dance on the Killing Ground/1970/ROSIE/Losing virginity speech
HARLING/Steel Magnolias/1989/ALL
HARRINGTON/Night Luster/1983/ROMA/I don’t think people see me…voice to die for…etc
HEIMEL/A Girl’s Guide to Chaos/1988/ALL
HENLEY/Crimes of the Heart/1979/ALL
HOWE/The Art of Dining/1979/ELIZABETH BARROW COLT/Mealtime was the same as it had always been
HOWE/Painting Churches/1983/ALL
IIZUKA/Aloha Say the Pretty Girls/1999/ALL
JOHNSON/Brilliant Traces/1988/ROSANNAH/I was standing in the back of the church
JOHNSON/Brilliant Traces/1988/ROSANNAH/Did you ever think you were visited by extraterrestrials
KANE/4:48 Psychosis/2000/ALL
KAYSEN/Girl, Interrupted/1999/ALL
KEILLOR/Snow White speech
KORDER/Search and Destroy/1992/MARIE/Movie pitch/penis claw monologue
KRAMER/Wall of Water/1998//Last cigarette speech
KUSHNER/A Bright Room Called Day/1987/ZILLAH/Dear Mr. President
KUSHNER/Angels in America: Perestroika/1992/HARPER/Night flight to San Francisco…
LABUTE/Autobahn/2006/Stalking the guy
LINDSAY-ABAIRE/History Lesson/2002/Maggie/ALL
LINDSAY-ABAIRE/Wonder of the World/2001/Barbie Head Monologue
LONERGAN/Lobby Hero/2001/DAWN/ALL
LUCAS/Blue Window/1984/LIBBY/Falling off the balcony
LUCAS/Reckless/1988/ALL
MAMET/Oleanna/CAROL/1992/You did it to me. Here
MAMET/Oleanna/CAROL/1992/Other monologues
MARGULIES/Collected Stories/1996/Lisa/ALL
MARTIN/Talking With/1981/ALL
MARTIN/Vital Signs/1989/ALL
MARTIN/Picasso at the Lapin Agile/1998/SUZANNE/Sleeping with Picasso
MARTIN/Picasso at the Lapin Agile/1998/ALL OTHERS
MARTIN/Patter for the Floating Lady/1995/ANGIE/Sand in the tennis shoe
MASTRIOSIMONE/Woolgatherer/1979/ALL
MASTRIOSIMONE/Extremities/1980/ALL
MASTRIOSIMONE/Shivaree/1983/SHIVAREE/Well sport you can dance for dance
MAY/Not Enough Rope/1962/Edith/All
MCNALLY/Bad Habits/Dolly/1971/Complaining to the doctor about her husband
MURRAY-SMITH/Honor/1995/SOPHIE/I wish I was…like you
NASH/The Rainmaker/1954LIZZIE/ALL
NEWMAN/Quilters/NA/Sunbonnet Sue
NIGRO/Seascape with Sharks and Dancer/1985/TRACY/Problem with loving squashable animals
NORMAN/Getting Out/1977/ARLIE/Frog squishing speech
NORMAN/'Night Mother/1982/JESSIE/I am what became of your child
PATRICK/Kennedy's Children/1973/CARLA/I wanted to be a sex goddess
PIELMEIRER/Agnes of God/1979/ALL
RABE/Hurlyburly/1984/ALL
RABE/In the Boom Boom Room/1973/CHRISSY/…and a piece of meat is all I am
RABE/In the Boom Boom Room/1973/ALL OTHERS
REBECK/Loose Knit/1994/MARGIEI want you to f*** me in that car of yours
REBECK/Spike Heels/1994/GEORGIE/Who made up these rules, do you actually think we’re buying it
REBECK/Spike Heels/1994/ALL OTHERS
SAYLES/Passion Fish (film)/1992/Anal probe speech
SHANGE/For Colored Girls…./1975/ALL
SHANLEY/The Big Funk/1990/JILL/I’m talking to you from my subconscious mind
SHANLEY/The Dreamer Examines His Pillow/1985/Donna/ALL
SHANLEY/Savage in Limbo/1984/SAVAGE/I feel strong
