New Dramatic Monologue about Grieving: Those Black Streaks

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If you’re looking for a reflective monologue about grief and its effects, check out my dramatic monologue, THOSE BLACK STREAKS (or These Black Streaks). In the monologue, Veronica speaks to her friend about her mother’s recent passing. Her mother didn’t give her much advice, even when she probably needed it. But she did always instruct Veronica to not leave the house before putting “her face on.” Veronica waxes to her friend about the irony that the makeup which would typically cover imperfections on her face, now betrays her emotions, mixing with tears to form black streaks on her face, exposing her to the world.

THOSE BLACK STREAKS runs around 1-2 minutes, and is good for a woman looking for a sad monologue, exploring grief, perception, mother-daughter relationships, and how one makes sense of the past in the context of the present.

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Dramatic Monologue about Grief and Loss: Strawberry Yogurt Cups Going Bad in the Fridge

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When you experience a deep loss, Grief can haunt you, follow you everywhere or appear suddenly prompted by a sight or smell. Even in joyful moments, Grief knows how to sneak in. In my new monologue, STRAWBERRY YOGURT CUPS GOING BAD IN THE FRIDGE, from the play THE VISITOR IN THE DOORWAY, Grief, as a personified character, speaks to his latest charge, Clare. She has experienced a devastating loss on the heals of another terrible loss, and she begs him to leave her alone for a long time. She feels broken, lost, sad beyond belief, and she’s exhausted by Grief’s continual reappearance in her life. Grief knows that he is often an unwelcome guest and he hates that about himself. He has no control over death, yet he follows Death and has the difficult task of being the physical representation of love and loss.

In STRAWBERRY YOGURT CUPS GOING BAD IN THE FRIDGE, Grief answers Clare’s plea to leave her alone. And unfortunately, he has to give her the hard truth—he just can’t do that. Her love for the one she lost is so deep that he has to stay with her for a long time, and truthfully, he’s never going to leave her entirely.

This dramatic monologue runs around 30 seconds to 1 minute. It’s a short monologue but it has a good arc for Grief, as he showcases Clare’s love, the reminders of her loved-one, and how that deep love is what forces him to stay around her. STRAWBERRY YOGURT CUPS GOING BAD IN THE FRIDGE, is suitable for any gender actor, and any age from teen through mature adult. It’s Grief, after all, a timeless character.

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Find Me: A New 5-10 Minute Thriller Monologue

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If you’re looking for a dramatic one-woman show this Halloween, check out my new thriller monologue, FIND ME. It runs 5-10 minutes, depending on performance and staging, and is great for a female actor in her late teens, 20s, 30s.

FIND ME takes place in 1851, at the private burial site of a family estate. A young woman, Elizabeth, is found outside, in the graveyard, shovel in hand, in the dead of night. The setting alone is enough to start amping up those creepy vibes! She is heart-broken, grieving, and now embarking on a chilling quest to bring her deceased husband closer to her… The monologue is spooky and will fit your horror-theater needs, but ultimately, it’s a piece about love, loss, longing and what you might do to have even a chance to be with your true love in any form.

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New Dramatic Monologue for Women: Holding On Tightly

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In this new dramatic monologue, HOLDING ON TIGHTLY, from the play THE VISITOR IN THE DOORWAY, Clare speaks to personified Grief himself, who has come to her cabin in the woods and keeps hounding her to let him inside after a recent tragedy. Clare is fed up with who Grief keeps haunting her with multiple deep losses in her life. In the monologue, HOLDING ON TIGHTLY, Clare begins to allow for Grief coming in, as she confesses how the most recent devastating loss has broken her. She asks Grief if the more losses she experiences, the easier it is for more losses to follow.

While the monologue is written for a woman in the play, HOLDING ON TIGHTLY, could be played by any gender with whom it resonates. It runs around 1.5-2 minutes or so, depending on performance. This is a powerful dramatic monologue for an actor really looking to sink into the after-effects of loss. Clare is angry, exhausted, filled with regret and guilt, irritated with Grief, and holds extreme intense sadness. It’s a beautiful and touching monologue as Clare starts to confront what has happened to her, through the support of Grief, standing by and listening. For more context, check out the play from which this comes, THE VISITOR IN THE DOORWAY, as you’ll get a complete feeling for both Clare and Grief.

