Monologues and Scenes for Middle School Actors

by Mary Hall Surface

Overview

This new collection of scenes and monologues offers drama teachers perfect material for middle school actors - short monologues, scenes for two to four actors, and scenes for six to eight actors. The material, which has grown out of Ms. Surface's extensive work with young people, is challenging, age-appropriate, and multicultural.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575251790
Publisher:	Smith & Kraus, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/1999
Series:	Young Actors Series
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.17(w) x 7.92(h) x 0.43(d)
Age Range:	12 - 14 Years

Editorial Reviews

This slim title from the Young Actors series is a practical resource that has been very well done. The short monologues are just thatone minute or less. These brief scenes are grouped by those written for females, for males, or for either. They cover the gamut from contemporary Kara pleading with her alcoholic mother to John reacting to the bombing of Pearl Harbor set in 1941. The monologues are not all emotional roller coastersthere is the gawky girl who wishes she had a boyfriend and the bored kid who is annoyed with his father for making him go to a museum. Subsequent chapters provide scenes for two, four, or six actors, with each scene lasting longer as the number of participants increase. The final chapter contains scenes that might last as long as twenty minutes. Although one can always make a case for sticking to the classics, the topics here are contemporary enough to interest teens and to stimulate conversation based on reactions to and feelings about the scenes. All are original excerpts from the author's own material, which is credited in the bibliography and source notes. Information about how to obtain performance rights to the author's complete plays is also included. Biblio. Source Notes. VOYA CODES: 5Q 2P M J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2000, Smith and Kraus, Ages 12 to 15, 192p, $11.95 Trade pb. Reviewer: Julie Hudson

VOYA

Gr 6-8-A welcome find for young actors in search of material for auditions. Drawn from Surface's own plays, the selections are predominantly contemporary slices of life, but there are a few pieces based on figures from history and folklore. The monologues take 1 minute or less in length; the scenes for 2-to-4 actors run 3-to-10 minutes, and those for groups, 7-to-20 minutes. The roles are geared specifically to performers ages 10 to 14, feature different ethnic backgrounds, and are gender balanced. Characters struggle with school, parents, and friends-situations with which students of this age can easily identify. Adolescent angst is very much in evidence, and characters frequently vacillate between the emotional peaks and valleys that mark relationships at this age. While this is in keeping with the middle-school personality, occasionally the changes seem somewhat exaggerated. Also, the treatment of a few themes is a bit hackneyed, such as those in the monologues of a girl who wants to find a boyfriend, and another who is embarrassed by her alcoholic mother. Still, the selections will appeal to most readers and may interest them in the original plays.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

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