Built For Abuse: Acting Monologues For Men

By Joshua Todd James

Playwright and screenwriter Joshua James has gathered fifty monologues for men, collected from his plays THE MEN'S ROOM, TALLBOY WALKIN', 2 VERY DANGEROUS PEOPLE SHARING 1 SMALL SPACE, and many more, for actors to use for auditions, scene study or solo performance projects.

"Joshua James' work is bold, intelligent and subversive. Read it. Then find a way to make it happen on stage. American theater is clogged with the paltry visions of the privileged class, which assure us that the world we live in does not need immediate and radical change. James' work pulls the plug on sentimentality and comfort on stage. His work is at times dark, disturbing, but always arresting and shot through with a fine sense of humour."
- Obie-award winning playwright Naomi Wallace

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joshua Todd James
• Release date: Sep 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370119035

Joshua Todd James

JOSHUA TODD JAMES is a screenwriter, novelist and playwright based in New York City. As a playwright, Joshua made his London debut when The Men's Room was produced at the Croydon Warehouse Theatre. He made his Off-Broadway debut in The Fear Project at The Barrow Group with his piece Extreme Eugene. His plays have been produced throughout New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, all across the United States and various other parts of the world. His most recent books are THE JOSHUA JAMES PROJECT, an anthology of forty-four short plays that are now royalty-free for educational and amateur production and THE PENIS PAPERS, a free ebook of his popular play.His film credits include POUND OF FLESH, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Joshua loves ice-cold tea, cool summer breezes and hot Brazilian Jiujitsu, though not necessarily in that order.

Book preview

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This book is a short collection of acting monologues for MEN. Male roles of various ages, races and sexuality. The monologues were selected from the following plays: THE MEN’S ROOM, 2 VERY DANGEROUS PEOPLE SHARING 1 SMALL SPACE, TALLBOY WALKIN’, THE ELF, THE BUNNY AND THE BIG XMAS BLOWUP, RUNNING IN PLACE, OLD DOG, THE JOSHUA JAMES PROJECT and the as-of-yet unpublished plays: THE HOT NAKED TRUTH and THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE. If you’re interested in either of the latter two, you can contact me via my Facebook page WRITER JOSHUA JAMES.

Image No. 2

Most often the race and cultural background of the character doesn’t matter, with the main exception of TALLBOY WALKIN’, in which the race of the character is significant and THE HOT NAKED TRUTH. But for the rest, one can be of any cultural background and it should work. If you don’t find what you need here, there are many more in the collections: THE JOSHUA JAMES PROJECT, SPOOGE: THE SEX & LOVE MONOLOGUES and The THE Plays. THE PENIS PAPERS is also a free ebook. Check all those plays out in full and thanks.

Cover and inner photo: Actor Taylor Ruckel, veteran of many of my plays and a great talent, as Eugene in the TBG Off-Broadway production of EXTREME EUGENE, featured in THE JOSHUA JAMES PROJECT, directed by Eric Paeper.

ON RIGHTS:

The work in this collection is under my copyright and I reserve all other rights, including professional, motion pictures, radio broadcasting, television, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, all those rights are strictly reserved. Copying from this book in whole or in part is forbidden by law, and the right of performance is not transferable.

Performance rights are free for amateur and educational productions. You have my permission, just check the guidelines and requirements as listed in THE JOSHUA JAMES PROJECT for more information on staging an actual performance without royalty. This collection is free, you can use any and all of them for auditions, classroom study, whatever. I remember how hard it was the find the right monologue way back when I was an actor, so have fun. This collection is free, you can use any and all of them for auditions, classroom study, whatever you need. I remember how hard it was the find the right monologue way back when I was an actor, so have fun. You have my permission.

All I ask is that you leave a review of this book and the above plays online, wherever you see them. Every review matters, and it gets the word out.

You can follow me via my Facebook page WRITER JOSHUA JAMES.

TODD (20s)

from

THE MEN’S ROOM

TODD: Well, see, I have this girlfriend, kinda. We been kinda goin’ out, it’s been an exclusive sorta thing, just her and me, and I really like her, I think I really like her. She keeps askin’ these questions, though, like what do I really think of her, what do I really feel? An’ I’ll say I like you, I like you a lot. She never looks happy with that answer. I don’t know what she wants me to say, if she told me what she wants me to say I’ll say it, but she won’t say anything more.

I don’t know, maybe she wants me to say I love her. I don’t know if I love her, I don’t know what love is, or how it feels, I’ve never been there, so I don’t know what to say to her. I like goin’ places with her, doin’ things, sleeping with her, she’s real fun to be with, I just wish I could talk to her. Lately, havin’ a conversation with her has been like walkin’ through a minefield, I say the wrong thing and BOOM I blow up. I wonder if all woman are like that. I don’t know. I don’t know if I love her. I think I could love her. Maybe. I don’t know. I need Cliff-notes, that’s what I need, I need some clues. Like in the movies, when a guy meets a girl, and MUSIC plays, and right away you know that they’re gonna fall in love.

That’s what my life needs, a soundtrack.

SETH (20s)

from

THE MEN’S ROOM

SETH: Are men and women equal? Let me tell you somethin’. I love women. I have always loved women. I love all their shapes and sizes, the mean ones, the shy ones, the tall ones and the short ones, I have loved them all. There is somethin’, somethin’ just magical about ’em, about bein’ female, that sets ’em apart from everything else. I don’t just love ’em, I WORSHIP women. It’s how I know there’s a God, ’cause he put women down here on earth with us. He put them down here to keep us guys in line.

Sure, I’ve been hurt by women before. Oh yeah, I’ve had my heart stomped and my ass kicked. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I could tell you stories. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. ’Cause no matter what the do to me, no matter how much pain and aggravation they have given me by the simple nature of their being female, I will always forgive them, and always come back for more. ’Cause I love ’em, pure and simple. There’ll be something in a look, or a smile, or maybe just the simple way they bring their hand up and touch their cheek, that makes it all worthwhile. I love ’em, and they know it.

So if you ask me if men and women are equal, my answer would be NO.

They are not equal.

Women are much better than men.

RAY (20s)

from

THE MEN’S ROOM

RAY: Life seems to me to be pretty simple. You got your winners, and you got your losers. I