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MONOLGUE IDEAS FOR GIRLS
1-Heidi
By Johanna Spyri
Adapted from the novel by Lorraine Cohen
Heidi, a child of 5 with a sunny disposition, love, warmth, and humor, has been orphaned. She is taken to her
grandfather’s hut in the Swiss Alps to live. He is at first sullen over his new responsibility but eventually is charmed by
the child. Heidi is blissfully happy in the mountains and makes friends with the goats, Peter (the goatherd), and Peter’s
blind grandmother. Soon Heidi is taken away to Frankfurt to become educated and to be a friend to Clara, a sick little
girl of eight of nine.
The following monologues are from the same scene. Heidi has just arrived at Clara’s home. This is the first moment
the two girls are alone together. The girls are kind to each other, but they want different things. Clara desperately
wants Heidi to stay and be her best friend, while Heidi wants desperately to return home to the mountains. Clara
offers Heidi some of the fanciest food Heidi has ever seen, but Heidi can only think of going home.
Heidi: Oh I’m not going to eat it. I’m going to save it for Peter’s grandmother, it’s
so soft and she has lost all her teeth. (pause) I must go home, Clara. I must go home. There are only walls here. I
want to see the fir trees blowing in the wind like they do at Grandfather’s. They make such
lovely sounds. And I want to see the mountains touching the sky. Oh, Clara! And Grandfather, he needs me. And
Peter’s grandmother needs me. And the goat needs me. I have the loveliest little goat. His name is Little Swan. He
must be wondering where I am.
Clara: You can’t go Heidi. You have to stay here. You’re such a long way from your grandfather. Oh, Heidi please
don’t cry. It makes me so sad to see you cry. We could be such good friends and I need you too, just as badly as
Peter’s grandmother. Heidi would you like to pray? Would that help? Don’t you ever pray? When I have troubles
and Papa isn’t here, it helps me to talk to God. Don’t you ever want to talk to him? He always listens. (pause) And if
you whisper I won’t hear you.
2-The Member of the Wedding
by Carson McCullers
This play is about the character of Frankie, a girl of 12, who, in her restless adolescent way, is trying to find out where
she belongs. She feels she has outgrown her small world—her remote father, her housekeeper Bernice, and the little
boy next door, John Henry. Her brother, who has just returned from the Army, is about to be married. Frankie wants
desperately to become a part of this new exciting world and to go away with him and his bride on their honeymoon.
In the following (3) monologues she is thinking and feeling her way towards her plan to become a member of
the wedding. It is early evening and she and John Henry are in the yard. She is talking to John Henry because he is
there, but she is really talking to herself. She is convincing herself that her plan for her future is the right path.
Frankie: I told Bernice I was leavin’ this town for good and she did not believe me. Sometimes I honestly think she
is the biggest fool that ever drew breath. You try and impress something on a big fool like that, and it’s just like
talking to a block of cement. I kept on telling and telling and telling her. I told her I had to leave this town for good
because it is inevitable.
Roanoke Children’s Theatre
P.O. Box 4392 Roanoke, VA 24015
Located in The Dumas Center
www.roanokechildrenstheatre.org
Office 540-400-7795 or 540-309-6802
Box Office 540-224-1200
info@roanokechildrenstheatre.org
Frankie: Don’t bother me John Henry. I’m thinking. About the wedding. About my brother and the bride.
Everything’s been so sudden today. I never believed before about the fact that the earth turns at the rate of about
a thousand miles a day. I didn’t understand why it was that if you jumped into the air you wouldn’t land in Selma or
Fairview or somewhere else instead of the same back yard. But now it seems to me I feel the world going around
very fast. (Frankie begins turning around in circles with her arms outstretched) I feel it turning and it makes me
dizzy.
Frankie: Shush, just now I realized something. The trouble with me is that for a long time I have been just an “I”
person. All other people can say “we.” When Bernice says “we” she means her lodge and church. Soldiers can say
“we” and mean the army. All people belong to a “we” except me. Not to belong to a “we” makes you too lonesome.
Until this afternoon I didn’t have a “we” but now after seeing Janice and Jarvis I suddenly realize something. I know
that the bride and my brother are the “we” of me. This coming Sunday when my brother and the bride leave this
town, I’m going with the two of them to Winter Hill. And after that to whatever place that they will ever go. (pause)
I love the two of them so much because they are the we of me.
3-Little Women
Based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott
Adapted for the stage by John D. Ravold
“Little Women” is the story of the trials and tribulations of the March family. The lady-like Meg, the tomboyish Jo, the
vain Amy, and the gentle Beth, are all coming of age in the nineteenth-century, poor but happy, under the watchful
eye of their mother. Their father is away fighting in the Civil
War.
In the following monologue Beth March, a very sick girl in her early-mid teens, tells her sister Jo that she knows she is
dying, and has very little time left. Beth is scared, but does not want to show Jo her fear. Beth has always been
incredibly generous and thought of others before herself. Here she tries to comfort Jo and ensure that her family will
be able to stay strong after she has gone.
