The New One
- Performer
- Audition / event
- Title
- The New One
- Attribution
- by FreeSchoolPlays.com
- Source
- Original work
- Length
- ~1 min (179 words, whole piece)
- Cut
- Full monologue (7 beats).
"The New One", by FreeSchoolPlays.com, via FreeSchoolPlays.com. Free to perform; attribution required.
Everybody keeps saying I am the big one now. Like it is a job I applied for. I did not apply for it. Nobody asked me.
The baby cannot do anything. She cannot walk. She cannot say one word. Yesterday she cried because of NOTHING, there was nothing wrong, and four grown-ups ran to her. When I fell off the good swing in first grade nobody ran that fast.
(a small, honest beat)
And she smells like the top of a warm blanket. That is the part I did not tell anybody. When I hold her she grabs my finger with her whole tiny hand, and she does not know it is me, she would grab anybody, but -- she grabbed ME.
So I do not know if I love her or if I am mad at her. I think it might be both at the exact same time, stacked up, like when you are cold and hot together.
(to the cat, or quietly to us)
Do not tell her I said the nice part. I am still deciding.
"The New One", by FreeSchoolPlays.com, via FreeSchoolPlays.com. Free to perform; attribution required.
Audition prep notes
Full piece: 7 beats, ~179 words -- very short (Under 2 minutes), about 1 min at a natural pace.
Start with the objective
Before you run it, name your character's objective in one sentence: what do they want in this moment, and what is in the way of getting it easily? Pace, volume, and movement all follow from that one sentence, not the other way around.
Map the beats
The current text breaks into 7 spoken beats. Use those breaks as a starting map, but test each one: a beat ends where the character's tactic changes, not merely where the paragraph does -- two paragraph-breaks may play as a single acting beat, or one may split into two.
Pacing for this length -- very short
Economy is everything at this length: cut any preparatory movement before your first line, and land the final beat cleanly rather than adding a button. Under 2 minutes, this often plays as one unbroken thought.
Delivery approach -- Drama
Build from a real stake: name what happens if the character does NOT get what they want in this moment, and let that cost show in your body, not only your voice.
Framing for Elementary (K–5)
Keep the objective simple and concrete: one sentence a classmate could repeat back, about what the character wants right now. One fully committed feeling reads better at this age than several half-formed ones -- prioritize clear diction and steady focus over emotional range.
Forensics eligibility -- Dramatic Interpretation
This piece reads as Dramatic Interpretation. That classification is illustrative only -- not official, not an NSDA, NCFL, or UIL certification. Always verify current eligibility with your event's own published rules before entering it in competition.
Generic coaching guidance for actors preparing this piece -- not a substitute for your director's or coach's notes.
Free to read, print, and perform. No royalty, no performance fee. The credit line above is required and is placed automatically on this packet; keep it in your program and audition materials.