2 Free Monologues from “Contemporary Monologues for Kids & Teens”

2 free monologues for kids


If you’re looking for refreshing new material for the new school year we’ve got a treat for you!

On Wednesday, September 14th, 2022 we’re releasing a brand new collection of high-quality monologues written for young performers called Contemporary Monologues for Kids & Teens.

This resource features 52 instantly engaging, gender-neutral comedic and dramatic monologues specifically written for actors age 7-14, by award-winning playwright Kerry Kazmierowicztrimm. 

These short pieces are perfect for drama classes, competitions, or performance. 

Scroll below to preview two free monologues from this upcoming book.

Preview Monologue #1: A New Chapter

Paige speaks to her teddy bear, Barry (Barry can either be unseen or an actual teddy bear held by Paige).

PAIGE

Listen, Barry, you’ve been great. Really, just the best. But we both knew this couldn’t last forever. Don’t think of this as the end, but as the start of a new chapter. Being put on sale will be the best thing that ever happened to you. Some little kid’s gonna come to Mom’s yard sale, see you sitting there, and realize you’re the teddy bear he’s always needed.

(after a moment)

Don’t look at me like that, Barry. Please. I know you think I’m doing this so I can buy the latest phone, but it’s not that simple. I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m a big kid who needs big toys. Like a new phone. So what if you were my first real friend? So what if you cuddled me to sleep every night? So what if you’re the best teddy bear a kid could ask for? None of that matters. Cuz I…I…

(unable to go through with it)

I can’t do this! I can’t lose you! I’ll sell my bed if I have to, but not you, Barry! Never you!

Preview Monologue #2: Grandpa

Kade talks to her grandfather.

KADE

Hi, Grandpa. Sorry it’s been a while, but it’s been raining a lot. I’m glad I finally got to visit, cuz there’s something I need to talk about. And I just, I can’t talk about it with anyone at home. Jason’s my little brother, he looks up to me, you know? And Mom and Dad are who I need to talk about, so I can’t exactly tell them how I feel. But you? I know you’ll listen.

(takes a deep breath)

Mom and Dad have been fighting. A lot, even for them. For weeks now. They don’t do it in front of me and Jason. At dinner, it’s silent. Like, completely silent. Then they get up, wash the dishes, and go to their room. As soon as the door closes, it starts. The yelling. The crying. The anger. So, so much anger. And even though it’s not in front of us, Jason and I hear it. And feel it. Like all that anger has filled the house. And we’re drowning in it…Last night, Jason asked me if they’re gonna split up. I didn’t know what to say. Part of me is terrified that they will. But another part me thinks that it’s the best thing that could happen. Cuz then it would be over. The fighting would stop. The anger would be gone. And we could breathe again. Finally breathe.

(after a moment)

Thanks for listening, Grandpa. I know you can’t offer any advice, but it feels good to actually talk about it, you know? Oh! I almost forgot – I brought you some more flowers. Daisies this time. I know I usually bring lilies, since those are the only flowers Mom knows for sure you liked, but I dunno, I thought a change might be nice. I hope you like them.

She places the flowers on her grandfather’s grave (it’s okay if we don’t actually see the flowers, and instead she just does the motion of placing them on the ground).

I should go. But now that the rain’s stopped, I’ll be back soon. I promise. Bye, Grandpa.

This new eBook was released on September 14, 2022 and is now available for instant download at the link below:

Contemporary Monologues for Kids & Teens

Comment below and let us know what you think.

Beat by Beat Press is the world’s #1 resource for contemporary new musical plays for kids and teaching drama resources. 

7 thoughts on “2 Free Monologues from “Contemporary Monologues for Kids & Teens”

  1. Heather says:

    I have 2 scene collections from Beat by Beat and there are two things I like most about them.
    1. They are gender ambiguous. The scenes can be played by anyone.
    2. They are dialogue based. The character is talking to someone or something.
    Often times when searching for monologues, I only like to pull from plays because stand alone monologues are often only ever soliloquies speaking directly to the audience without actually knowing who the character is suppose to be speaking to. This makes teaching character development challenging.
    While these monologues are also soliloquies, it is known to whom the character is speaking.
    Similar to the scenes I have, the characters in these monologues could be gender neutral. (Even though in the stage directions say “her” and Paige is a typically girl’s name.) I would consider making changes to make the characters more ambiguous. This helps the monologues work for a more variety of students. I don’t have a problem with students performing scenes or monologues different then the performer’s own gender, but sometimes the performer isn’t comfortable with that. I would hope that the rest of the collection are not soliloquies because then I would be disappointed. I’d like a mixture of dialogue-based monologues and soliloquies and if not all gender-ambiguous than a mixture as well. Thank you for asking for my thoughts. I will definitely consider adding this book to my classroom collection.

    • bbbpress says:

      Thank you so much for this great feedback. Our goal is for every monologue to be gender-neutral to allow them to be played by any student. We will take a look at the character names before publication to see if we can tweak them to be more ambiguous. And yes there are a mixture of dialogue-based monologues and soliloquies – with the majority being dialogue-based (the character is a addressing someone specifically).

  2. Kat Downs says:

    Thank you. These are perfect for what I do. They are contemporary, gender neutral, and show a variety of emotions,.I love these and will definitely purchase and use regularly.

  3. Imre Spoor says:

    It’s very playable and better, easily adaptable to your situation or scenework. They are approachable for young actors to work on themselves , which is a nice dramaturgical touch. Will of course buy it once it’s done:)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Select your currency