***This is a very challenging monologue. Do not play it “sad.” They key is to show Beth’s quiet strength. Even when
she is most afraid she puts the welfare of her family before her own. If tears come that is fine, but do not try to make
them happen.
Beth: You’ll tell the others won’t you Jo? I’ve heard that people who love us best are often blindest to such things.
If they don’t see it you can tell them for me. I don’t want any secrets and it’s kinder to prepare them. Meg has John
to comfort her, Laurie will comfort Amy, but you must stand by Father and Mother. Won’t you, Jo? I don’t know
how to express myself and shouldn’t try to anyone but you, because I can’t speak out to anyone but you. Jo, dear.
Don’t hope anymore. It won’t do any good. I’m sure of it. We won’t be miserable, but enjoy being together while
we wait. We’ve had happy times together, haven’t we Jo? And I think the tide will go out easily, if you help me.
4-Anne of Green Gables
By L.M. Montgomery
Adapted for the stage by Joseph Robinette
“Anne of Green Gables” tells the story of an imaginative and passionate little orphan named Anne Shirley. She has
been brought to the home of an older brother and sister, Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert, by mistake. The two were
expecting a boy to come from the orphanage to help with the farm work. Anne’s wild imagination and temperamental
ways both endear her to the pair of siblings and make her a challenging addition to the family.
In this first monologue, Anne is apologizing to Marilla’s closest friend Mrs. Rachel Lynde. In the previous scene Mrs.
Lynde criticized Anne’s appearance, making fun of her red hair and her boyish figure. Anne called Mrs. Lynde a thing
or two in return causing Marilla to threaten to send Anne back the orphanage unless she apologized to Mrs. Lynde.
With flair for the dramatic and a heartfelt sincerity Anne delivers an apology that ensures she will stay at Green
Gables
Anne: Oh, Mrs. Lynde, I’m so extremely sorry. I could never express my sorrow even if I used a whole dictionary.
I’ve behaved badly toward you, and disgraced my dear friends, Mathew and Marilla, who have let me stay at Green
Gables even though I’m not a boy. And you did tell the truth. My hair is red, and I’m freckled and skinny and ugly. If
you don’t forgive me, it will inflict a lifetime of sorrow on a poor little orphan girl. Please say you’ll forgive me, Mrs.
Lynde.
In a previous scene, Anne invites her best friend Diana over to tea and mistakenly gives
her wine to drink. Diana rapidly becomes drunk and as a result Diana’s mother no longer
allows Anne to speak to her. After Anne is severely punished for an outburst of temper at
school, Diana attempts to comfort her. In the following monologue Anne interrupts Diana
and says goodbye in her truly dramatic fashion.
Anne: No you mustn’t speak to me, Diana. You must honor your mother’s orders. Oh, Diana, now we won’t ever
see each other again. But in the years to come, thy memory will shine like a star over my lonely life. I read that
somewhere. Wilt thou give me a lock of thy jet-black tresses in parting to treasure forevermore? Now you must go,
lest we be seen together. Fare thee-well, my beloved friend. Henceforth we must be strangers, though my heart will
ever be faithful to thee.
5-Brighton Beach Memoirs
By Neil Simon
Set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York in 1937, this coming-of-age comedy focuses on Eugene
Morris Jerome, a Polish-Jewish American teenager who experiences puberty, and a search for identity as he tries to
deal with his family, including his older brother Stanley, his parents Kate and Jack, and Kate's sister Blanche and her
two daughters, Nora (16) and Laurie (13), who come to live there after their father's death. Laurie has a chronic illness
that the family must cater to. Nora has often felt less important in her mother’s eyes.
In this monologue Nora is confronting her mother about their relationship.
Nora: Judge you? I can't even talk to you. I don't exist to you. I have tried so hard to get close to you, but there was
never any room. Whatever you had to give went to Daddy, and when he died, whatever was left you gave to-- ...
(pause)I have been jealous my whole life of Laurie, because she was lucky enough to be born sick. I could never
turn a light on in my room at night or read in bed because Laurie always needed her precious sleep. I could never
have a friend over on weekends because Laurie was always resting. I used to pray I'd get some terrible disease or
get hit by a car and have a leg all twisted or crippled and then once, maybe just once, I'd get to crawl into bed with
you on a cold rainy night and talk to you and hold you until I fell asleep in your arms...just once...
6-You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown
By Clark Gesner
Based on the Comic Strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schultz
Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Sally, Schroeder, and Snoopy all gather onstage for this fun-filled live action version of the
comic strip. Charlie Brown is thoughtful and hopeful as usual, and all the other characters retain their dynamic
personalities we remember. Though they all assure Charlie Brown that he is a “good man” despite his obvious flaws,
he wonders if he really is what they say. Throughout the play he tries to decide how he can really become a good
person.
Sally has just received a “C” grade on her elementary school art project. In this monologue she will attempt to
convince her teacher to raise her grade to a more appropriate letter.
Sally: A “C”? A “C”? I got a “C” on my coat hanger sculpture? How could anyone get a “C” in coat hanger sculpture?
