Classic Monologues for the Middle School Stage
30 classic speeches your middle schoolers can actually own.
Speeches from Aristophanes to O’Neill, printed uncut and exactly as published, each with word lists, a beat breakdown, rehearsal games and a teacher box.
Former Artistic Director, West Virginia Shakespeare Festival
- ✓ Public-domain plays: no royalties to perform
- ✓ One purchase covers your whole school
- ✓ Instant PDF download
- ✓ Free with Flex, Llama and Dramallama U plans
Inside every entry
Built like a rehearsal room
Every speech is built on the questions actors train on. Who is this person talking to? What do they want? What is in the way? What changes by the last line?
Student handout
Who is speaking and to whom, what the character wants, the words to know, and the speech itself with its time.
For students
Breakdown and language
The beats, what changes, where the speech starts and stops, and how the language works.
For students
Rehearsal
Three rehearsal prompts and a class game that gets the speech on its feet.
For students
For teachers
Skill focus, scaffold, content note, assessment checklist, casting and festival use.
For teachers
Look inside
Real pages from the book
The free preview has the front of the book and the first two complete entries. Open the preview
Contents
All 30 speeches
Every speech is a continuous, uncut passage from a play first published in 1930 or earlier. Times are estimates, so time each piece aloud.
Showing all 30 speeches
Before 1700
- 1
Strepsiades · The Clouds“Ah me! ah me! O king Jupiter”Aristophanes (tr. Hickie)
- 2
Máthavya · Śakoontalá; or, The Lost Ring“Heigh-ho! what an unlucky fellow I am!”Kálidása (tr. Monier Williams)
- 3
Julia · The Two Gentlemen of Verona“Nay, would I were so ang’red with the same!”Shakespeare
- 4
Launce · The Two Gentlemen of Verona“I am but a fool, look you”Shakespeare
- 5
Moth · Love’s Labour’s Lost“No, my complete master”Shakespeare
- 6
Imogen · Cymbeline“I did not take my leave of him”Shakespeare
- 7
Rosaura · Life Is a Dream“Wild hippogriff swift speeding”Calderón (tr. MacCarthy)
- 8
Agnès · The School for Wives“It is very surprising and almost incredible”Molière (tr. Mathew)
1700 to 1880
- 9
Mirandolina · Mine Hostess“What a thing to say!”Goldoni (tr. Bax)
- 10
Polly · Polly Honeycombe, A Dramatick Novel of One Act“Why so I do”Colman the Elder
- 11
Mrs. Malaprop · The Rivals“Observe me, Sir Anthony”Sheridan
- 12
Recha · Nathan the Wise“And may you not?”Lessing (tr. Frothingham)
- 13
Claude Melnotte · The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride“Do the stars think of us?”Bulwer-Lytton
- 14
Pippa · Pippa Passes“Day! Faster and more fast”Browning
- 15
Galatea · Pygmalion and Galatea“I was a cold, dull stone”Gilbert
1880 to 1930
- 16
Lomov · The Proposal“It’s cold . . . I’m trembling all over”Chekhov (tr. West)
- 17
Sylvette · The Fantasticks“And hate can divide.”Rostand (tr. Fleming)
- 18
Gwendolen · The Importance of Being Earnest“Yes, I am quite aware of the fact”Wilde
- 19
Miss Prism · The Importance of Being Earnest“Lady Bracknell, I admit with shame that I do not know”Wilde
- 20
Captain Hook · Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up“How still the night is”Barrie
- 21
The Boy · Prunella or Love in a Dutch Garden“Well,, You see they was going away to-day”Housman and Granville Barker
- 22
Jeanne · Jeanne d’Arc“How happily doth all the world go home!”MacKaye
- 23
Amal · The Post Office“I can’t say; but it’s quite clear to me.”Tagore
- 24
Androcles · Androcles and the Lion“Oh, hes lame, poor old chap!”Shaw
- 25
Mis’ Ellsworth · The Neighbours“I know, I know”Gale
- 26
Alice · Alice in Wonderland“Don’t you wish sometimes you could go into looking-glass house?”Gerstenberg
- 27
Mrs. Keeney · Ile“I wanted to be with you, David”O’Neill
- 28
Princess Nuala · The Dragon“It is that there was a spell put upon me”Lady Gregory
- 29
Bobby Wheeler · Clarence“Look; I guess it wouldn’t be any harm to own one”Tarkington
- 30
The Knave · The Knave of Hearts“All my life I have had a craving for tarts”Saunders
No speeches match those filters. Try another combination.
