Kristen Dabrowski

While these plays are appropriate for children (which I've found isn't always the case with Dabrowski's work), I'm afraid that they're just not all that well-written. Many of the scenes are meant to come across as realistic, but don't, either because of stale dialogue, jumps in logic or contradictions, or pacing/development that just doesn't make sense in terms of a realistic scene. In nearly every scene here, some of the characters just blend together, as if they're multiple versions of the same character. Along the same lines, many lines don't progress the scenes in any manner--they just serve as a few more lines to provide practice for memorization.

While Dabrowski claims that all of these scenes provide monologues which can be used on their own, that's actually a huge problem in itself. Within the scenes, nearly all of the so-called monologues are awkward and un-entertaining; and, as monologues, they're just not that useful, I'm afraid--more stream-of-conscious ramblings than focused monologues that could provide worthwhile practice at character development and acting.

Simply, this book does provide scenes that are appropriate for child actors; however, they aren't good scenes, and many have so many characters involved that the amount of down-time per actor will end up boring students. Likewise, these same scenes have so many lines split between characters that there'll be little practice at memorization or truly coming together as a cohesive ensemble unless teachers take time, early on, to condense characters. The truth is, though, that they might well be better off writing their own.

Simply, I can't recommend this. Even the worksheets and notes at the back could be just as easily produced by any individual teacher as found here.… (mais)

I'm not sure If Dabrowski has any experience teaching and working with teens, but the material in this book implies she doesn't. Beyond the fact that the monologues aren't written very well, and beyond the fact that the characters and situations are clichéd and unoriginal, further problems include style and language. Language-wise, I have to say that I wouldn't be comfortable keeping this book on a shelf in my classroom. Inappropriate language is one thing if it's a word here or there, And included within a longer work that is itself worthwhile. Here, there are repeated inappropriate words, most if not all of them gratuitous and unnecessary. Simply, even though they're supposedly written for teens, I'd have to edit many of these before feeling comfortable with giving them to my students.

And then there's style. Many of these monologues aren't what I would call useful monologues. They all but require another person to be present for the entirety of the monologue...and, while no lines are shown for the other person(s), these omissions come off as awkward. Many of the monologues read more like one side of a simple and unentertaining skit instead of a monologue.

In the end, I was incredibly disappointed with this work. I had middle-schoolers try their hands at writing their own monologues last year, and I have to say: every one of them was better and more entertaining than anything in this book. True, the spelling might have needed some work...but they were far better monologues than what I've found here. I can't imagine recommending this book, or making use of more than 3 or 4 of the 111 "monologues" presented here.… (mais)

It's difficult to find good short material for teens and children to perform--most of what's available is either incredibly dated, or reads like a (bad) afterschool special. And much of it would, very simply, be best described as boring by those same students who might perform it. Unfortunately, this book comes with its own vast set of problems--some of it is inappropriate to teens, much of it is boring, and still more reads like a not-too-entertaining teenage soap. It might have its uses, for some instructors and/or teens, but the book falls far short of its' author's promises.

First, there's language. The book was published in 2004, so you wouldn't expect it be dated...but some of the expressions are more suited to a college student or older teen from the late eighties or early nineties. There's no current slang, but there are slang terms like boning...and I don't know when I last heard that outside of nineties music stations. And, while some of the language might be let slide in teenagers improvising scenes, or simply ignored by teachers, I can't imagine a high-school teacher giving out some of these skits that contain repeated uses of "bitch", "piss", and uncountable "that sucks". Oh, and then there are the derogatory remarks about things or people being "gay"--true, there's always the politically correct teen standing by to say "don't say that"...but it ends up being a repeated exchange that, if not offensive, is also unnecessary.

Then there's the entertainment value. Some of the dramatic scenes here have their moments, but just as many veer off course. And, those same dramatic scenes do short work of attempting to touch on such issues as child abuse, sexual abuse, rape, alcoholism, etc. In other words, the dramatic scenes veer into after-school special territory, but leave the scenes with no closure at all instead of wrapping them up either too neatly or too seriously. And, where the other scenes try to be funny or entertaining...they're just not, for adults or teens.

Unfortunately, still another problem is the simple practical use of the scenes. Most of the short plays (10 minutes or so long) have upwards of 7-8 actors/actresses involved, if not closer to 14-16. As a result, few characters have more than a few lines; the author seems to specialize in mini-crowd scenes of idle teenage dialogue. True, it's all believable, but how useful is it as a short play?

The book may have some uses. Because the characters are nearly all bare-bones, there might be some use in having students flesh out the characters and add depth to the characters or scenes on their own. Likewise, some of these short plays would work well enough as practice piece--they're nothing you'd want to have students put real work into performing (because, for the most part, they're just not entertaining to warrant the effort), but they do give opportunity for building an ensemble and/or memorizing lines and working at stage business in class. Again, I don't know that most of them are appropriate, but some are and could come in handy for in-class work and exercising, perhaps.

Simply, this isn't a collection that I'd find real use in recommending. Unless you're looking for simple short plays that can be performed by larger groups of older teenagers, you won't have much use for this. In the end, I'm afraid this book just doesn't have much material to offer to anyone--teens will find it condescending and/or boring, and any instructor who hands it to teens is likely to get some calls from parents.… (mais)