The Contemporary monologue is a collection of the best stage monologues of the past decade. It brings together a selection from some of the most vital and award-winning plays by major playwrights produced by British and American theatres. This volume includes monologues of all types--from serious to comic and shades in between--to provide a varied, dramatic challenge for any actor: professional, student or amateur. Here is a resource for auditions, acting classes, competitions and rehearsals. A fuller appreciation of each speech is enhanced by the editors' introductions and commentaries which put in performance context each monologue and character plus the play from which they are drawn.

Play sources (p. 129-130).

Angels in America / Tony Kushner -- Assassins / Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman -- Babies / Jonathan Harvey -- Belfry / Billy Roche -- Berlin Bertie / Howard Brenton -- Boy with beer / Paul Boakye -- Boys' life / Howard Korder -- Burn this / Lanford Wilson -- Cigarettes and chocolate / Anthony Minghella -- Dancing Attendance / Lucy Gannon -- Death and the maiden / Ariel Dorfman -- Dog / Steven Berkoff -- The fastest clock in the universe / Philip Ridley -- Frankie and johnny in the Clair de Lune / Terrence McNally -- The Gigli concert / Tom Murphy -- Hard feelings / Doug Lucie -- Imagine drowning / Terry Johnson -- La Bete / David Hirson -- The last Yankee / Arthur Miller -- Laughing wild / Christopher Durang / Molly Sweeney / Brian Friel -- Moonlight / Harold Pinter -- The normal heart / Larry Kramer -- Oleanna / David Mamet -- The pitchfork Disney / Philip Ridley -- Playing by the rules -- Rod Dungate -- Progress / Doug Lucie -- Search and destroy / Howard Korder -- Serious money / Caryl Churchill -- Six degrees of separation / John Guare -- Someone who'll watch over me / Frank McGuinness -- Speed-the-plow / David Mamet -- Sates of shock / Sam Shepard -- Talking heads / Alan Bennett -- Three hotels / Jon Robin Baitz -- To / Jim Cartwright -- Two Shakespearean actors / Richard Nelson -- A wholly healthy Glasgow / Iain Heggie -- The woman who cooked her husband / Debbie Isitt -- Women laughing / Michael Wall -- Your home in the West / Rod Wooden.