TRW is pleased to offer this exceptional and diverse collection of monologues, thoughtfully selected from the rich tapestry of plays we are proud to publish.
These outstanding monologues come from an eclectic group of contemporary playwrights, each with distinctive voices and styles — comic and dramatic, experimental and naturalistic, traditional and innovative — and written for a wide array of characters.
In this book, we know you’ll find monologues that are perfect for your auditions and theater classes.
In the near future, Stella and her fiancé, Bryan, are waiting at their remote cabin for Stella’s estranged twin sister, Cassie. Raised by their astronaut father to be NASA scientists, the twins have taken different paths: Cassie has just returned from a successful moon mission, while Stella left NASA behind. When Cassie arrives, old conflicts reignite, forcing the sisters to choose between life on Earth or pursuing a future in space, as humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. WALDEN is a thrilling and engrossing new play that wrestles between the gravitational pulls of duty and desire.
An acclaimed hit in New York and Los Angeles, FATHERLAND is the true story of the 18-year-old son who turned in the father he loves to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Fast-paced and powerful, this riveting drama erupts verbatim from official court transcripts, case evidence, and public statements from the explosive trial that ignited a media frenzy and grabbed headlines nationwide.
A delightful and hilarious entertainment awaits all in this gathering of absurdly inspired short plays. These tales of life and love feature shamelessly zany characters and locales and are full of twists and surprises—from a radio station in rural Arkansas with Bubba, a long-time on-air personality who realizes he may have gone too far when he spills some of the town’s juiciest secrets, to a year-round Christmas shop where the overworked proprietress slowly unravels as she attempts to train a new crew of seasonal ‘elves’. You’ll travel back in time to meet three sisters in the tiny town of Fayro, Texas, who are reeling from a huge family secret being revealed just minutes before Lady Bird Johnson rolls into their community for a whistle-stop picnic. Then brace yourself for a quick descent into an unusual locale—hint: it’s really hot down there—for a wickedly explosive men’s support group with Napoleon and Nero as they welcome a newbie into their ranks. Back in a slightly cooler climate—Florida—you’ll get to know a group of wise-cracking husbands who regularly gather on the benches at a discount department store as they wait for their wives to shop ‘til they drop, and watch their extreme reactions to a wife joining their group on the bench for the first time. Not to mention visits with two women having big trouble controlling a giant balloon in a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day parade, a man delivering a singing telegram who has a badly timed mid-life crisis, and a party planner desperately trying to buoy spirits during a gathering for a destination wedding on a disaster-plagued tropical isle. With all that, you have the ingredients for a delicious buffet of comedic delights. With no set required, this easy-to-produce show is perfect for smaller stages. As this flat-out funny Jones Hope Wooten comedy proves, when it comes to life and love, we’re all just sitting ducks!
GRAVITY takes place in the rooms of Isaac Newton at Cambridge University in September, 1693, when Newton went through what subsequent biographers would call a “discomfiture of the mind.” Newton’s tragic past, conflicted sexuality, heretical religious beliefs, and alchemical experimentation had led him to lock himself away in his rooms in an attempt to complete his greatest work. It features Newton’s friend, the philosopher John Locke, and Newton’s nemesis, Dr. Robert Hooke, a brilliant polymath and devoted ladies’ man, whose jealousy of Newton unhinged him from time to time. Finally, the play features the mysterious woman with whom Newton became “embroiled.”
Henry Boyle is a shy, reclusive Professor of Medieval Studies whose life falls apart when his wife divorces him. At the urging of a colleague who encourages him to try something different, Henry begins drinking absinthe and writes a best-selling book which transforms him into a pop-culture celebrity. As he visibly disintegrates in the public eye, his popularity soars as people anticipate a Van Gogh/Kurt Cobain explosion. Henry finds an ally in a castle-hunting waitress who helps him realize that his only chance at salvation is to become a nonentity again, but how is that possible in a celebrity-crazed culture?
In October of 1940, two years after Orson Welles’ infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast, Orson happened to be at the same hotel as H.G. Wells in San Antonio, Texas, on the same day. Orson is desperately trying to raise money to finish shooting Citizen Kane, and comes to H.G.’s room to ask a favor for his PR. But H.G. is still furious over Orson’s prank. Orson is 25 years old, H.G. is 75. Two men at the beginning and end of their careers battle it out. Based on true events.
2025 American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg Award Nominee
Three middle-aged women, friends since college, embark on what was billed as a high end wellness spa retreat only to discover one of them, with the help of her new and mysterious business partner, has changed the itinerary to a wilderness survival camp. As everything spins out of control, the play offers a hilarious take on unfulfilled dreams, finding our true selves, and the crucial bonds of female relationships. Can these lifelong friends survive bears, forest toilets and one another?
Who would you forgive?
Minnesota convicts who have served their time are given the opportunity after five years to apply for “Forgiveness.” Appearing in front of the Governor and his panel, they can explain, in ten minutes set by a timer, the reasons they want or deserve it. If they receive forgiveness, their rights as a citizen are restored: the ability to vote, possess firearms, and freedom to travel throughout the U.S. and abroad. They no longer have to identify themselves as former convicts, which makes a huge difference in their abilities to get better jobs and housing.
Your decision?
The audience votes to forgive or not forgive the four applicants.
Emilia is a devoted nurse in an ICU unit, highly regarded by her boss, Bess, and her peers: Amy, Mike, and the new hire Mandy, who Emilia has taken under her wing. When it’s discovered that someone on the unit is stealing medicine, the nurses are unsettled, particularly when an outsider shows up, effectively placing them all under a microscope. When the culprit is finally revealed, the nurses must fight to save themselves and the integrity of the unit.
