Dramatic Monologues for Women

dramatic monologues for women theater marquee

It takes perseverance to get your name here.
By C.S. Imming (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Dramatic monologues for women are very popular with actresses all over the world who are in the field of acting or drama. The most important factor about introducing a monologue is to allow people to see your acting talent. It is also important for actors to show the range of their talent. It is most important for newcomers, because it’s the only talent they have shown anyone. Many agencies which are on the lookout for new actors often seek one who will have a capacity to deliver a monologue with gusto. Dramatic monologues for women can be practiced by  newcomers, and can demonstrate  their skills in front of the agencies which are planning on hiring them.

Preparing Dramatic Monologues for Women

Length of Dramatic Monologues for Women

The ideal length of a monologue is somewhere from one to three minutes. The shorter the monologue, the crisper the monologue becomes. It can be seen that dramatic monologues for women, or any other genre should be of similar duration as this keeps the interest of the people. The longer the duration of a monologue, chances are that one will become bored. This is bad for the budding actress whose main aim is to capture the attention of the audience. It will also leave a bad impression on the agents who will be hiring you for acting jobs in the production houses. Many agents don’t have time to listen to long, possibly boring monologues.

Types of Dramatic Monologues for Women

There are various kinds of monologues an actress can select for their performance.

dramatic monologues for women actress plays an animal

Choose a non-traditional monologue.

  • Comedics
  • Shakespearean
  • dramatic

These are some of the broad categories of monologues for women and men. The dramatic style of acting material performed by one is what defines a monologue. The monologue is usually a sole character speaking directly to the audience. Dramatic monologues for women can be snippets from a drama, television show, movie or even made up by an individual. The monologue reveals the creative talent of the person portraying the character. Many actors select different character types from a monologue to best show their skills as an actor.

How does one prepare for a dramatic monologues for women?

The best way to prepare for a dramatic monologues for women is by reading the monologue verbatim while glancing at the mirror occasionally. The goal of the individual is to quote the monologue without staring once at the paper. To do this, memorizing parts of the monologue every day will be helpful to the actor. One may also seek the help of an acting coach or teacher to bring out the best in you, and help you deliver your best.

Examples of Dramatic Monologues for Women

Dramatic monologues for women  can be given from the movie A Streetcar Named Desire:

  “May I speak plainly?… If you’ll forgive me, he’s common… He’s like an animal. He has an animal’s habits. There’s even something subhuman about him. Thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is. Stanley Kowalski, survivor of the Stone Age, bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle. And you – you here waiting for him. Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you, that’s if kisses have been discovered yet. His poker night you call it. This party of apes.”

Another such dramatic monologue is from the film 300:

  “Councilmen, I stand before you not only as your queen. I come to you as a mother. I come to you as a wife. I come to you as a Spartan woman. I come to you with great humility. I am not here to represent Leonidas. His actions speak louder than my words ever could. I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard. Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons. Three hundred families that bleed for our rights. And for the very principles this room was built upon.” Or maybe try one of her monologues in the video below:

Another excellent dramatic monologues for women example can be given from the film Atonement:

“I’m dying. My doctor tells me I have something called vascular dementia, which is essentially a series of tiny strokes. Your brain closes down, gradually. You lose words, you lose your memory, which for a writer is pretty much the point. So that’s why I could finally write the book, I think. I had to. And why of course it is my last novel. Strangely enough, it would be just as accurate to call it my first novel. I wrote several drafts as far back as my time at St. Thomas’ hospital during the war. Just couldn’t ever find the way to do it…Yes, entirely, I haven’t changed any names, including my own…No. I had for a very long time decided to tell the absolute truth. No rhymes, no embellishments. And I think you’ve read the book, you’ll understand why. I got firsthand accounts of all the events I didn’t personally witness: the conditions in prison, the evacuation to Dunkirk, everything. But the effect of all this honesty was rather pitiless, you see…”

Therefore dramatic monologues for women can be very helpful in making the audience aware of the drama or the tension pulsating through the mind of the woman character.