The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook, Updated and Expanded Edition: An Actor's Reference to Over 1,000 Scenes and Monologues from More than 300 Contemporary Plays

I thought this book would have the actual monologues in it...it did not. Instead, it is a listing of monologues, a synopsis of the speech within the play and some insight on the character. It is broken down into different catagories for males and females, modern and classic, dramatic and comedic and more. Great source book for actors in search of a monologue. Definately recommed this for a high school drama class resource book. Arrived in good condition and on time.

For anyone, whether you're a teen or all the way up to your 50's, this is a great book to have when you need common monologue practice or something new that no one's heard of before! Not only does it give you great pieces to work with, it'll tell you who it's for [age, sex, with a partner, alone] as well as the tone it sets with a brief description of what's going on! This is not a book that PROVIDES the monolgues, but the sources to it and how to go about acting it. It's a source that'll quickly show you if the monologues made for you or isn't. It's a quick find and amazing to understand. I can't wait to try this out for an audition!

Some of the monologues in here have a lot of juice and ton of stuff to work with. And being a thespian since I was a little boy, I though 'Hmm why didn't I think of that monologue,' but others in here- I feel like I wasted time getting the play, reading it and finding that the monologue is REEEEALLY stupid. As in the author picked it as a filler monologue. I mean unless you are into monologues that don't have a ton of character work then fine. The ones I'm complaining about are the ones that tell a story from character talking about a another character. Why would you pick a monologue that brings no opinions of the character himself into play?? It's nonsense and doesn't provide a full spectrum of opportunity for the performer. There are also some CRITICAL monologues missed in here from plays that I call "homerun" monologues. These monologues (I found them in the past without the help of this book), have gotten me role after role in mainstage shows but haven't been neglected in the book which is why I've had a few reservations about the quality of the ones that were included.

I originally wrote of horrible reviewing this book. It turned out to be great and I'm so sorry I said something negative. Such a helpful tool.

This is sooo useful for anyone looking for monologues. Instead of scouring through countless plays filled with nothing but two person dialogue this book tells you exactly where to find monologues and even gives you a breakdown of who the character is, what the monologue is about AND the exact page numbers. It gives you many different options as far as type, gender, age and makes finding monologues so simple and painless. It does not include the actual monologues but gives you a head start as far as knowing which plays to read. This is a fantastic resource.

Thank you Goodwill Southern California!!My book came way earlier than expected and was in excellent condition!Excellent sourcebook for monologues and scenes.

I bought a used one, but it came like almost new, like no-one used it. Is a great book giving out descriptions on monologues for those who need help with classroom assignments or auditions.

Ed's book is the BEST for finding excellent material for scene work, monologues, and even for getting acquainted with plays you may not know that well. It's thorough, well-written, and well-organized to easily find what you need. Ed is a superb acting coach himself, so he knows what he's doing when putting this together for the rest of us...An indispensable addition to your acting/coaching/teaching library...

Not clear on what's included in the book. It's a list of good monologues rather than the actual monologues.

This is not what it appears to be. I was looking for actual monologues. This is a book that tells you character descriptions for monologues but there is a catch...you have to actually get the monologues yourself. Waste of money.

Answers my questions and allows me to look for the plays.

Despite this being called a 'sourcebook,' I really don't think it is clear and obvious in the description that this book contains no actual monologues! It lists off many, including an age range for performance, which play it is from, the page number and a brief description of the monologue. However, its extremely difficult to even select one from this list... it doesn't indicate how long a monologue is. You could end up going to the trouble of ordering a play only to find out the speech is only a few lines long. My advice is to seek a book which contains many actual monologues as choosing from this book is more of a stab in the dark than anything else.