New Comedic Monologue for Unicorn-Lovers: CloudLily The Unicorn & Zoey

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Did someone say UNICORN??

magical forest with a unicorn horn and ears in bottom left. In blue and pink font, Title Cloudlily The Unicorn And Zoey. Subtitle in brown, A monologue by Tara Meddaugh

Okay, so there just are not enough monologues out there for unicorns! Right?? But here’s your chance to finally play one (I know you have always wanted to). Check out my comedic monologue, CloudLily The Unicorn & Zoey, which runs about 30 seconds to 1 minute long. In it, CloudLily, a unicorn, is talking to her loyal fan, 4-year-old, Zoey. Zoey has been visiting CloudLily in the magical forest and giving her super awesome gifts. You know the kind of gifts some 4-year-olds give you, right? Like…weeds…and clumps of dirt? So CloudLily is grateful. I mean, how could she not be? Zoey is an adorable child who is the definition of “pure of heart.” But…CloudLily also knows humans have access to some pretty cool things besides just, well, dirt. Check out what CloudLily asks Zoey for in the short funny monologue for any age actor (child, tween, teen, or adult!).

Also, gotta give some props to the inspiration for this monologue. One of my followers on Facebook messaged me he got a “Top Fan Badge” for my page. I gave him some virtual props and said, “you win!” He wisely asked me what he won. And I said, “hmmm…you or your kids can give me a topic and I’ll see if I can write a little monologue about it.” He told me his daughter loves rainbow unicorns. Well. Here’s your monologue, Zoey! Hope you enjoy!

Enjoy a little excerpt (and silly floating animated unicorn head video, as well!)!

CLOUDLILY  

(to 4-year-old Zoey)

Zoey. I love the dandelions and clovers and…clumps of dirt you keep bringing me every day. They’re all really cool and special and I know it’s super fun watching my magical unicorn horn turn them into rainbow colors and make them dance and stuff like that. But I hear—CLICK HERE FOR MORE

My silly floating-head-unicorn amateur animation of “CloudLily The Unicorn & Zoey.”

Unknown Playwrights Monologue Mondays Feature: Single Crutch by Tara Meddaugh

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Thanks to Bryan Stubbles, playwright and blogger of Unknown Playwrights, for his feature of my comedic teen monologue, Single Crutch. In his series, Monologue Mondays, he shares several video performances of the monologue (and points out this is my second monologue which mentions a marching band! Hadn’t thought of that before).

After a bully steals Ben’s crutch, Ben begs his friend to lend him his old “Tiny Tim” crutch so he can make Marching Band auditions in time. Ben points out that his friend kind of owes him. After all, he wouldn’t have broken his leg if his friend hadn’t advised him to jump out of a moving truck to impress a girl in the first place (And it didn’t even work!).

Single Crutch is a monologue which was inspired by an actor at Carnegie Mellon University (where I received my MFA in Dramatic Writing). In one class, playwrights worked with actors to write monologues tailored to the actors’ specific talents/requests. In fact, March in Line, Rising Fast, Purple Banana Nose, Disappointing Hell, Ferret Envy and Crispy Leaves were all written for CMU actors in the same process (I’ve given the character names these talented actors’ first names.). One of the actors I was working with, Ben, told me he’d always wanted to walk out on stage with a crutch. So… I gave him a crutch! The crutch became my jumping off point, and coupled with his comedic talents, I was inspired to create this Single Crutch. Since then, Single Crutch has been performed by hundreds, if not thousands, of actors. It has been used in classrooms, theaters, universities, competitions, showcases and performances around the world. It was published in 2019 by London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), in Acting Anthology: Volume 4 (under the name “Lost Crutch”).

It was a joy to write and I hope it’s a joy to perform! The monologue is about 2 minutes along and great for teen actors. Check out an excerpt below!

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Climbing the Walls Exhibition: Including new monologue by Tara Meddaugh, The Best General Tso's, featuring Sara Jean Ford

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I’m happy to be a part of a joint exhibition between Studio Theater in Exile and Hudson Valley MOCA called Climbing the Walls. Artistic Director of Studio Theater, Mara Mills, envisioned the virtual exhibition as a vehicle to "explore the ways we are experiencing life right now and how we imagine the future” during this global pandemic.

My short (1.5 minute) monologue, “The Best General Tso’s features the fabulously talented actor, Sara Jean Ford (you may know her as Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway—and from lots more!). It’s about finding old General Tso’s chicken in the refrigerator during stay-at-home measures. While losses are certainly felt in big moments, I’ve often found that it’s in mundane moments that our pains become acute. Because these moments are day-to-day, they’re also frequent and hard to escape. The Best General Tso's is, on one hand, a comedic moment between partners, but it also draws on the complex feelings and experiences underlying a simple mundane moment. Sometimes a leftover is not just a leftover.

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The Beanstalk Monologue: Featured on Unknown Playwrights Monologue Monday

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Twisting up a classic tale from a new angle is a never-ending well, and I love it as much as the next fairy-tale-raised dramatist or thespian! So here is my monologue, The Beanstalk, edited from the 10-minute play of the same name, The Beanstalk, featured on Unknown Playwrights Monologue Monday series. This monologue has been dissected for years, being one of my earlier pieces, and I’ve loved seeing teachers and students analyze this, and the various unique performances and interpretations of the piece. From Monologue Mondays:

Meddaugh’s monologue is like a snapshot of Jack when he first tries to climb the beanstalk and dude is scared. He talks to a crow for comfort and what follows is a character-rich psychological study of fear with a bit of humor…Any way you cut it, Meddaugh’s monologue is a fresh take on a millennia-old story with a lot of physicality. Let’s see what our brave acting heroes have accomplished…

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Unknown Playwrights Feature of my dark comedy monologue, "March in Line"

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It’s so much fun to see wildly different interpretations of the same monologue, right? Yet within all the differences, it’s telling to find the commonalities that run throughout. Unknown Playwrights Monologue Monday series does a great job of showcasing new monologues, and then compiling an A-Z video list of actors performing the piece. You can see three videos below of actors performing my monologue, March in Line, just to show how very different they can be!

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Interview with Monologue Slam Winner, Billy Vale

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Billy Vale was thrilled when he heard his name called as the Youth Round Winner of the MonologueSlam UK Birmingham. My monologue, "Ipad Fury,"was the first monologue he had performed, but his talent was clear, and his performance appreciated by the judges and audience alike...

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Meet the Winner!

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I recently had the pleasure to e-meet the winner of my Christmas Superpowers and Believing in Blitzen Monologue Contest, and this is one talented young actor! Ryan Henzi is from Ankeny, Iowa; he's 10 years old and he's been acting for years already!  Now you can get to know this budding young actor too, and take a look at his great video performance of "Shepherd Superheroes."...

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Contest Winners Announced!

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Thank you for participating in my Christmas Superpowers and Believing in Blitzen Monologue Contest! I was truly impressed by the talent of the submissions! Thank you for taking the time to perform and record these monologues—you all did a terrific job! ...

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Captivating performance of my monologue, "I am a Shark"

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Check out this performance of my monologue, "I am a Shark." Antonio De Matteo clearly knows how to captivate an audience with his tone and his eyes. I found myself mesmerized just watching him.

Share your thoughts! Have you performed this monologue with a different interpretation?  How powerful do you find it when an actor looks directly into the camera? Looks away from the camera? What are ways you can be effective using only your face and voice?