Recommended by Monica Cross

David Lipschutz has given us a gift of a monologue. THE BERENSTAIN BEARADOX is so beautifully meta! It's short and hilarious and fourth wall breaking all at the same time. If you are a man looking for a short comic monologue, this is the one for you!

How Charming! Jacquie Floyd-Priskorn gives us a beautiful monologue for a teenage boy. It modernizes the classic Cinderella story in a way that young actors will just "get." If you are coaching teenager actors, put this on the top of your recommendations for your students.

Jacquie Floyd-Priskorn has created an infinitely charming way to talk about depression. This play is fully of goofy characters that would immensely fun to play (and watch)! I can imagine this play with bare bones and a sparse set just as easily as I could imagine full blown FX makeup and a decked out set dressings. Regardless of how you play it, LIVE, LAUGH, LOBOTOMIZE has a powerful message for anyone who finds themselves trapped in the darkness.

Jim Beaver's Night Riders is a powerful 10-minute play. The cadence of the two brothers' speech immerses the reader/audience immediately into the world the characters inhabit. Jim Beaver demonstrates mastery over what is left unsaid. Over and over again through this tight play, the brothers' inability to articulate their grief reveals so much about the character of these men and the society which bread them. This is a fantastic play for actors who want to dive deep into their characters.

THINGS I LEARNED CAREENING TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE is a lovely holiday slice of life with family problems and Star Trek metaphors. A beautiful short for any seasonal show.

Jillian Blevins uses the common mythology of Medusa to show us how women can protect one another even when they themselves have survived so much. This play is heart felt and oh so very smart. It has so much stunning potential for design. And includes a role for a blind/vision impaired actor.

Growing up in a small town trying to navigate geek culture as a woman, I feel so incredibly connected to Bethany Dickens Assaf's play! SLAYMAKER does not condemn geek culture as misogynistic but rather exposes how misogyny and abuse are excused within geek culture as "just part of the game." While geek culture has become more mainstream, the subset of geek culture that Bethany highlights (those in small economically depressed towns who use geek culture as an escape) is still underrepresented.

The urgency! TOTALITY is a brilliant short sci-fi love story that is infused with an overwhelming sense of urgency. Chase D. Fowler has given us a beautiful snap shot of a relationship that needs no backstory and leaves us with the longing of hope for a future. But in this moment we have two characters who just don't have enough time in the present. It would be a great scene for actors wanting to work on stakes or inclusion in any short play festival.

THE DEATH OF JULIET is a stand alone monologue that can be part of a larger play (THE SECRET MUSE) which adds other characters and creates a larger world in which Ned is a part. I love THE DEATH OF JULIET as a stand alone monologue because it feels like a celebration of the unspoken history of queer performers. NED is created for an AMAB trans actor to share the experience of gender euphoria that can be found through acting (in particular playing Juliet and Cleopatra).

I had the honor of being the dramaturg on the staged reading of THE SECRET MUSE at Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival in 2024.

Mark Evan Chimsky has given us a moment in history to imagine the queer experiences we don't have records of. Infused with so much historical detail that we do know, this monologue cycle feels very real and raw and immediate (even though the characters are speaking from the afterlife).

The role of Ned is much needed part for AMAB trans actors.