When auditioning as a teen actor, choosing the right monologue can make or break your chances. A great audition monologue is not only age-appropriate, but it should also show emotional range, great acting skills, and how you captivate an audience. Whether you’re going for a school play, auditioning for drama school, or trying out for a role onstage or onscreen, your choice of monologue can communicate how well you understand yourself and your casting and give viewers a taste of your abilities.
Currently searching for a monologue? Don’t panic! We’ve curated a list of teen-appropriate audition monologues to show off your skills. The picks range from comedic to dramatic and period to contemporary, giving you plenty to choose from. Plus, we’ve included notes on why each piece works.
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Before diving into the list, keep in mind these essential traits of a strong monologue teenager performers can shine with:
- It’s age-appropriate. You should believably be the character.
- It has a clear emotional journey. Casting panels want to see contrast and depth.
- It tells a story. Choose something that builds toward a turning point or realisation.
- It’s active, not passive. Avoid monologues that simply reflect. Look for pieces where the character is driven by something.
- You can find your own interpretation. Make sure you properly understand the character.
For many auditions, you’ll be asked to present a Shakespeare monologue. But with almost 40 plays and hundreds of characters, choosing just one can be a bit of a minefield. Here we list some roles and speeches that may work for you.
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the best example of the Bard’s tales with teens at its centre. There are plenty of speeches to choose from in the play, and these are just a couple.
Act II, Scene II
Character: Romeo
Why choose it?
This is one of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches. If you can perform it well, you’re certain to impress. The scene captures Romeo at his most romantic and impulsive, allowing performers to convey a wide range of feelings. Delivering the speech confidently will not only show your ability to grapple with Shakespearean language, but also your emotional intelligence as an actor. It is a great audition piece for teenagers, especially if you’re looking to display passion and vulnerability.
But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:
Be not her maid, since she is envious:
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it, cast it off.
It is my lady, O, it is my love!
O, that she knew she were!
She speaks yet she says nothing: What of that?
Act IV, Scene III
Character: Juliet
Why choose it?
This is a strong and comparatively underused audition piece that shows Juliet at her bravest. On the eve of faking her death, she stands alone and unaware of what the following hours have in store for her. The monologue combines strength, determination, love, and fear, presenting a rich array of emotions for an actor to convey. Performing this speech will give you the opportunity to wrestle with doubt and grief, and it will show your maturity onstage.
Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.
I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins
That almost freezes up the heat of life:
I’ll call them back again to comfort me.
Nurse! What should she do here?
My dismal scene I needs must act alone.
Come, vial. What if this mixture do not work at all?
Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Act III, Scene II
Character: Puck
Why choose it?
This is a wonderfully mischievous monologue that is brilliant for perfecting your comic timing. Puck gleefully recounts how he enchanted Titania, Queen of the Fairies, to fall in love with a weaver he has magically transformed to have a donkey’s head. The speech offers lots of potential for physicality, silliness, and expressive delivery.
My mistress with a monster is in love.
Near to her close and consecrated bower,
While she was in her dull and sleeping hour,
A crew of patches, rude mechanicals
That work for bread upon Athenian stalls,
Were met together to rehearse a play
Intended for great Theseus' nuptial day.
The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort
Who Pyramus presented in their sport,
Forsook his scene and entered in a brake,
When I did him at this advantage take –
An ass's nole I fixed on his head.
As You Like It
Act III, Scene V
Character: Phoebe
Why choose it?
This monologue reveals a less romantic, more sceptical side of love – a refreshing change from Shakespeare’s more swooning heroines. Phoebe isn’t lovesick or shy; instead, she’s sharp, self-assured, and a little mocking. That makes the piece ideal for actors who want to show off a cooler, more sardonic energy.
I would not be thy executioner.
I fly thee, for I would not injure thee.
Thou tell’st me there is murder in mine eye.
