Monologue for a middle aged woman, comedy.  Character, Wanda, is described as "Older professional woman. Warm but not inclined to suffer fools."

Monologue has hook opening "We are living in an insane world" and goes on to explore how Wanda used to have a dream about her "crazy" grandmother, who believed money should not be trusted with banks but kept in false bottom shoes.  In Wanda's dream she'd introduce her grandma to financial journalist Kai Ryssdal of NPRs Marketplace to talk some sense into her about putting her money into banks.  However, post financial crisis with her own home in danger of being taken back by the banks, Wanda still has a dream of her grandma meeting Kai, but now its so she could watch her grandma slap him across his face.   

​You can find the monologue on page 308 of ​Humana Festival 2012: The Complete Plays. 

You'll find this two minute audition monologue for a woman in her 30's to 40's on page 21 of "Bad Dates" the comic play by Theresa Rebeck.  The monologue starts with the semi-hook "So I'm like, OK, this is just a date that's not going to work out."  Instantly we the audience are a close friend hearing about the character's dating misadventures.  The monologist goes on to tell us how as the guy on this hopeless date talks to her she realizes they're sort of kindred spirits and she feels sort of bad for him.  They've both just recently been through breakups from long term relationships and are getting back out there.  

But just as she's starting to have real sympathy for his situation he begins explaining that it was actually HE who did the breaking up even though he's all sad it had to end.  Our monologist tries to figure out why he ended the relationship and all he can say is he couldn't see "the end of the movie" with the person. After "going around in circles" trying to understand what he means, she concludes that he ended a good relationship because he got an insane metaphor stuck in his head.

​In terms of the ten elements of great audition monologues, this one gets solid marks for elements 1, 4 and 5.  The monologist has a strong desire to make a connection, the piece has a decent hook opening that grabs our attention partly because of how relatable and natural the dialogue sounds, and it has a very good button closing because the monologue's frustration level sort of blows comically on the last line "is it possible you broke up with the woman you loved because of some insane metaphor?"

The monologue gives you varied emotions to play, a journey to go on from feeling defeated (date is going nowhere) to sympathetic (poor guy he's also recovering from a long term relationship like me) to frustrated (this idiot ended a good relationship for NO reason!). 

Preview the monologue on google books here.    Get the play here.

I saw this contemporary dramatic monologue for men while watching Breaking Bad and it blew me away. You'll find the monologue within Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 10 at 23 minutes into the episode. The monologue is spoken by the character Walt who is in his forties.

The monologue is short under two minutes and exemplifies elements 1-6 and 8 of Monologue Writing 101. The night prior to the monologue Walt's son, Walt Jr., had come to his father's condo to check if everything was alright, because Walt had missed Walt Jr.'s 16th birthday celebration. Walt Jr. finds his father looking beat up, Walt's been in a fight, and drunk. In his drunken weakened state Walt had spoken briefly to his son and then passed out. The monologue takes place the next morning.

In the monologue Walt shares the story of his one real memory of his own father, who died of Huntington's disease when Walt was very young. Walt's memory is of a father who was very sick, barely hanging onto life, who could no longer speak, and who may no longer even have fully recognized him. Walt's only real memory of his father is of a shell of a man. Walt wants his own son, Walt Jr., to remember him at his best. Walt does not want Walt Jr. to remember him the way he was the night before; drunk, beaten, incoherent.

For actors auditioning for a dramatic role, who want to demonstrate they can achieve a layered, nuanced performance - this monologue delivers.

Per Monologue Writing 101, this monologue exemplifies the following elements:

Element 1: Walt has a strong desire for his son to have a positive memory of him. He wants his son to forget what he saw last night.

Element 2: Walt has at stake how his son sees and esteems him. As a father, Walt cares deeply how he will be remembered by his son when he is gone.

Element 3: Walt tries a few tactics to get his son to forget about his lapse in character. He apologizes to his son, he shows his son he feels ashamed, he uses self-deprecation, and finally he opens up about his own father. The memory he shares is something very personal that he has never told his son before.

Element 4: The opening of the monologue serves as an effective hook. It sets up the current state of the relationship dynamic and the want that the speaker has in that relationship. It pulls us in. We want to see if Walt will win over his son. "I wish I could take back last night. It was your birthday, this shouldn’t be on your mind. No it’s not okay, I’m your father and I don’t want last night to be…. I mean you, you really … you can’t think of me like …"

Element 5: The close of the monologue has a solid "button" ending. It effectively connects the past action from Walt's childhood back to the present action between Walt and Walt Jr. and to the strong character want established at the start of the monologue. By the end of the monologue, Walt's want has more weight and has engaged the empathy of Walt Jr. "That is the only real memory that I have of my father. I don’t want you to think of me the way I was last night. I don’t want that to be the memory you have of me when I’m gone."

Element 6: This is an excellent example of a monologue that engages the senses. Walt remembers the smell in hospital where he visited his father, the "stench of Lysol and bleach." He remembers seeing his father lying in bed "all twisted up." And he remembers the sound of his father breathing like "this rattling sound. Like if you were shaking an empty spray paint can. Like there was nothing in him."

Element 8: Past action is used to drive home the present want of the monologist. Walt uses his memory as a tactic to engage his son's empathy, to persuade his son. The author does a good job keeping past action tied to present action.

Here is one example from the monologue where Walt uses a specific detail from the past as a means to connect to his son in the present: "My mother would tell me so many stories about my father. I mean she would talk about him all the time. I knew about his personality, how he treated people, I even knew how he liked his steaks cooked. Medium rare, just like you."

Comedic monologue, female, teen, contemporary. 1 minute monologue.

The character's name is Howdy, she's 17 and overweight.

This monologue for a young women has a clear objective for an actress: convince Mrs. Becker, who believes the monologist is without ambition, that she in fact has BIG ambitions. She's going to join the World Wrestling Federation and become " BOOGER WOMAN" who will be "the hero for all fat girls."

Per Monologue Writing 101 this monologue is notable for its:

• Strong Want - Howdy's desire to standup to Mrs. Becker jumps off the page.  A+
• Engage the Senses - the monologue is filled with visual and to a lesser extent tactile language.  A
• Hook Opening - interesting word choice plus effectively engages the audience's attention on the monologue's premise.  A-
• Button Closing - finishes strong, building energy to a climax and sticking it to Mrs. Becker.  A

Available on page 10 of "222 Comedy Monologues 2 Minutes and Under."