Check in here or the Lancaster One Minute Monologue Facebook page for details of the forthcoming 2020 competition.
Click on the image below to be taken to the interactive and downloadable copy of the top thirty monologues from the 2019 competition.
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The thirty best monologues of 2019 will be read in Lancaster Library on the afternoon of 23rd of November. Free event and everyone welcome. The audience will vote for the winner of the best monologue in performance.
Rules for the Lancaster One Minute Monologue Competition.
- All entries must be capable of being read aloud in one minute or less.
- A maximum of 4 monologues can be entered by any individual writer
- Two copies of each monologue must be sent in. One with your name, address and email at the top and the second containing just the text of the monologue itself.
- All entries must be sent by email in Word or Text format to 1minutemonologues@gmail.com.
- The organisers reserve the right to reject racist, sexist and otherwise offensive material.
- Props, lighting, computers and other extra materials for the performance in Autumn 2019 must first be approved by the organisers.
To enter the competition simply email your entries to the organisers after making sure they follow the rules above.
FAQs: In process of revision
Q. What is a One Minute Monologue or Minologue?
A.
For the purposes of this competition a one minute monologue, or minologue, is a text spoken by a single performer and that lasts one minute or less. There are examples in the video below. Minologue is a word we coined to describe our particular kind of one minute monologues.
Q. Can I submit more than one monologue?
A. Yes, you can submit up to four monologues.
Q. Must my entry be in Word or Text format and sent by email?
A. Yes. Sorry, but this makes things much easier for us.
Q. Will all the entries be performed?
A. No. The organisers will choose a selection of the best entries and these will be performed on 23 November 2019 in Lancaster Library. Date to be confirmed.
Q. Does the writer have to perform the monologue?
A. No. But if the monologue is in the top 30 the monologue must be performed and the winner of the competition will be chosen by the audience. The writer may nominate another person to read for them.
Q. Can I just submit a monologue without anyone to perform it?
A. Yes. If it is among the 30 best entries we will find someone to read it on the day.
Q. There are two prizes. Can I just enter for one of them?
A. No, all monologues are entered for both written and performance prizes.
Q. Does the monologue have to be character based?
A. No. Many are, but you are free to be as creative and experimental as you like. Have a look at the video of Families below.
Q. Can the monologue be in verse?
A. Yes. You are free to be creative in your interpretation of what makes a monologue. If you are in doubt please send an email briefly explaining your idea and we will let you know if it is acceptable.
Q. Do you have any tips for a first time writer.
A. 1. First think about some topics like an incident in your life, an overheard conversation, a dream or just an invented character.
2. Next just sit down and have a go. Give yourself 30 minutes max for your first try.
If you can write several monologues.
You may think they are awful, but writers often hate their work when they go back and read it. Don't let that stop you sending in your work.
3. Submit your monologues. You would be surprised by what catches the judges attention and makes for a winning monologue. We are, every year.
It helps to have a look at several examples of monologues before you start writing, both online and in books, as well as the examples below.
Finally, avoid cliche, jokes and plagiarism.
Any other questions? Please email 1minutemonologues@gmail.com
Don't forget to save your entry as a Word file before sending it.
We ask this because we will be reading the monologues on Macs, phones, tablets and PCs each with different software, and we can be sure Word will open without any problems.
We ask this because we will be reading the monologues on Macs, phones, tablets and PCs each with different software, and we can be sure Word will open without any problems.
Examples
Examples from the 2018 Competition.
Feel free to experiment . Families is an example of a monologue made from one repeated word. When performed with clever use of pauses and facial expression it really worked well.
Winner of the 2017 Competition
The Girl at Scotch Corner
I went out to the Scotch Corner forecourt. Only the truckers coming in and out; their cabs with dashboard lights squashed behind curtains. The motorway was sighing. Heard an owl.
My ex rang. He was over two hundred miles away, so I picked up.
Thought I was alone, so I yelled back. What he'd done to me, he wouldn't do to her. There was nothing more to talk about.
He did the sneers. Then he did the shouts. Then the tears. When that didn't work either, he lost it.
I'd taken the phone away from my ear. It wasn't on speaker, but the sound carried.
I pressed end. Put my hand on my stomach.
Told myself it was just life.
And then I realised there was a woman by the wall. With a bag, like mine. With a look, like mine.
She dropped her cigarette and crushed it.
'Do what you need to do,' she said. And walked away.
2017 Runner up
Why should I have to see Rob and James?
Rob beat me, abused me, tormented me. James hurt me with neglect. Why are the courts trying to make me see them? Just because I have a statement, doesn’t mean I don’t have a say. This makes me angry.
I don’t want to see them, they ripped me apart mentally and physically. They do not care about me, they just want to hurt Mum. Would I be allowed a say?
Rob told me he will kill anything I loved, James never bothered with me. Would you force a child to see them, or would you take the child away to live with one of them?
Ask yourself. Are you in a similar situation?
It hurts, doesn’t it?
The winner of the Minologue Performance 2017 was Rilda Oe Taneko with 'E U Border Control' read by her son Ilham.
You can also find examples of monologues at the website below, though not all are one minute monologues.
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