Monologues Casting Directors Want to Watch

Casting directors look for active, character-driven monologues that showcase emotional range and strong acting choices. The best audition pieces feature a clear beginning, middle, and end, a strong objective, and a compelling point of view—all while keeping the runtime under 90 seconds

Definitely hit up our Monologue Hub because you will find thousands of monologues from our archive of play scripts.

What monologues do casting directors enjoy watching?

When it comes to monologues from published plays, there are a few fundamental guideposts that casting directors universally agree on. It’s good to be aware of what casting directors don’t like, this way you can better align yourself in the audition room with your own creative choices.

Here’s what casting directors aren’t big fans of:

Avoid Overdone Monologues – try to stay away from the monologues you’ve already heard about. If you know about it, chances are so does a casting director, and they’ve seen it a billion times before. That’s not to say you won’t do great work, but you are better off doing great work with unfamiliar material that will help you stand out, more than what’s already way too familiar.

Adjust to the Size of the Room – measure your expressiveness within the space of the room. There may be a tendency to act more physically expressive than the room permits, or perhaps underplay inside a larger room that calls for more expressiveness. Take the environment in which you are auditioning into account and adjust your tonality accordingly. This will increase the connection you wish to make with your casting director based on such efficiency.

Match the Genre and Tone of the Role – if there is a specific role you are going for, it’s a good idea to find a monologue closely related to the character to help provide a sense of how a casting director can see you playing the role.

Our choice of monologues run about 90 seconds or less to help keep brevity and pacing up.

People’s Lives

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Penelope
• Age Range: 20-40’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Calum saves Penelope from physical harm but must suffer the consequences of protecting the woman he loves.
• Monologue Snippet: “See these hands? They’re small, but they’ve done damage. I’ve protected myself my whole life. I don’t need him anymore, for anything.” ~Penelope
• [Read Full Monologue]

Treat Me Nice

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Corinne
• Age Range: 20-40’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Corinne wishes her mother for once would show some level of appreciation for how hard she works for her.
• Monologue Snippet: “I wish we were friends.  I, I don’t like waking up in the morning, scrambling your eggs with you shouting obscenities in the background at me about things that don’t deserve shouting.” ~Corinne
• [Read Full Monologue]

Waking Hours

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Willis
• Age Range: 20’s-30’s
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Willis recounts the story to his girlfriend about witnessing two birds on two different days, fly into a high-rise building.
• Monologue Snippet: “Why did I have to see that? Why? Do I need to see that? I’ve been wondering if there is some sort of metaphor to life I’m supposed to gather up from all that carnage or if I’m being given a sign” ~Willis
• [Read Full Monologue]

When The Cooking Is Done

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Marza
• Age Range: 40-60’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Marza wants to break free from herself and the family around her that bring her down.
• Monologue Snippet: “My life; our lives are theatre, aren’t they? We write our own narrative. And if something is wrong with your narrative, you must change it. You must be strong enough to change it!” ~Marza
• [Read Full Monologue]

Brush of Wind

• Genre: Serio-Comedy
• Character: Mullen
• Age Range: 20’s-40’s
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Mullen shows up in Lucretia’s garden to see  if she would like to join him for a swim in the ocean.
• Monologue Snippet: “Perhaps I was wrong in my assessment of the moment, but I believe that deep down, it’s what you most wanted. It is what you’ve always wanted since the moment I laid eyes on you.” ~Mullen
• [Read Full Monologue]

You Were Never There

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Faye
• Age Range: Teens
• Duration: 1-2 -minute monologue
• Description: Faye’s dad shows up at her job trying to develop a better relationship with her.
• Monologue Snippet: “Making me feel like I’m supposed to pretend the past never existed. I can’t start that way! I can’t act like that!” ~Faye
• [Read Full Monologue]

Half of Nothing

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Willard
• Age Range: 20-50’s
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Willard shows up at Ralph’s apartment demanding he gets paid back the money owed him.
• Monologue Snippet: “Debts need to get paid! I’m not a credit card company, Ralph! I’m not charging interest like a gangster; I’m your friend.” ~Willard
• [Read Full Monologue]

The Accusal

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Elly
• Age Range: 20′-40’s’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: June has been contemplating her own death and after a failed attempt she may see living life differently.
• Monologue Snippet: “Death? What death? I only meant to make a righteous meal. It was never meant for Ned…it was never meant to do anyone any harm.” ~Elly
• [Read Full Monologue]

Raison D’être

• Genre: Comedy
• Character: Marlo
• Age Range: 20’s-40’s
• Duration: 2-minute monologue
• Description: While talking to his best friend Sharon, Marlo makes a major realization about himself and how he chooses to live out the rest of his life.
• Monologue Snippet: “Just the other day I ran back and forth in my kitchen, until I slipped and went flying into the dish rack; had a fork sticking out of my forearm, deeply dangling there” ~Marlo
• [Read Full Monologue]

