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Contemporary American Monologues for Men
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• Monologue books for actor’s auditions have always sold well. • These are the first published by TCG, which is drawn from over 100 plays published by TCG.—includes THE contemporary American Playwrights • TODD LONDON WRITES FOR New American Theatre • ABSOLUTE MONOLOGUES: EUROPEAN CLASSICS FOR MEN (0-948230-72-X. sold 700 copies at short discount!) • BASIC STOCK FOR ANY DRAMA SECTION
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TheatreVI
âI THOUGHT OF KILLING PEOPLEâ
STILL LIFE
BY EMILY MANN
Mark, an ex-Marine, still carries the violence he experienced and committed in Vietnam. It erupts in his marriage to Cheryl, whom, despite his love, he sometimes beats. His active violence also plays out in his artworkâthe remnants of bones and battle memorabilia he seals in jar sculptures and the horrific photographs he shows to the audience in this direct-address, testimonial-style play.
MARK:
I thought of killing people when I got back.
I went to a party with a lady, Cheryl, you know,
later we got marriedâ
She was into seeing people who were into LSD.
And I had tried a little acid this night,
but I wasnât too fucked-up.
And we went to this party.
And there was this big guy.
I was with a friend of mine who tried to rip him off,
or something like that.
He said, the big guy said:
Get the fuck out of here
or Iâll take this fucking baseball bat
and split your head wide open.
I started to size up what my options were.
In a split second, I knew I could have him.
He had a baseball bat,
but there was one of these long glass Coke bottles.
I knew . . . Okay, I grabbed that.
I moved toward him, to stick it in his face.
I mean, I killed him.
I mean in my mind.
I cut his throat and everything.
My wife saw this and grabbed me.
I couldnât talk to anybody the rest of the night.
I sat and retained the tension and said:
âI want to kill him.â
They had to drive me home.
It was only the third time Iâd been out with my wife.
It wasnât till the next day that I really got shook by it.
My wife said,
âHey, cool your jets.â
Sheâd say, âHey, donât do things like that.
Youâre not over there anymore.
Settle down, itâs all right.â
I think my wifeâs scared of me.
STILL LIFE
BY EMILY MANN
Markâs confession reveals something of the anger, guilt and terror that propel him so violently through civilian life. Nadine, mentioned here, is an older woman artist, his mistress.
MARK:
I . . . killed three children, a mother and father in cold blood.
I killed three children, a mother and father.
I killed them with a pistol in front of a lot of people.
I demanded something from the parents and then
systematically destroyed them.
And thatâs . . .
thatâs the heaviest part of what Iâm carrying around.
You know about it now, a few other people know about it,
My wife knows about it, Nadine knows about it,
and nobody else knows about it.
For the rest of my life . . .
I have a son . . .
Heâs going to die for what Iâve done.
This is what Iâm carrying around;
thatâs what this logic is about with my children.
A friend hit a booby trap.
And these people knew about it.
I knew they knew.
I knew that they were working with the VC infrastructure.
I demanded that they tell me.
They wouldnât say anything.
I just wanted them to confess before I killed them.
And they wouldnât.
So I killed their children
and then I killed them.
I was angry.
I was angry with all the power I had.
I couldnât beat them.
They beat me.
I lost friends in my unit . . .
I did wrong.
People in the unit watched me kill them.
Some of them tried to stop me.
I donât know.
I canât, . . . Oh, God . . .
A certain amount of stink
went all the way back to the rear.
I almost got into a certain amount of trouble.
It was all rationalized,
that there was a logic behind it.
But they knew.
And everybody who knew had a part in it.
There was enough evidence,
but it wasnât a very good image to put out
in terms of . . .
the marines overseas, so nothing happened.
I have a child . . .
a child who passed through the age
that the little child was.
My son . . . my son
wouldnât know the difference between a VC and a marine.
ASSASSINS
BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND JOHN WEIDMAN
One of a gallery of fourteen Americans who have tried, successfully or un-, to assassinate a president, Sam Byck hijacked a 747, which he hoped to crash into the White House when President Nixon was home. He outlines his complaints and ideas onto tapes that he sends to famous cultural figures. Here, he speaks to Leonard Bernstein. Throughout this musical, Byck appears in a Santa Claus suit, carrying a picket sign.
SAM BYCK: Hey, I know what youâre thinking. Who the hell is Sam Byck with his fat ass and his tongue on rye to give a shit hot guy such as yourself advice? Well, Lenny, itâs a fact that my unwillingness to compromise my principles and kiss ass like some people I could mention has cost me the so-called good life w...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Acknowledgments
- Contents
- Introduction
- An Actor Chooses
- I. âI was just thinking about my father . . .â
- II. âA man who loves his workâ
- III. âIâm dying, thatâs whatâs wrongâ
- IV. âDescription of the so-called Venusâ
- V. âMy shitâs intenseâ
- VI. âI thought of killing peopleâ
- VII. âGodâs lightning opens up the groundâ
- VIII. âWe are the master raceâ
- IX. WOMBmanWARs
- X. âThuh childrenâ
- XI. âNothing left but to runâ
- XII. âWill the past release us?â
- XIII. âNow tell me what it meansâ
- XIV. âItâs time we go our separate waysâ
- XV. âI choose not to be inconsolableâ
- Further Reading