111 One-Minute Monologues

My daughter is very pleased with this book. She takes an acting class and needs easy access to short monologues. She is almost 13 and this book was just right for her.

I bought this book for my daughter at the recommendation of her drama teacher. It has been very useful for both school performances and competition meets. Has some very fun monologues in it.

What a good series. I have read a great many pieces which purport to be written for this age group and unfortunately as a result am also painfully familiar with the dull subject matter or condescending manner which tend to emerge from a usually leaden series of diatribes. It is of great credit to the author that she not only puts words in the mouths of children which can be spoken with genuine interest, but also without losing the natural rhythm and swing of speech. A consistently good and deceptively skillful enterprise.

Over the years I've purchased a variety of monologues to use with my students in a summer theater program. Most of them are edited books that are okay but not very good to use with young teens. This is the first book that I must admit provided a lot of fun for my students. If anything, this is a review which reflects their impressions as well as my own. From my students, I heard comments like the following: "This is so much fun.", "Oh, I can identify with this." and "I want to do this one, you do the other." In short, my students identified with the subject matter because the monologues truly captured the essence of the teen years. The author, Kristen Dabrowski, used words to paint colorful images that provoked laughter, giggles and uproar. They are funny monologues. If there is a test for a book, it is how an actor and his/her audience reacts to the material. Well, this had an extremeful positive raction from my students. They all had their favorite monolgues. Like them, I also have some favorite monologues that I think are very creative. If you purchase the book, get a laugh by reading these particular ones: "The Smartass of Stratford," "Nickname Calling,"Family Vacation to Hell,"Woo-Hoo" and "Literature Losers." A great buy!

As a teacher, director and coach for young actors I was thrilled to discover Kristen Dabrowski's 111 One-Minute Monologues for Middle School Actors. I have been very frustrated in the past by the substandard material out there for kids. For example, many other books attemps at modern slang has been laughable and I end up spending class time helping my students find ways to make the language conversational rather than on the work itself. Dabrowski's monologues use the vernacular of today's middle schooler and the kids immediately relate to the conflicts she presents in her work. The monologues are fresh, funny and completely unique. And for young character actors there she provides a number of "period" monologues from such historical figures as an adolescent Martha Washington, Annie Oakley or William Shakespeare. My students enjoys these monologues so much they find it difficult to choose only a few to work on in class. I am eager to get my hands on more of Ms. Dabrowski's exciting new works! Two thumbs up!