←Recommendations of I'm Having the Worst Day

A heartbreaking and accurate look at the grief of losing one's father to cancer.

This is a moving, surprising, and heartfelt piece about loss that would be a gift for any young actor.

There are so many delicious details to dive into Hageman's I'M HAVING THE WORST DAY. The imagery of the gum, the desperation surrounding life and death, the brutal honesty of Danielle's life and expectations for the future, but there's also some really lovely humor, which creates a rich and complex monologue ready for an actor to pick up and run with. I had tears in my eyes from reading it on my computer.

What a beautiful monologue about death and hope. This is so well done--the way it all begins about hearing another person saying they are having a bad day when Danielle is dealing with her father's pending death. The part where she talks about swallowing her gum instead of spitting it out and how the next day her dad shows a little improvement so she decides to keep swallowing the gum each visit was just so real and just one of the many moments that resonant with the reader long after this monologue is over.

The character of Danielle is a dynamic role for an auditioning or competing actor - dynamic even though she's severely depressed and a few days from losing her father to cancer. What's surprising about this monologue's execution is that it's not a one-note, flatlining monologue on melancholy. It's a believable voice of youth, angry and confused. It's a genuine examination of grief, and you may agree your worst day doesn't compare to hers. I would love to read dozens of monologues written by Hageman!