8 of the Best Monologues from Characters on the Defensive : PerformerStuff More Good Stuff

8 of the Best Monologues from Characters on the Defensive

Written by Meghan Mitchell

May 1, 2017

Looking for a monologue where characters need to defend themselves? These monologues feature characters looking to defend themselves, friends and family, or the situation in which they have found themselves. Whether standing up for their beliefs, family, or, in some cases, an inanimate object, these characters want to make a difference when others have trouble making their own voice heard.

A monologue from Immaculate by Oliver Lansley

(Female, Serio-Comedic, Late teens-40s)
Mia finds herself pregnant despite splitting up from her ex-boyfriend Michael eleven and a half months ago, and despite not having had sex in all that time. It turns out that Mia has been supernaturally impregnated, with Archangel Gabriel and Lucifer both claiming parentage. In the meantime, her best friend Rebecca has been (secretly) sleeping with Michael. But when Michael finds out that Mia is pregnant and tells Rebecca, she immediately assumes (wrongly) that Michael is the father and that Mia and Michael are still sleeping with each other. She arrives at Mia’s flat to confront the situation.

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A monologue from Japes by Simon Gray

(Male, Dramatic, 20s)
Michael and Jason’s parents are dead. The young men have shared ownership of the house they grew up in and where they continue to live. Here, close to the start of the play, they have been discussing Michael’s girlfriend Anita. Michael has asked Jason whether he minds the fact that she has been staying the night. Michael admits that he himself does not like the smell of the pot that Anita smokes. The speech that follows comes as a response to Jason asking, ‘But you haven’t said anything to her have you?’

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A monologue from Rabbit by Nina Raine

(Female, Dramatic/Serio-Comedic, 20s)
The restaurant of a private members’ club, London. Bella is celebrating her twenty-ninth birthday with her two girlfriends Emily and Sandy, her ex-boyfriend Richard and ex-lover Tom, whom she has met by chance in the bar that night. Their conversation centers around matters of sex and the differences between male and female attitudes. Richard, Sandy, and Bella are combative; as they all become increasingly drunk the exchanges become heated. Bella was unfaithful to Richard in their relationship. She slept with Tom while she was still with Richard, and during the course of the evening, Richard and Tom make this connection.

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A monologue from Piñata Utopia by Christian Kiley

(Female, Comedic/Serio-Comedic, Kids-Teens)
As entertaining as it may be to butcher “Happy Birthday” for the billionth time, nothing really compares to the rush of literally sticking it to the piñata. But while it may be all fun and games for us stick-wielding humans, what is life like for the piñata? What are their hopes? Their fears? In this monologue, a young girl stops the guests at her birthday party from hitting Princess Piñata by delivering this speech, which has a touch of Braveheart in it.

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A monologue from Dancing With Myself by Leanne Griffin

(Female, Dramatic, Teens)
Goth Girl. Moody Chick. Gamer. Cheerleader. New Kid. Jock. Nerd. Seven high school girls and the labels they’ve been forced to wear. Whether it’s sports or a sleepover or the classroom or a school dance or the ups and downs of daily life, they’ll use music as their inspiration to break free of the stereotypes and discover their own unique identities. This monologue features a teen determined to be different but beginning to question her choices. She speaks first to her controlling boyfriend on the phone, and then to the audience, about her decision to attend a school dance.

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A monologue from Ladies of Eola High Seas by Michael Wanzie

(Male, Dramatic/Serio-Comedic, 30s-50s)
At dinner one evening, three sisters are discussing what they will have to eat, and Ruby’s husband Robert, like always, has his head buried in his notebook. Robert then reveals that he has a book deal with a publisher about his practice as a psychiatrist. He is writing quite vigorously after the publisher has read the first six chapters of his book, and written up a deal pending industry response. The sisters are skeptical, wondering why he had not mentioned it before, but Robert knows it is a sensitive subject that is still in the works.

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A monologue from Wandaleria by David Valdes Greenwood

(Male, Dramatic, 30s-50s)
Rocky writes to Wanda from prison. Their correspondence is what keeps both Rocky and Wanda alive in their repressed lives. Finally, Rocky escapes prison and finds his way all the way to Maine to meet with Wanda for the first time. He brings with him a rare orchid he calls “Wandaleria” in honor of Wanda. In this monologue, Rocky explains why he really was incarcerated. This tragic tale of lost love and lives torn apart by alcohol explains the loss of his love, Marie, and his guilt for having ended her life.

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A monologue from Like Totally the Breakfast Club by Rob Ward

(Male, Dramatic, Teens)
After a scuff with a bully, Frankie’s backpack is overturned and to everyone’s surprise, a gun falls onto the floor. Every student is scared, confused, and only after realizing it is a bebe gun does the fear dissipate. Frankie then divulges the story of his bi-polar mother—she is always on edge and unable to take care of herself in her bi-polar bouts. Franke had taken the gun out of her possession that morning in order to protect her from herself, putting it in his bag and running out the door to make it to school on time.

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