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New 1-minute Dramatic Monologue about Love and Grief: 20 Magical Minutes

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My new monologue, 20 Magical Minutes, features a raccoon, but don’t let the animal fur make you think this is a light-hearted children’s monologue. This monologue, from the play, 20 MAGICAL MINUTES OF DARKNESS AND SILENCE AND PEACE, is about grieving, love, acceptance, and honoring someone. One producer shared with me his reaction over reading the play for the first time, sitting next to his co-producer. He emailed me this verbatim dialogue from the coffee shop where they were reading through 1000 or so scripts:

Producer 1: Are you okay?
Producer 2: (through tears) I'm crying over this play about raccoons.
Producer 1: Oh my lord.

Well, folks, sometimes a racoon is not just a raccoon!

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The Visitor in the Doorway: New one-act play about Grief (literally)

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This Spring, a theater company I often work with posted a call for submissions that were inspired by specific songs (skip to my new play, THE VISITOR IN THE DOORWAY). The plays selected would be showcased in a one-act festival, and after each play, the song which inspired it would be sung by a talented local musician (Anne Carpenter). I glanced at the list sent out by the Executive Director, recognizing a few songs, then went to the beginning of the list and began playing 30 seconds or so of each song to feel how it resonated. When I got to this rendition of Mavis Staples singing Hard Times Come Again No More by Stephen Foster, it kind of took my breath away. I’d heard this song before and had always loved it, but there was something majestic, inspiring, bitter-sweet, sad, but hopeful, and so powerful about this version. I knew this was the song that would inspire my new play.

I literally closed my eyes and let the song wash over me as I began to visualize... This refrain…

'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary
Hard times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door
Oh, hard times, come again no more

I loved how the lyrics have the singer speaking to Hard Times directly, as though Hard Times is a kind of entity, a Being that is lingering around her cabin door and just won’t leave. I could feel this weary, exhausted person, who had been through so much, just begging Hard Times to finally leave. Leave her alone. Leave and don’t come back.

While this song can be about many things, to me, Hard Times, this Being hovering at the of this exhausted woman, started to morph into…well…who comes during Hard Times? Grief himself.

And the character of Grief started to form…

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New 30-Second Monologue About Trust from Pitfalls and Treasures

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My play, Pitfalls and Treasures, is a dark comedy/drama about two loner seagulls finding each other, and forming a kind of reliance, trust, friendship. Each has been ostracized from their former flock, but their response to the pain of being pushed out is very different. Andrew remains open, friendly, trusting, hoping for the best. Mary is more jaded and skeptical (“one bitten, twice shy” kinda situation). But now Andrew has twine wrapped around his foot and no one has stopped to help him except Mary. As the two search a littered parking lot for objects that might be used to cut off the twine from his leg, Mary points out dangerous litter (like chewing gum) which might appear treasures to Andrew if he is not careful. Andrew’s gratitude for Mary’s help is immense and he marvels at how he has even survived without her. In this monologue, Mary warns him not to be too trusting of her—or anyone for that matter, as she gets lost in thoughts from her own experience.

This is a 30-second contemporary monologue for a female actor, from late teens to any age adult. You can enjoy a short excerpt below, get the free monologue here, or the entire play here.

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Netflix's "Dead To Me:" On Guilt, Grief, Friendship & Love

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I first discovered the Netflix show, Dead To Me, when my dear friend, Jessica, recommended it when it aired in 2019. Jessica and I became best friends when we were 14 and she went from home-schooling on her family farm to attending my small public school (she thrived and never looked back!). We acted in plays together, went on family vacations together, tons of sleepovers, visited each other at college and beyond, made crazy recordings, dated brothers once, spent every moment we could together. And for the next few decades, we shared almost daily phone calls as teens, to regular calls and letters as we made it through young-adulthood, to almost daily calls again, as we shared marriage and motherhood. We talked about anything and everything—relationships, society, philosophy, politics, families—and also cooking, cleaning hacks, books, tv. When I recommended the book Pachinko, she read it. When she recommended a recipe for a homemade ice cream cake, I made it. So when she recommended “Dead to Me,” I watched it. I remember her saying it was not like any other show she’d seen.

“Dead to Me” is a show about mistakes and consequences—and how you deal with both. It’s dark and funny. It’s tense and poignant. It’s a lot about guilt, but it’s also about motherhood and daughterhood. And at its core, it’s about friendship and love.

I’m actually a little shocked when I see that this show aired in May 2019 because Jessica was battling Stage 4 cancer at the time. She passed away 4 months later.

Shocked isn’t the right word.

Anyone who has lost a loved one knows that Grief kind of jumps up in your face and screams at you at any random moment it feels like.

