Monologues for actors of color Men

The necessity for volumes such as these is obvious, since the minority actor seems to have a limited amount of material from which to choose. But the usefulness of Uno's two collections is not limited to African American and Latin actors; the carefully chosen material represents diverse ethic roles and socioeconomic levels and a spectrum of subject matter and points of view. Whereas books of monologues too often include trite and overused selections readily available from a variety of other sources, the present volumes contain original and unheard material by playwrights both well known and less familiar. The actor will find the synopsis and introduction to each piece particularly helpful in establishing context. Each volume has a "Permission and Play Source" section, which lists the original texts. These bibliographic lists also serve as excellent guides for libraries that wish to enhance their collections of minority dramatic materials. The only drawback of compilations of this kind is that students too often do not research the plays from which these materials are drawn. Those using monologue collections should be encouraged to seek the original, full-length sources, which provide the best context for analysis of the monologues. Presently the best sources for minority dramatic material in monologue form in publication, these two volumes should be in every library used by students of the theater or actors. J. H. Conger III Northern Kentucky University