Wonderland

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Lexi
• Age Range: 30-50’s
• Duration: 2-minute monologue
• Description: Lexi involves herself with a friend in order to help guide her into making better life decisions.
• Monologue Snippet: “You stay with me..we’ll figure things out..maybe you could go to school or, or find some passion or, a career, a real career and you can build a whole new world for yourself.” ~Lexi
• [Read Full Monologue]

Vin Rogue

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Cosmo
• Age Range: 20’s-30’s
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Cosmo, Rianna and Tilda express themselves to one another while trying to discover who they are.
• Monologue Snippet: “Why can’t I watch a snail on a windowsill all day long? Why can’t I count how many dung eaters exist on a ball of manure?” ~Cosmo
• [Read Full Monologue]

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

• Genre: Comedy
• Character: Lara
• Age Range: 20’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Lara is depressed and angry over the fact the she and her boyfriend never go out to do anything fun.
• Monologue Snippet: “I have one life and I am going to live it.  You like staying home, all day, like an old man.  You don’t go out unless it’s for the store to get food.  All you think about is eating and sitting.” ~Lara
• [Read Full Monologue]

Crimson

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Chuckie
• Age Range: 20’s
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Holly meets with Chuckie in order to make an exchange, but Chuckie wishes to take her out for a cup of coffee.
• Monologue Snippet: “In the back of the diner, there’s a hallway where people hang their jackets. On the floor, there’s two tiles. There’s one green tile, and to the left of it is a crimson tile. Follow?” ~Chuckie
• [Read Full Monologue]

For All We’ve Got

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Luna
• Age Range: Teens
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Tash explains why she needs the chance to leave to go to New York City for what she believes is a better life.
• Monologue Snippet: “I wanna be somethin’ in my life..I wanna do somethin’. I don’t wanna be stuck here, in all this mess, just watchin’ days go like they’ve meant nothin’.” ~Tash
• [Read Full Monologue]

In the Murk of Night

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Edith
• Age Range: 60’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Edith goes on a rant to her son about how she didn’t truly live out her life’s potential.
• Monologue Snippet: “I’ve wasted my life and any time I’ve ever had on raising you to be cold, rotten, and careless… such as you’ve turned out. ” ~Edith
• [Read Full Monologue]

Waiting in the Wings

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Wendy
• Age Range: 20-30’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Wendy tries to justify the killing of her boss.
• Monologue Snippet: “I wasn’t up for anymore of his disgusting games. I couldn’t bare not one more second of it” ~Wendy
• [Read Full Monologue]

Number 23

• Genre: Comedy
• Character: Cal
• Age Range: 20’s-40’s
• Duration: 1-2-minute monologue
• Description: Cal visits the laundry shop to pick up Mrs. Hudgin’s gown only to discover that it was thrown out for reasons that aren’t exactly clear.
• Monologue Snippet: “You wouldn’t want to know her on one of her bad days, I’ve seen people hold their breath in utter fear from one of her furies; I’ve seen heads roll from their shoulders, caught in the wind of her storm” ~Cal
• [Read Full Monologue]

Nothing Matters

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Amber
• Age Range: Teens
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: As awkward as Amber can be, she communicates with honesty and truth.
• Monologue Snippet: “You don’t get your closest companions to listen to you in the same way. It’s more interesting when you don’t know someone, or so we think. We take each other’s words and time for granted.” ~Amber
• [Read Full Monologue]

Nine Times Out of Ten

• Genre: Serio-Comedy
• Character: Andy
• Age Range: 20-30’s
• Duration: 2-minute monologue
• Description: Andy talks to his best friend Ishi about how a customer in the shop he works at called him “off” and he can’t seem to shake the truth of it.
• Monologue Snippet: “To me, if I call someone off, it means they are off, as in, crazy or not wrapped too tight. Like, something’s not working right upstairs.” ~Andy
• [Read Full Monologue]

A Leave of Absence

• Genre: Drama
• Character: Leslie
• Age Range: 20’s-40’s
• Duration: 1-minute monologue
• Description: Leslie asks her boss Mr. Putnam for time off from work.  Although Mr. Putnam agrees to Leslie’s leave, there seems to be something undercurrent that he deeply desires to get off from his chest.
• Monologue Snippet: “You are a good man, Mr. Putnam. There is no need to worry in what you wish to communicate.” ~Leslie
• [Read Full Monologue]

Weight in Gold

• Genre: Comedy
• Character: Bill
• Age Range: 20-40’s
• Duration: 2-minute monologue
• Description: Bill talks to his partner Reed about the opportunity for them to rob Stanley’s apartment, but Reed confesses he’s been doing scores with a different guy and because of it their business relationship may come to an end.
• Monologue Snippet: “Where do we go from here? I got the full report. I know who it is, what was said, and why. But no cops. I’m not going to the police ’cause I’m not getting my name involved.” ~Bill
• [Read Full Monologue]

Final Thoughts

Casting directors would like to see dynamic, original monologues that demonstrate emotional versatility and demonstrates your specific type and range.

Try to keep your monologues under 90 seconds, and ensure it fits the genre of the project you are auditioning for.