’Tis pretty, sure, and very probable
That eyes, that are the frail’st and softest things,
Who shut their coward gates on atomies,
Should be called tyrants, butchers, murderers.
Now I do frown on thee with all my heart,
And if mine eyes can wound, now let them kill thee.
Now counterfeit to swoon; why, now fall down;
Or if thou canst not, O, for shame, for shame,
Lie not, to say mine eyes are murderers.
Now show the wound mine eye hath made in thee.
Scratch thee but with a pin, and there remains
Some scar of it. Lean upon a rush,
The cicatrice and capable impressure
Thy palm some moment keeps. But now mine eyes,
Which I have darted at thee, hurt thee not;
Nor I am sure there is no force in eyes
That can do hurt.
Unlike classical or Shakespearean pieces, contemporary monologues often use everyday speech and explore modern-day concerns. Look for speeches that allow you to discuss real-life situations, such as friendship, family conflicts, self-discovery, or first love. A great contemporary monologue gives you the space to show dramatic range.
Girls Like That by Evan Placey (2013)
Character: Scarlett
Why choose it?
Scarlett’s speech is a great choice for young actors who want to portray a strong, confident character who speaks with both sharp wit and truth. The language is modern and natural, making it easy for you to find your own voice in the piece. It is a nice mix of casual storytelling and reflection, and it has flashes of teenage angst and awkwardness.
You have asked us to research the history of women in our family. Which was not especially easy, as my mother is not a sentimental. No photos or nothing. But through a combination of some old shoeboxes at my nan’s house and newspapers I found at the British Library – where I have spent the last couple of days, FYI – I can tell you the following: My mother is one of only five female FTSE 100 chief executives. She did this, I imagine, by donning shoulder pads and body-checking any man who got in her way. Her mother, my nan, was a teacher. But when she was about my age, in the sixties, marched with other women to make abortion legal. Which was, like, a big deal. And she wore her hair in braids sometimes. And she had lots of sex. And no one judged her for it. Except maybe her mother.
Adult Child/Dead Child by Claire Dowie (1987)
Character: Unnamed Woman
Why choose it?
This raw and emotionally intense monologue is ideal for teen actors ready to take on more challenging material. Written in a poetic, fragmented style, the speech explores childhood neglect and the lasting impact of emotional abandonment. It demands openness, focus, and a deep connection to the text.
When you are a child
and you don't get any love, when there is no love
when you get this feeling that you can't explain
this feeling that's inside you but you can't explain
you don't know what it is, you can't say it's lack of love because you don't have those words
you only have the feeling but you don't have those words
those words that say nobody loves me. I am unloved
all you have is the feeling
and the feeling is an empty feeling, a hole in your stomach
you feel this hole in your stomach that you can't explain
because you don't have the words, only the feeling, the
empty feeling
and the feeling hurts, you feel hurt because you can't explain
you feel hurt and frustrated that there is no love
and you can't explain, you feel trapped in your feelings
trapped in your feelings of hurt and frustration and lack of love
lack of love that makes you hit out.
About a Goth by Tom Wells (2009)
Character: Nick
Why choose it?
Good comic timing is a stellar quality for an actor to possess, and this monologue from Tom Wells’ About a Goth is the perfect piece to make an audition panel laugh. The joy of it is that Nick remains totally serious throughout, even though the things he’s saying are both melodramatic and absurd. The comedy stems from this stark contrast. An actor can have fun leaning into Nick’s total lack of irony.
As beds go, it is passable, I suppose. Obviously I would prefer to sleep in a coffin, but as my mum has so hilariously pointed out, they don’t sell coffins at Ikea. Yet.
[…]
I check my phone, but nothing. Greg still hasn’t replied to my text. It has been three days and eleven hours now, which seems a bit relaxed even for someone as simple as him. Look in my sent messages. It’s there in capital letters: I HATE MYSELF AND I WANT TO DIE. I wonder if I’ve been too subtle again. Probably. I forget not everyone is as emotionally mature and sensitive as me.