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A Play for International Raccoon Appreciation Day

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20 MAGICAL MINUTES OF DARKNESS & SILENCE & PEACE, featuring Brian Bagot and Brenda Hettmansberger. Directed by Susan Ward at WCT. Gregory Perry Photography

October 1 was International Raccoon Appreciation Day! I only just discovered this today, but even though we are two days past the official date, we can all still celebrate these pretty amazing and adorable creatures. Raccoons are not simply partying around that pile of trash they dumped out of your curbside can. They’re important for many reasons. They distribute seeds from berries and nuts. They help keep our land clean by taking care of (aka eating) dead animals which would otherwise attract disease and insects. They also eat insects (including ticks) and rodents.

I love that the idea of this Appreciation Day is not only to celebrate raccoons, but all creatures who are commonly misunderstood as “pests,” but who play vital roles in our ecosystem. Isn’t this an important message that can apply to many facets of human living too? Many of us feel misunderstood at times, but we all have value and place in our world. I also personally love that raccoons exemplify “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” (In fact, in my play, Pitfalls and Treasures, two seagulls refer to trash cans as “treasure cans.”). What is “trash” after all?

20 MAGICAL MINUTES OF DARKNESS & SILENCE & PEACE, featuring Brian Bagot and Brenda Hettmansberger. Directed by Susan Ward at WCT. Gregory Perry Photography

In honor of International Raccoon Appreciation Day, enjoy my short play, 20 Magical Minutes of Darkness & Silence & Peace. The play features 2 raccoons, Grace and Joffrey. Yes, there is talk of pizza in a dumpster, but the play transcends exclusive “raccoon issues,” and is mainly about personal connections. After a tragedy, Joffrey has run off from the gaze. Grace is charged to find him and bring him back home. But when she discovers him at a train station parking lot, he refuses to come back with her. Yet. He is reeling in grief, and in order to find solace and closure, he has to do something first. At this train station. And he needs her help.

Check out an excerpt here, or get the full play below.

20 MAGICAL MINUTES OF DARKNESS & SILENCE & PEACE
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The Bronze Lining: New 2-Person 10-Minute Drama/Comedy

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In 2019, I wrote The Bronze Lining, a 10-minute dramedy, with 2 great female roles. It’s about estranged sisters who attempt to reconnect during a hike after their mother’s death. There’s a lot of damage between them, stemming not only from some traditional sibling rivalry, but also from how each one handled the sickness of their mother, the process of dying, and now, the process of grieving. You can read an excerpt of the play here or get the whole play here.

This play was originally inspired by a painting, as part of The Living Art Event, a collaboration between visual artists of the Ossining Arts Council and the performing artists of Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT). Jill Kiefer's piece, "Such a Bewilderness...", drew me in. I loved the richness, the muddiness, the twists, the brown and white and black, the textures, and that dragonfly escaping the mire into the air. The sisters in The Bronze Lining are also entrapped in their shared history, intertwined in the muddiness of complicated relationships that ebb and flow, damage and repair. Siblings have a connection that is going to bind them forever—although what sisters Mindy and Anne choose to do with that bond in the future, especially now that both of their parents are gone, is uncertain.

The production of this play has had its own complicated history, not without grief. In January 2020, at our first round of auditions, I met the director slated for this festival, Joe Albert Lima. He was smart, good-natured, experienced, and I immediately felt I could trust him with my play. He apologized for being a bit out of breath and coughing occasionally; he used an inhaler and mentioned his asthma had been bothering him. Tragically, less than a week later, he was hospitalized and passed away. While I didn’t know him well or long, I was shocked and pained by this loss, especially for his family and close friends. The theater community also felt this loss as he had a long history as a director in the area and was a founding member of WCT.

Meanwhile, covid-19 was making more and more headlines abroad.

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Don't Close The Doors: New 10-minute thriller/dramatic monologue

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If you’re looking for a solo thriller performance piece, consider my new 10-minute monologue play, Don’t Close the Doors. There’s no gore, no blood, yet the ominous atmosphere is consuming. This is a perfect choice for spooky Halloween theater, but is also powerful as a dramatic tragedy any time of year.

We’re familiar with the creepiness a bedroom closet can evoke: What’s inside those closed doors when we’re sleeping in our bed, when we’re practicing the violin, talking to a friend…? Does closing those doors keep out whatever it is that might be lurking from within? But what if that presence in the closet doesn’t want to be there any more than we want it there? What if that presence in the closet is the one being tortured, not us? In Don’t Close the Doors:

Abigail, a ghost in Stephanie’s closet, is sorry she must use her powers to freeze Stephanie in place, but what she must share with Stephanie is so dire that sometimes these things must be done. At first, it appears Abigail’s ominous presence is a threat to Stephanie. However, as Abigail relays the tragedies which have left her paralyzed in Stephanie’s closet, we realize it is Abigail who desperately needs Stephanie’s help to end her heartbreaking torture.

