There are so many wonderful monologues for kids in the monologue universe. Young personalities and a sense of imagination lend themselves naturally to the words. You can find so many contemporary monologues that are fun to do and many of them are gender-neutral. When you’re helping your child actor find a monologue, focus on selecting the topic that appeals to them. If you or an instructor are picking a monologue for your child actor, try a challenging monologue that will test their young acting chops.
Here’s a shortlist of eight contemporary monologues of varying lengths that child actors can consider.
1. “Adventures of Pippa Higgins”: Pippa
Pippa makes new friends from school and introduces them to Radford, a talking rabbit, who was ill and brought back to good health by Pippa’s father. Pippa comes from a family of wizards, so her father is, well, a wizard! In this monologue, she defends her father as she artfully boasts of his inventions that come from a magical lab. I love this monologue because it allows for a range of amazing young personalities to bring it to life. Play with your objective and see what follows.
2. “Nobody Bothers Me”: Patrick
Here Patrick responds to his uncle who asks him if he’s still getting picked on by kids at school. The young boy is getting bullied but decides to make up a phony story to hide the truth from his uncle and make himself him look stronger than he really is. It’s an interesting piece. Commit fully to what you want here and go for it. Play with different objectives and given circumstances and see the many ways this monologue can be experienced.
3. “Weird”: Melvin
Do you feel you have strange qualities about yourself? Maybe that’s not so bad. Different can be good. Here, Melvin shares the many strange things he’s done, which even he cannot explain. He enjoys his weirdness and sees it as a good quality to share with others. Chances are that you’ll be able to relate to this, so have some fun and enjoy being strange!
58 Monologues for Kids + Teens 4. “Little Sailfish”: Ruby
This dramatic monologue is about Ruby. Ruby is a swim champ, but she’s not sure she actually enjoys swimming anymore, or if she just does it so as not to disappoint her dad. It seems dad has taken control of giving her notes, not the coach. It gives the young actor a chance to use some dramatic chops and explore some thought-to-thought acting.
5. “He Read My Poems”: Sally
Private thoughts are usually personal. They’re not meant for other’s ears. In this monologue, Sally angrily complains to her mother about how her brother read her most private poems and how humiliated she feels. Change the given circumstance multiple times to give a nice variation of reads. Get a firm understanding of what you want with this relationship. Your first instinct might be to play this monologue with anger. I suggest you move away from that and explore alternative emotions to test yourself. Don’t play this one the obvious way.
6. “Twelve Years Wise”
This monologue is a case of role reversal. Here, it’s the child who’s acting like the grown-up and the dad who’s acted like a child. She addresses her father, questioning the way he’s treated her mother. The father has been in the wrong with his actions, but most wouldn’t expect such an intelligent response or confrontation from the child. She’s wise beyond her years. Have a simple focus throughout this monologue. Don’t play this for presentation purposes. It’s a private moment and should be treated that way.
7. “Scout”
A heartfelt monologue about losing a relationship, here a young boy has moved and unfortunately, the family cannot take their dog, Scout, with them. The young boy built such a loving and close bond with the pup and of course, considers him part of the family. In fact, Scout and the boy are close because they’ve helped each other through some difficult times. They have an emotional attachment and have grown together for years. This monologue allows you to feel great emotional depth. Take your time and don’t rush the moments. Live this one in real-time. Take the time you need to feel something. You can’t fake needing to feel something, so take that time.
8. “Gum Sculptures”: Robbie
In this monologue, a local news channel is interviewing Robbie as he talks to them about how he started making gum sculptures. It’s fun and a great monologue to use some improvisational skills and personality. It’s light and builds, and is one for either girls or boys. Have fun with it.
Kids have great imagination and spontaneity on their side. Select a contemporary monologue that they can get excited about. Again, there are so many out there and it’s more about how you experience the monologue than the monologue itself so don’t be dissuaded if the monologue is a popular choice. Get some great coaching or class time and learn all the different ways you can experience these moments.
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