[…]
Breakfast is depressing as usual. All I want is to read Camus and eat my Coco Pops, but it is so hard to concentrate with Dad’s armour clanking and Mum clattering about with her tankards in the sink. Honestly. It’s tragic. Everyone else’s parents lie and cheat and have inner turmoil and chuck teapots at each other. I get the world’s most cheerful medieval re-enactors. My mum leans over, dangles her fluted sleeve in my chocolatey milk, passes me a postcard. It’s got a donkey on the front. Looking jaunty. “Camping is amazing!!!” Three exclamation marks. “Weather perfect!!” A further two exclamation marks. “Dropped my phone off a cliff to prove it is shatterproof. It’s not. That was my old phone. Brilliant.” Underlined. “Bet your missing me.” “Your” spelt wrong.
Tarantula by Philip Ridley (2021)
Character: Toni
Why choose it?
Teenage angst is embedded into Toni’s monologue, which merges her internal thoughts with real-life action. It also gives an actor the chance to perform as two characters rather than just one.
I’m on my way to meet Michael. I decided to wear this. What you think? Passable? Shit?...”Not bad!” Thank you. I can live with that. I know I’m not eye candy – I don’t aspire to be – but I don’t want to be chopped liver either. Here’s where we’re meeting! Outside the Town Hall Hotel. So named because it used to be a town hall and now – surprise, surprise! – it's a hotel! There’s Michael!
(Waves.)
I wonder if he expects a kiss. His arms are open wide, so he certainly expects a hug. Do I open my arms wide, too, or do I just wait. I think I’ll wait. “Toni.” “Michael!” There’s the hug. And a kiss. On the cheek. Both cheeks! He smells nice. “You’re early.” “So are you.” “I’m always early.” “So am I.” We laugh. I like his shirt. I think it’s silk.
Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale (2013)
Character: Lloyd
Why choose it?
Jessica Swale’s play, set in 1896 at Girton College in Cambridge, tells the story of the country’s first female students. In this monologue, a male pupil called Lloyd, who comes from a highly privileged background, shows his disdain for his new classmates. This would be a great choice for an actor who wants to lean into rage and explore their nasty side.
What would you do with a degree anyway? Run the country? Be an engineer? Develop a cure for smallpox? [...] And who are you going to doctor, miss? Me? Him? No? Who? [...] Who? [...] No man will be doctored by a woman [...] no man will employ you. No man will take your directions. No man will vote for you. So you’re a lost cause. Why fight it? [...] Listen! I was at school at five. At seven I knew Plato. At twelve, hand me a cadaver and I’d tell you the name of every last nerve in it. You think you can compete? You think some tuppenny once-a-week governess is enough, do you? Some tattered notes from your brother? Some village dunce school for girls? You think that – that joke of an education – gives you a right to set foot here? At Cambridge? Cambridge, for God’s sake.
A Hundred Words for Snow by Tatty Hennessy (2018)
Character: Rory
Why choose it?
Rory is a classic moody teenager who is also coming to terms with her dad’s sudden death. In the opening monologue, Rory has a spiky exterior, which gives an actor the opportunity to play someone trying to protect themselves whilst in the throes of grief. It is a great piece for showing your emotional range.
My name is Rory.
Yes, I know that’s a boy’s name.
Yes, that is my real name.
Yes, really.
Oh, all right. Full name. If you really need to know: Aurora. Yes. Aurora.
Mortifying.
I swear the only people who like weird names are people with names like Bob or Sue or Tim. You like it? Try living with it.
It’s weird to think Mum wanted me to be the kind of person who’d suit the name Aurora. I wouldn’t want to meet that person, would you? Sounds like a right bint.
I’ve totally forgiven her, as you can tell. Joking.
Nobody calls me Aurora. Call me Rory and we’ll get on fine.
And this – [The urn]
Is Dad.
Say hello, Dad.
[Dad doesn’t say anything.]
He’s shy.