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New Dramatic 5-minute monologue: Strawberry Shortcake Lamp by Tara Meddaugh

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In this 5-minute dramatic monologue, Strawberry Shortcake Lamp, Janine returns to her childhood Home to spend time with her mother who is dying. Janine’s mother has ALS, a progressive disease, and in the last few weeks, her health has rapidly declined to the point of barely being able to speak or move. When Janine first arrives to the house, she asks her mother what she would like to do. Her mother gives her the simple request to “talk.” And so, Janine cuddles up in bed beside her, and talks.

This is a monologue about grief, about simplicity, about love, care, living on, passing down, and sacred links between women. I also share it today, on the anniversary of my own mother’s death. Click here for more on ALS.

Click for a free excerpt to the monologue, Strawberry Shortcake Lamp.

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Engulf The Evil Ashes: A dramatic monologue from the play, For My Silent Sisters by Tara Meddaugh

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My full-length dramatic play, For My Silent Sisters, gives voice to four young people who struggle to escape the dark world of human trafficking. *Before I discuss the monologue and play, please note that while I write with great respect and care, this monologue contains references to human trafficking and violence and may not be suitable for all readers.* Please also note that while the play is fiction, there are many experiences, very similar to the ones I give voice to, which have happened to real people. No country is immune to this egregious crime. At the time I’m writing this, criminals are trafficking an estimated 25 million people worldwide. For more information on human trafficking in the USA, how to help or report, visit the Human Trafficking Hotline or Polaris.

For My Silent Sisters journeys how criminals use manipulation, lies, or force to commit this crime. But it mainly journeys how four teenagers survive within this world, hold onto hope, strength, friendship, and how they all eventually leave that world—one way or another.

Engulf the Evil Ashes is a monologue from Marta. Marta, an excellent student from a large family in Romania, sees her way to a brighter future by accepting a position as a translator in England. However, after leaving home with the job recruiter, she discovers the role she thought she would receive does not exist. Instead, she is taken to a “training facility” in the woods in Albania, a place where girls are “trained” for forced prostitution (enslavement), then sent to other countries to make money for their enslavers. While their situation is terrifying, Marta immediately bonds with a confident Romani girl, Tasaria. They share stories, looks, secrets; they become closer than sisters. Tasaria develops a plan for them to escape the facility, but when the moment comes, Marta does not follow her. Tasaria’s escape attempt fails and she is killed. Marta is devastated.

In this monologue, Engulf the Evil Ashes, Marta has been punished, by friendship association, for Tasaria’s escape attempt. She is placed in the ground, simulating being buried alive. Though grieving, her rage and determination give her strength, and Marta comes up with a plan for freedom. She hides sticks from the outdoors and brings them with her when she is placed in an isolated room inside. During the course of a few hours, she is able to start a fire and begin burning down the old wooden building. While the building goes up in flames and smoke, Marta only smells freedom.

This monologue is about 2.5 minutes long, suitable for a mature teenager or young adult looking to sink into a dramatic monologue. It is a moment of empowerment, a moment when a frightened and beaten-down person finds strength in righteous anger, a moment when she finds a powerful voice, not only in words, but in actions. A moment when she changes the fate for herself—and hundreds of other girls.

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New dramatic monologue: "Birthday Balloons" by Tara Meddaugh

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If you’re looking for a dramatic, heartfelt monologue, approximately 2 minutes long, for a female actor (or male), consider my new monologue, Birthday Balloons. Grief has been an uninvited guest in my life the past 5 years, one which has also snuck into my writing in fits and starts. I wrote this a year ago, found it yesterday and edited—and…can I confess something? I almost don’t even want to look at this again. It becomes a little hard to breathe when I read it. Still, I share it with you. Because there are many things we don’t wish to sit in which find voice and connection in theater.

In this dramatic monologue, Adelaide, suffering from a terminal illness, tries to reconcile her desire to give her son a happy birthday next month with the impending hopelessness she feels. She speaks to her friend. You may read the excerpt below and click at the end for a free digital copy of the whole monologue, Birthday Balloons.

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Blessings: New dramatic monologue about grieving, for male actor

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Eventually, I will write a post about grieving, as it has become a familiar guest in my life the past 4 years. But for now, if you’re looking for a 2-minute dramatic monologue about grief, you can check out this new monologue below, Blessings. Speaking to a Grief Support Group, Ian confronts the whispered notion that it was a blessing that he and his wife did not have children before she died….

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