"JOEY" - A Dramatic Monologue

JOEY is a haunting monologue that reveals the human cost of immigration policy through the voice of a child separated from his mother at the border. Unable to remember her, Joey constructs her from imagined fragments—her face, her voice, her touch—clinging to what was taken before memory could form. As the truth emerges, so does the lasting impact of that separation: a life shaped by absence, unanswered...

JOEY is a haunting monologue that reveals the human cost of immigration policy through the voice of a child separated from his mother at the border. Unable to remember her, Joey constructs her from imagined fragments—her face, her voice, her touch—clinging to what was taken before memory could form. As the truth emerges, so does the lasting impact of that separation: a life shaped by absence, unanswered questions, and enforced silence. Told not to remember, Joey cannot forget. The piece exposes the emotional toll of family separation, transforming policy into a deeply personal story of loss, identity, and enduring longing.

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"JOEY" - A Dramatic Monologue

Recommended by

  • Lee R. Lawing: "JOEY" - A Dramatic Monologue

    Something that no child should ever have to face and sadly it is all too real in today's world and headlines. Joey is a child who will break your heart as they recount all that they will never know about their mother or all of those things she will never know about them.

    Something that no child should ever have to face and sadly it is all too real in today's world and headlines. Joey is a child who will break your heart as they recount all that they will never know about their mother or all of those things she will never know about them.

  • Georgia Xanthopoulou: "JOEY" - A Dramatic Monologue

    It is a poetic monologue, a harsh yet tender work structured around the childhood trauma of separation. Donald Loftus shows remarkable sensitivity in the way the gap of knowledge is filled with imagined and relentless wonderings. Intimate and immersive.

    It is a poetic monologue, a harsh yet tender work structured around the childhood trauma of separation. Donald Loftus shows remarkable sensitivity in the way the gap of knowledge is filled with imagined and relentless wonderings. Intimate and immersive.

The actor playing Joey can be of any age, gender, or race.

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization DGPG and P.A.G.E.S.NEW YORK, Year 2018

Production History

  • Type Community Theater, Organization THE ACORN THEATRE THREE OAKS, MICHIGAN, Year 2025
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Ruth's Table Art Gallery Community Living Campaign San Francisco, CALIFORNIA, Year 2024
  • Type Fringe, Organization DRAMA WITH FRIENDS SAN FRANCISCO, CA , Year 2024
  • Type Fringe, Organization SOME 1 IS SPEAKING ROLAND TECH MONOLOGUE SERIES NEW YORK, NEW YORK , Year 2022
  • Type Fringe, Organization THE WILLIAM INGE THEATRE FESTIVAL INDEPENDENCE, KANSAS (COVID CANCELLED), Year 2022
  • Type Community Theater, Organization Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE , Year 2021
  • Type Fringe, Organization PERFORMING FUSION THEATRE SOMERVILLE THEATRE FESTIVAL BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, Year 2019
  • Type Fringe, Organization PLAYS AND PIZZA LUCKY JACKS NEW YORK, NEW YORK , Year 2018