SHANLEY/Savage in Limbo/1984/ALL OTHERS
SHANLEY/Where’s my Money?/2002/ALL
SHANLEY/Women of Manhattan/1985/RHONDA/Why she keeps his tennis shoes
SHANLEY/Women of Manhattan/1985/ALL OTHERS
SHENGOLD/Lives of the Great Waitresses/1996/TAMMIE SUE/About the ugly guy who was great in bed
SHEPARD/Buried Child/1978/SHELLEY/ALL
SHEPARD/Cowboy Mouth/1971/CAVALE/You're so neat - ugly duckling speech
SHEPARD/Fool for Love/1983/MAE/ALL
SHEPARD/Icarus' Mother/1964/JILL/Peeing on the beach
SHINN/Other People/2000/PETRA/Fish stew speech
SILVER et al /A…My Name is Alice/1983/WOMAN/Yelling at the jock strap in the wash
SILVER et al/A…My Name is Still Alice/1984/WOMAN/Bridal registry
SILVER/Fat Men In Skirts/1991/POPO MARTIN/My name is Popo Martin
SILVER/The Food Chain/1994/Amanda/Waiter asked if I was alone
SIMON/Star Spangled Girl/1966/SOPHIE/Mr. Cornell, ah have tried to be neighborly, gooey chocolates
SIMON/Last of the Red Hot Lovers/1969/JEANETTE/Do you know Charlotte Korman
SIMON/Chapter Two/1977/Jennie/You know what you want better than me George
SIMON/Brighton Beach Memoirs/1983/NORA/Papa’s coat pocket
SIMON/Virtually any female character from Neil Simon’s major plays
SLADE/Romantic Comedy/1979/PHOEBE/Marshmallows out the nose
SNYDER/The Days and Nights of BeeBee Fenstermaker/1964/BeeBee/ALL
SONDHEIM/Assassins/1990/SQUEAKY FROMME/Charlie Manson speech
SON/Stop Kiss/1998/CALLIE/Talking to unconscious girlfriend in hospital
TAYLOR & BOLOGNA/Lovers and Other Strangers/1968/ALL
TESICH/Passing Game/1977/JULIE/Richard, are you asleep?
TOPOR/Nuts/1980/CLAUDIA/I used to say I love you to the moon and down again
TOPOR/Nuts/1980/CLAUDIA/ALL OTHERS
VOGEL/How I Learned to Drive/1997/ALL
WADE/Key Exchange/1986/LISA/Father built sandbox for dying mother to watch kids
WAGNER/Search for Signs of Intelligent Life…/1985/ALL
WASSERSTEIN/Heidi Chronicles/1988/ALL
WASSERSTEIN/Isn’t It Romantic?/1981/ALL
WASSERSTEIN/Uncommon Women and Others/1975/ALL
WILDER/Our Town/1938/Emily
WELLER/Split/1977/MARGE/Stevie Wonder
WILLIAMS/Major female roles by Tennessee Williams are extremely well known; they are classics and not in the ‘overdone’ category, but actors should know how well known they are and have a reason for choosing them. And they should never be done without their intended accent.
WILSON/Burn This/1987/ANNA/Insects pinned to the wall
WILSON/The Gingham Dog/1968/GLORIA/I used to pray, I really did
WOLFE/The Colored Museum/1986/TOPSY/Yoho! Party! Party!
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For more info on overdone monologues go to:
Overdone Monologues – how the survey was done and what it reveals
More survey results – more opinions and preferences on material choice
Copyright 2009 by Karen Kohlhaas
Survey from www.monologueaudition.com
Individuals have permission to duplicate or distribute this page if done so in its entirety.








