10 Monologues from Characters Fighting with Siblings

Written by Ashleigh Gardner

March 24, 2017

Looking for a monologue to add to your collection that digs deep into the relationship between siblings? We’ve got ten from our collection that reveal how hard it is to get along with a brother or a sister.

A monologue from Cooperstown by Brian Golden

(Female, Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
Sharree, an activist African-American woman, and Junior, her brother, sit in the diner. Sharree is Junior’s baby sister. She is a firebrand and fiercely smart. Junior has just told Sharree that Jimmy Fletcher, the owner of the diner, is having the Hall of Fame dinner at the diner, and Junior has an idea to convince Jimmy to promote him to manager. Sharree tells him he is stupid to think that a simple thing would convince Jimmy to give Junior a raise, especially after all the big things Junior has done for Jimmy that have gotten him nowhere. She tells him she’ll leave if Jackie Robinson and his fans visit the diner the next day.

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A monologue from Desperate Territory by Jennie S. Redling

(Female, Dramatic, 20s – 30s)
Preparations for a yard sale surround Georgia’s New Jersey backyard. She lifts a picnic basket which summons a memory of the first time her marriage appeared to be suffering because she and Michael chose to share her late parents’ apartment with her brother. A quarrel sends Michael out and she tries to explain to Ben how she fell in love with Michael.

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A monologue from Lizzie Borden by Michael Wanzie

(Female, Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
Lizzie has approached her sister Emma who is waiting for a train departing their home in Fall River for good to apologize for all the wrong Emma has suffered in her life, much at the hand of Lizzie.

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A monologue from Burying Miss America by Brian Golden

(Female, Dramatic, 20s – 30s)
A funeral home in Nebraska. Jean blames her brother for inheriting everything of their mother’s personality, both the good and bad. She recounts all the traits that Boxer got but she didn’t — stoicism, charm, good looks — and, in doing so, asserts what she’s long believed: that she was never their mother’s favorite child. Jean makes clear that she believes Boxer’s never earned anything in his life because he inherited everything he needed from their Mom.

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If I Only Had a Brain by R.J. Ryland

(Female, Dramatic, Juniors – Teens)
This monologue is not from a play; it is a standalone piece. This scene is entitled “If I Only Had a Brain.”  A child who has been covering for their mean brother for a long time speaks up and admits their actions. They have been sticking up for their brother and putting up with his shenanigans for ages, but there’s nothing the child can do until they “get a brain.” A good monologue for an actor exploring family dynamics.

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A monologue from Wild by Crystal Skillman

(Male, Dramatic, 20s – 30s)

The shore of a beach during early afternoon. Vin, a stranger Peter has never met before today, is sitting on his towel on the beach. Vin is a grad student at Northwestern, and Peter is the Junior Client Reporting Associate at Mesirow Financial.  Peter’s father is dying, and his family does not accept that Peter is gay. His family passive-aggressively blames Peter for his father being in the hospital. In addition, Peter has been unfaithful to Bobby, his partner, and slept with a woman. Peter is struggling with low self-worth and venting to Vin, who is willingly listening to Peter’s troubles.

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A monologue from Beckett at Greystones Bay by Rosary O’Neill

(Male, Dramatic, 20s – 30s)
The drama is based on a turning point in the life of the young writer, Samuel Beckett. Set on the exotic rocky coast of Ireland in the 1930’s, Beckett must choose between leaving his country for psychotherapy or abandoning his talent. While facing the sea, he carries on imaginary confrontations with his father, mother, sister and lovers as only Beckett can. A tour de force characterization for a stellar actor, the play exposes the contentious mind of the emerging world-famous playwright. Samuel Beckett, a writer, 27. His father has recently died and Sam has retreated to the beach near his house. He speaks to his older brother. Greystones Bay, Ireland, winter, 1933. Dusk.

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A monologue from Cowbirds by DT Arcieri

(Male, Dramatic, 20s – 30s)
Tommy’s father died the day he was born, and he has cared for his blind mother for a number of years. He believes his birth was an accident, and that his mother shows him constant resentment because of it. Nevertheless, he stays at home with her while his sister, 15 years his senior, drinks helplessly and dances at a topless bar because it’s the only job she can keep. He has two degrees in Ornithology but has decided to go back for his doctorate. In this monologue, he is convincing Candy to come back home and take a turn caring for their mother so he can go back to school.

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A monologue from Burning the Old Man by Kelly McAllister

(Male, Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
The lobby of a run-down motel. Two brothers, Marty and Bobby, are on their way to the Burning Man Festival, an annual desert gathering based on a radical, self-expression, to bury their father’s ashes. Bobby, the younger, smokes weed in the back seat and sets their mother’s car on fire. It then blows up. Bobby is on the phone with his mother.

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A monologue from Degas in New Orleans by Rosary O’Neill

(Male, Dramatic, 20s)
René is explaining to his elder brother, the painter Edgar Degas, as to why he stole family money and is having an affair with his wife’s best friend.  Place — the Degas/Musson home. New Orleans, 1872.

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Looking for other monologue collections? Check out the ones below!

Ashleigh Gardner received her AA in Theatre/Drama/Dramatic Arts from Valencia College and her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright and an actor.