May I ask a question? Was I judged on the piece of sculpture itself? If so, is it not true that time alone can judge a
work of art? Or was I judged on my talent? If so, is it fair that I be judged on a part of my life over which I have no
control? If I was judged on my effort, then I was judged unfairly, for I tried as hard as I could! Was I judged on what
I had learned about this project? If so, then were not you, my teacher, also being judged on your ability to transmit
your knowledge to me? Are you willing toshare my “D”? Perhaps I was being judged on the quality of coat hanger
itself out of which my creation was made...now is this not also unfair? Am I to be judged by the quality of coat
hangers that are used by the dry-cleaning establishment that returns our garments? Is that not the responsibility of
my parents? Should they not share my “D”? (pauses) Thank you, Miss Othmar. (to audience) The squeaky wheel
gets the grease!
Lucy shares her career goals with her unbelieving friends in this comedic monologue.
Lucy: Do you know what I intend? I intend to be a queen. When I grow up I’m going to be the biggest queen there
ever was, and I’ll live in a big palace and when I go out in my coach, all the people will wave and I will shout at
them, and...and...in the summertime I will go to my summer palace and I’ll wear my crown in swimming and
everything, and all the people will cheer and I will shout at them... What do you mean I can’t be queen? Nobody
should be kept from being a queen if she wants to be one. It’s usually just a matter of knowing the right people..
..well.... if I can’t be a queen, then I’ll be very rich then I will buy myself a queendom. Yes, I will buy myself a
queendom and then I’ll kick out the old queen and take over the whole operation myself. I will be head queen."
Here Lucy seizes another opportunity to show her elevated level of knowledge. She is constantly instructing Linus (or
anyone else that will listen) and in this case her subject is Charlie Brown’s face.
Lucy: Now Linus, I want you to take a good look at Charlie Brown's face. Would you please hold still a minute,
Charlie Brown, I want Linus to study your face. Now, this is what you call a Failure Face, Linus. Notice how it has
failure written all over it. Study it carefully, Linus. You rarely see such a good example. Notice the deep lines, the
dull, vacant look in the eyes. Yes, I would say this is one of the finest examples of a Failure Face that you're liable to
see for a long while.
7-The Fantasticks
By Tom Jones
This charming musical fable tells the tale of two young neighbors Luisa (age 16) and Matt (19) who are unknowingly
pushed together by their fathers. It is told in the style of a fairy tale complete with a mysterious narrator names El
Gallo: boy meets girl, they are kept a part by parents, boy rescues girl and parents relent to the match. However in Act
II the fairy tale turns sour. The young couple fight separate, see the world, and eventually discover all they ever
wanted was each other.
In the following monologue, Luisa introduces herself to the audience. She is an unusual, spirited and imaginative girl
who is not shy about sharing her hopes and fears. The poetic style the monologue is written in should influence the
fairy tale tone of the piece, but it should be delivered as if you were reading a poem. Pay attention to character, train
of thought etc. ‘
Luisa: This morning a bird woke me up.
It was a lark or a peacock,
Or something like that.
Some strange sort of bird that I’d never heard.
And I said “hello”
And it vanished: flew away.
The very minute that I said “hello.”
It was mysterious
So do you know what I did?
I went over to my mirror
And brushed my hair two hundred times
Without stopping.
And as I was brushing it,
My hair turned gold!
No, honestly! Gold!
And then red.
And then sort of a deep blue when the sun hit it.
I’m sixteen years old,
And every day something happens to me.
I don’t know what to make of it.
When I get up in the morning to get dressed,
I can tell:
Something’s different.
8-The Effect of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds
By Paul Zindel
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama, this play is the story of Mathilda (Tillie) Hunsdorfer, a bookish, shy, yet
inwardly beautiful young high school student who overcomes abuse from a jealous and acid-tongued mother and the
vengeance of a pretty but mean-spirited sister. Encouraged by a teacher, Tillie carries out a gamma ray experiment
with marigold seeds that wins her a prize at the school Science Fair. Through Tillie’s experiment we learn that beauty
can flourish even in the most barren conditions.
In the two monologues that follow Tillie is awakened to the beauty of science.
Tillie: Today I saw it. Behind the glass a white cloud began to form. He placed a small piece of metal in the center
of the chamber and we waited until I saw the first one- a trace of smoke that came from nowhere and then
disappeared. And then another and another, until I knew it was coming from the metal. They looked like water
sprays from a park fountain, and they went on and on for as long as I watched. And he told me the fountain of
smoke would come forth for a long time, and if I had wanted to, I could have stayed there all my life and would
never had ended—that fountain, so close I could have touched it.
Tillie: He told me to look at my hand, for a part of it came from a star that exploded too long ago to imagine. This
part of me was formed from a tongue of fire that screamed through the heavens until there was our sun. And this
part of me—this tiny part of me was on the sun when it itself exploded and whirled in a great storm until the
planets came to be. And he said this thing was so small—this part of me was so small it couldn’t be seen—but it
was there from the beginning of the world.
And he called this bit of me an atom. And when he wrote the word, I fell I love with it.
Atom.
Atom.
What a beautiful word.