221 one-minute monologues for women

If brevity is the soul of a good audition, then these titles will prove a great resource. Nothing kills an otherwise successful audition like running over the allotted time. In the first two volumes, Capecci and Aston assemble bite-sized audition pieces drawn from myriad sources: plays, novels, film scripts, even comic books. In both volumes, the monologues are grouped into two categories--classics (anything before the 1920s), which take up about a third of the selections, and contemporary. Selections are indexed by age, tone, and voice: the age category ranges from teens to senior citizens; tone refers to the quality of the monologue, usually comedic, dramatic, or seriocomic; voice refers to any specific class, ethnicity, or sexual identity that defines the character. This index is particularly useful, because the actor is probably searching for a monologue geared toward a specific time period, age range, or type. To the editors' credit, the selection of authors is diverse--Shakespeare, Moliere, Suzan-Lori Parks, Athol Fugard, Don Nigro, Philip Roth, and Jane Martin, among many others.The third book in the set collects works by Glenn Alterman, who has made a name for himself writing monologues strictly for auditions. This volume offers 101 pithy, gritty, and often humorous pieces for a wide range of character types. The great strength of the 60 Seconds to Shine titles is their focus on newer contemporary works and original material. Monologues that work well often become overused, by the world at large as well as by individual actors, so including fresh selections from a wide range of sources is a plus. One word of caution: the first two volumes provide little context, so the actor should refer to the original source whenever possible. These volumes join Smith & Kraus's "Ultimate Audition Book" titles, which are also valuable. A 60 Seconds to Shine title on nondramatic sources from literature is in the works. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Student and professional actors. E. D. Bochinski Fairfield University