10 Male Monologues from Characters Dealing with Death
Written by Ashleigh Gardner
September 7, 2016
Have you found your next monologue for competition and audition season? If not, we’ve got you covered. Below are 10 monologues (5 comedic and 5 dramatic) from male characters who are dealing with death — coping however they can, whether through humor or sincere brutal honesty.
A monologue from Friendlyville by Kevin Drzakowski
(Comedic – 20s)
Friendlyville’s Main Street. Friendlyville’s reluctant clown, Giggles the Clown, has just turned up dead, apparently murdered. Jake Robertson, Friendlyville’s florist, unexpectedly has the task of eulogizing Giggles thrust upon him during a speedy impromptu funeral. At first, Jake struggles to find something meaningful to say about a clown who wasn’t very good at making people laugh, but then Jake remembers a formative experience from Giggles’s childhood.
A monologue from Jupiter by Gary Briston
(Comedic – Teens, 20s)
In 2009 meteors struck the planet Jupiter. Any one of these huge rocks could have wiped out our planet. Joe has been expelled from school for scaring the other kids with his concern about the sky and the “big honkin’ rock” he believes is headed towards the Earth. It’s all he can think about, and even when his principal points at him and tells him to go home, Joe willingly and happily goes, all the time thinking on the destruction of Earth.
A monologue from Scary, Scary Night by E. Michael Lunsford
(Comedic – 30s, 40s)
Jeremy Hyde, a quirky funeral home owner, has just met Albert, a young man who (Jeremy thinks) wants to be a make-up artist. Albert is really an infiltrator for Nussbaum, a local serial killer. Nussbaum sends Albert to apply for the inside job of “make-up artist” at the funeral home. Here, Jeremy, unaware of the ruse, encourages Albert, who prepares the corpse for showing at the funeral home, to pursue his dream of becoming a make-up artist. He is thrilled to have this opportunity to mentor a young person.
A monologue from Scary, Scary Night by E. Michael Lunsford
(Comedic – 20s, 30s)
Nussbaum is the owner of House of Masks & Magic, a spooky Halloween store, but he also happens to be a part-time serial killer. Nussbaum discovers who took over his old family home where he “accidentally” blew up his parents 20 years earlier. The house was sold to Jeremy and Formalda who turned it into the town’s creepiest funeral home and now delight in telling everybody about two resident ghosts who haunt every room. Nussbaum decides the funeral home is the perfect place to dispose of the body of his most recent victim…and wreak revenge on the Hydes whom he blames for the loss of his childhood home. Here, Nussbaum has bound and gagged Derek, the Hyde’s son, and he petulantly and comically tells Derek all of the things he will do to take revenge upon Derek’s family.
A monologue from The Ghost Moments by Randy Wyatt
(Comedic – Teens, 20s)
The characters in The Ghost Moments—some young, some not-so-young, each from a very different walk of life—exist in their own worlds, all of them hunting or being hunted. Some of their ghosts are literal: Matty tries to rid his sister’s apartment of a spirit that may or may not be there. Matty, surrounded by books and exorcism paraphernalia, has promised his sister that he’ll exorcise whatever presence seems to be haunting her apartment, and in performing the exorcism, he speaks out loud to the ghost, producing a very awkward and funny, one-sided conversation.
A monologue from Broadway or Bust by Rosary O’Neill
(Dramatic – 20s-30s)
Two love struck actors audition for Broadway and are confronted with questions that are afraid to answer and routines that lead them into questioning their lives. The lights of Broadway illuminate this escapade into the audition process and the magical world of acting. Susan, Johnny’s girlfriend, has just died of breast cancer, and he begs the doctors and nurses to let him in the room to see her. When inside, he speaks to her as if she was still living, and he tells her to keep holding on to her life and her dream.
A monologue from For My Silent Sisters by Tara Meddaugh
(Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
Set in the countries of Cambodia, Romania, India and the United States, four teenagers struggle to escape the dark underworld of child sex trafficking. Abhay, an Indian boy living on the streets of Mumbai, finds employment at a brothel and must decide if the “good life” is worth the atrocities. In this monologue, Abhay recalls his little sister’s death from starvation and how he fought off dogs that were trying to take her corpse away. He finally gets one of her arms and buries it ceremonially with rice and flowers in a nearby courtyard.
A monologue from In Close Quarters by Michael Wanzie
(Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
American forces have just invaded Cambodia. Two young U.S. Army soldiers, PFC Matthew Dolan and PFC James Ivey find themselves trapped in a secret underground supply bunker. Until now, Ivey has had a very hard time coming to terms with the death of their young friend, Baker, in a firefight. Ivey is in denial until this moment when he begins to lament Baker’s death. He recounts a moment in the trenches when Baker sat motionless in a depressive state. A firefight begins with the Viet Cong, and the platoon is moved backward, but Baker doesn’t move. When they return to their post, Ivey finds Baker where he left him, dead and still holding his gun. (This monologue contains adults language.)
A monologue from The Memory Tax by Chad Eschman
(Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
A young couple tries to build a future in a dystopian America, where memories are taken out of people’s minds and archived because there may not be a tomorrow. Jason confronts his father, who abandoned him and his mother when he was just a baby. He’s come to ask for money, so that he and his pregnant girlfriend can try for a fresh start in the ravaged, post-apocalyptic America that his father helped create.
A monologue from The Simple Mind of Dillon Magee by A.D. Hasselbring
(Dramatic, Teens – 20s)
Dillon is plunged into a state of shock after a violent car accident kills his father and leaves him unable to speak or interact due to the trauma. A grad student named David uses a number of techniques to try and reach Dillon with no success. Dillon speaks about his accident and reveals what happened. He recounts the moments before and immediately after the crash, his thoughts while hanging upside down, and the way he felt once David brought him out of his catatonic state.