Playwrights: Aristophanes · Kálidása · Shakespeare · Calderón · Molière · Goldoni · Sheridan · Lessing · Browning · Gilbert · Chekhov · Wilde · Barrie · Shaw · Tagore · Lady Gregory · O’Neill · Zona Gale.
Competition Guide
Ready for the Thespys
No splicing, no combining characters, no text changes. That meets the strictest material rules we found.
| Event | Organization (season) | Fits? | The rules that matter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monologue (Junior Thespians) | EdTA Thespys (2026–27) | Yes, as printed | One piece, 3:00 or less; one chair; no props or costumes |
| Contrasting Monologues (Junior Thespians) | EdTA Thespys (2026–27) | Yes, as printed | Two contrasting pieces, 3:00 or less combined; every pair in the Pairing Guide fits |
| State Junior Thespian monologue events | State festivals (e.g., Florida) | Usually | Often one piece, 3:00, one chair; rules vary by state |
| Dramatic / Humorous Interpretation | NSDA Middle School (2026–27) | With your own longer cutting | Up to 10:00 +0:30 grace; one published source; no props, costumes or sets |
Before any festival: the five-point check
- Right event, right length. Time the piece aloud with your pauses. Limits are maximums.
- Words exactly as printed. Our texts are printed exactly; keep them that way, even when casting crosses gender.
- Nothing but chairs. No props or costumes at Thespys. Each teacher box says how to mime every object.
- Slate correctly. Your name(s), troupe number and the title of the play. Never the title of this book.
- Bring the source. Public-domain plays are eligible at Thespys without appearing on the Approved Materials List.
The Pairing Guide at the back sets up contrasting pairs that fit a 3:00 slot. Rules were checked against each organization’s official 2026–27 rules on November 3, 2026. Rules change every season, so confirm with your chapter, league or tournament before you enter.
The editor
Sean Cercone
Founder and CEO of Dramallama and The Licensing House. Former Artistic Director of the West Virginia Shakespeare Festival, with an MFA in Acting from West Virginia University. He is also a playwright.
From the editor
Use these pieces in class, in showcases and in competition. Above all, use them to help your students discover that this writing was made to be played.
Your rights
Perform it, print it, no permission needed
The plays are public domain
Every play and translation was first published in 1930 or earlier and is in the public domain in the United States. Perform them without paying a royalty. Rights were checked for the United States only.
One purchase covers one school
Teachers, staff and students at your school may print and copy any part of the book, as often as you need, for classes, rehearsals, auditions and performances.
Please keep it in your building
Don’t post the PDF online or share it with other schools. Each school needs its own copy. That keeps new books like this coming.
Pricing
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Classic Monologues for the Middle School Stage
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Quick answers
Questions teachers ask
Do we owe royalties to perform these?
No. Every play and translation in the book was first published in 1930 or earlier and is in the public domain in the United States, so you can perform it in class, in showcases, at festivals and in auditions without a royalty. If you are outside the United States, check the status where you are.
Can I make copies for my students?
Yes. One purchase covers one school. Teachers, staff and students at that school may print and copy any part of the book as often as they need. Please don’t post the PDF online or share it with other schools.
Are the speeches cut or changed?
No. Every speech is a continuous, uncut passage printed exactly as its edition prints it. That is what festival rules require.
Will these work for Thespys?
Yes, as printed, for the events in the Competition Guide above. We checked the 2026–27 rules on November 3, 2026. Rules change every season, so confirm with your chapter before you enter.
I have a Dramallama plan. Do I need to buy this?
No. Every One-Act Flex, Llama and Dramallama U plan includes the whole Teacher Toolkit. Log in and the download buttons appear at the top of this page. Solo plans don’t include it.
Can I pay with a purchase order?
Yes. Choose Purchase order at checkout and we email you an invoice. Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay orders download right away.
