Great Monologues for Young Actors, Vol. II
Grade 8 Up-This title includes speeches from a variety of works by well-known playwrights such as Shakespeare, Lanford Wilson, Christopher Durang, Tennessee Williams, and Maria Irene Fornes. There are also odd choices in that the play or playwright is not well known, or the chosen selection is not of high interest or dramatic quality. For example, a weaker speech of Portia's from The Merchant of Venice is given rather than the one that is usually singled out. There is little comedy included. The choices made in beginning/ending cuts are sometimes awkward; actors often would do well to read the plays and recut the selections themselves. There is a concise introduction to the uses of monologues, but the authors neglect to advise young actors of the importance of reading the entire play when working on a monologue. The book is divided into two sections: "Monologues for Young Women" and "Monologues for Young Men." Brief introductions (some of which contain grammatical and factual errors) give the setting and context for the speeches.Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.