Speeches for Stunning Your Performing Arts School

Written by Amanda Grace

September 18, 2020

So you’re auditioning for a performing arts high school. Now what? Reading for a school setting requires young actors to balance hard-hitting material with age-appropriate content, and these ten monologues are sure to leave a lasting impression. Shoutout to @_abby.mae for requesting this piece on Instagram—we’re always taking suggestions @performerstuff!

A monologue from Folkdance by Robin Reese

(Male, Dramatic, High School 14-18)

Glenn, a 16-year-old African-American boy, has just jumped into a neighbor’s window. He’s cut and bleeding, his father is out looking for him, and he’s scared for his life. Here, he explains his predicament to a group of complete strangers.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from Choephori, or The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus

(Female, Dramatic, Young Adults 20s, College 18-22, High School 14-18)

Choephori is the second installment of Agamemnon’s saga. After Clytemnestra murders her husband, Agamemnon’s daughter, Electra, seeks advice on how she should act at the burial of her father.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from Album by David Rimmer

(Female, Serio-Comic, High School 14-18)

In this Pulitzer-finalist comedy from David Rimmer, Peggy, Trish, Billy and Boo grow up through the 60s—but the changes they experience are hilarious and universal. In this speech, Peggy tells Trish a dream that’s left her out of sorts.

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A monologue from What We Know by Pamela Carter

(Male, Serio-Comic, College 18-22, High School 14-18)

Lucy has been preparing a meal with her partner Jo in their kitchen. As they are cooking, Jo disappears, only to be miraculously replaced by a teenage boy named, in turns, Lee, Hank, and Marvin. All we know for sure is he is hungry and he’s here to help. Here, he muses on dead bodies over a cheese sandwich.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from How to Curse by Ian McHugh

(Female, Dramatic, High School 14-18)

Miranda and Nick are highly imaginative, love books, and enjoy winding each other up with literary arguments. Nick is obsessed with The Tempest and Miranda has been collecting items in order to conjure a storm… but something is missing. In this monologue, Miranda practices her magic.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from The Piaggi Suite by Ian McHugh

(Female, Comedic, High School 14-18)

Darlene is seventeen, an excellent composer, and crazy about the rockstar Ziggy Martin, who is staying at the same Berkshire retreat. When Darlene meets Ziggy for the first time, she performs for him her Retro Rap, written in his honor.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from The Simple Mind of Dillon Magee by A.D. Hasselbring

(Male, Dramatic, High School 14-18)

Dillon is plunged into a state of shock after a violent car accident kills his father and leaves him unable to speak. When grad student David’s trauma-treating techniques fail, he resorts to pulling laughter from Dillon through physical antics. This speech is the first time Dillon is able to vocalize what happened to him.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from [Catherine (The Great] Dictionary Girl) by Alex Cump

(Female, Serio-Comic, High School 14-18)

Catherine, a young girl obsessed with words, talks about being in love with Patrick, the boy who rides her bus. Knowing her love comes off as childish, she defends it by describing how the feeling drives her to take care of someone else.

Get the Monologue Here

A monologue from Solitaire by Rosary O’Neill

(Male, Dramatic, College 18-22, High School 14-18)

A cloud of doom hangs over Serenity Manor, the Mississippi Gulf Estate of Irene Dubbonet, as relatives duke it out to be given the inheritance. Bunky, a frustrated artist and grandson of Irene, takes off for the highway, chip on shoulder and gun in hand.

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A monologue from New by Crystal Skillman

(Male, Comedic, High School 14-18)

Marcus, the lead in the high school play, has just reappeared from the parking lot with an icepack on his head. He hasn’t slept since dress rehearsal the night before, and is slightly crazed after walking all night. Leaning into his Stanislavski lessons, he uses his current exhaustion to philosophize about his place in the world.

Get the Monologue Here



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Amanda Grace is an actor, writer, composer, improvisor and director whose work has graced stages from  Central Florida to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She is based in London, where she is studying to obtain her M.F.A. in Actor & Performer Training at Rose Bruford College. Amanda holds an honours B.A. in Theatre Studies and a B.A. in Psychology, as well as a certificate in Shakespearean Performance from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her original albums can be streamed at amandagrace.bandcamp.com.
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