| Contents | |
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| Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | xi |
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| Be Specific: The Actor's Approach to the Monologue | |
| An Interview with Bartlett Sher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | xv |
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| 1. "WE WERE A WELL-ESTABLISHED FAMILY ONCE." . . . . . . . . . . . | 1 |
| Dodge, Buried Child (Sam Shepard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 3 |
| Vince, Buried Child (Sam Shepard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 4 |
| Walker, Three Days of Rain (Richard Greenberg) . . . . . . . . . . | 5 |
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| 2. "IT WAS LOVE. ALWAYS LOVE." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 9 |
| Anthony, A Question of Mercy (David Rabe) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 11 |
| Chilli, In the Blood (Susan-Lori Parks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 12 |
| Craver, In the Heart of America (Naomi Wallace) . . . . . . . . . | 14 |
| Gallimard, M. Butterfly (David Henry Hwang) . . . . . . . . . . . | 16 |
| Porter, August Snow (Reynolds Price) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 17 |
| Pip, Three Days of Rain (Richard Greenberg) . . . . . . . . . . . | 19 |
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| 3. "TRYING TO TALK, SAYING GOOD-BYE." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 21 |
| Thomas, A Question of Mercy (David Rabe) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 23 |
| Lord Alfred Douglas, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde | |
| (Moises Kaufman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 24 |
| Oscar Wilde, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde | |
| (Moises Kaufman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 26 |
| Walter, Unfinished Stories (Sybille Pearson) . . . . . . . . . . . | 28 |
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| 4. "ONCE YOU KNOW YOU'RE DEAD, WHY KEEP ON DYIN..." . . . . . . . | 31 |
| Junie, The Colored Museum (George C. Wolfe) . . . . . . . . . . . | 33 |
| Lou, The Speed of Darkness (Steve Tesich) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 35 |
| Joe, The Speed of Darkness (Steve Tesich) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 36 |
| Joe, The Speed of Darkness (Steve Tesich) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 38 |
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| 5. "SOME SENSE OF HISTORY." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 41 |
| Todd, Pterodactyls (Nicky Silver) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 43 |
| The Foundling Father as Abraham Lincoln, The America Play | |
| (Suzan-Lori Parks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 45 |
| The Foundling Father as Abraham Lincoln, The America Play | |
| (Suzan-Lori Parks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 48 |
| T.J., Insurrection: Holding History (Robert O'Hara) . . . . . . . | 49 |
| Brodus, Miss Evers' Boys (David Feldshuh) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 51 |
| Vershinin, Three Sisters (Anton Chekhov, adapted by David Mamet) . | 52 |
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| 6. "HERE I AM, TALKING TO YOU ABOUT MY REVOLUTIONARY LIFE." . . . | 55 |
| Pio, The Day You'll Love Me | |
| (Jose Ignacio Cabrujas, translated by Eduardo Machado) . . . . . . | 57 |
| Ernesto, Principia Scriptoriae (Richard Nelson) . . . . . . . . . | 59 |
| The Little Dutch Boy at Age 50, The Baltimore Waltz (Paula Vogel) | 60 |
| Jonesy, Side Man (Warren Leight) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 62 |
| Swahili, I Am a Man (OyamO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 63 |
| Augustus, The Darker Face of the Earth (Rita Dove) . . . . . . . . | 64 |
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| 7. "PEOPLE FALL FOR ME, WHAT THEY THINK IS ME." . . . . . . . . . | 67 |
| Neal, August Snow (Reynolds Price) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 69 |
| Baron, The Chemistry of Change (Marlane Meyer) . . . . . . . . . . | 70 |
| Patrick, Zero Positive (Harry Kondoleon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 71 |
| Roy, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches (Tony Kushner) | 72 |
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| 8. "PEOPLE I KNOW ARE DYING." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 75 |
| Jody, Lonely Planet (Steven Dietz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 77 |
| Carl, Lonely Planet (Steven Dietz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 79 |
| Carl, The Baltimore Waltz (Paula Vogel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 80 |
| Captain John Graunt, The Living (Anthony Clarvoe) . . . . . . . . | 82 |
| Captain John Graunt, The Living (Anthony Clarvoe) . . . . . . . . | 84 |
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| 9. THE POINT IS HUSBAND AND WIFE, MAN AND WOMAN, ADAM AND RIB." . | 87 |
| Father Donnally, The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Christopher Durang) | 89 |
| Chilli, In the Blood (Suzan-Lori Parks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 92 |
| Pip, Three Days of Rain (Richard Greenberg) . . . . . . . . . . . | 94 |
| Nick, Sight Unseen (Donald Margulies) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 96 |
| Takamura, Ballad of Yachiyo (Philip Kan Gotanda) . . . . . . . . . | 97 |
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| 10. "YOU WANT TO BE NICE, OR YOU WANT TO BE EFFECTIVE?" . . . . . | 99 |
| Roy, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches (Tony Kushner) | 101 |
| Hoyle, Three Hotels (Jon Robin Baitz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 102 |
| Barry, Talk Radio (Eric Bogosian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 104 |
| Judge, Santos & Santos (Octavio Solis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 106 |
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| 11. "I AM A MAN OF THE PEOPLE..." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 109 |
| The Doctor, In the Blood (Suzan-Lori Parks) . . . . . . . . . . . | 111 |
| Reverend D., In the Blood (Suzan-Lori Parks) . . . . . . . . . . . | 113 |
| Lou, The Speed of Darkness (Steve Tesich) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 115 |
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| 12. "THE MOST PRECIOUS ASSET IN LIFE...IS THE ABILITY TO BE A GOOD SON."... 119 | |
| Roy, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Appraoches (Tony Kushner) | 121 |
| Jonathan, Sight Unseen (Donald Margulies) . . . . . . . . . . . . | 123 |
| Bob, Lloyd's Prayer (Kevin Kling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 124 |
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| 13. "A FATHER'S LOVE IS A FAIRLY SPECTACULAR THING." . . . . . . . | 127 |
| Samuel, An Almost Holy Picture (Heather McDonald) . . . . . . . . | 129 |
| Samuel, An Almost Holy Picture (Heather McDonald) . . . . . . . . | 130 |
| Hector, Roosters (Milcha Sanchez-Scott) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 132 |
| Lloyd, Lloyd's Prayer (Kevin Kling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 133 |
| Will, The Young Man from Atlanta (Horton Foote) . . . . . . . . . | 135 |
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| 14. "YOU EVER KILLED ANYBODY? EVER WANT TO?" . . . . . . . . . . . | 137 |
| Prisoner, The Incredibly Famous Willy Rivers (Stephen Metcalfe) . | 139 |
| Boxler, In the Heart of America (Naomi Wallace) . . . . . . . . . | 140 |
| Golf Club, Marisol (Jose Rivera) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 141 |
| Ron, Search and Destroy (Howard Korder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 142 |
| Gallo, Roosters (Milcha Sanchez-Scott) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 144 |
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| 15. "WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES A MAN FEEL SORRY?" . . . . . . . . . . | 145 |
| Martinus, Playland (Athol Fugard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 147 |
| Gideon, Playland (Athol Fugard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 149 |
| Bob, the Pizza Boy, Bobrauschenbergamerica (Charles L. Mee) . . . | 151 |
| Lunga, Middle Finger (Han Ong) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 153 |
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| Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 155 |