Vote For Me
- Performer
- Audition / event
- Title
- Vote For Me
- Attribution
- by FreeSchoolPlays.com
- Source
- Original work
- Length
- ~2 min (282 words, whole piece)
- Cut
- Full monologue (6 beats).
"Vote For Me", by FreeSchoolPlays.com, via FreeSchoolPlays.com. Free to perform; attribution required.
Fellow students. Friends. People who have never spoken to me but are about to. My name is Casey, and I am running for class president, and I am here to make you some promises. Big ones. Legally questionable ones.
If elected, on my FIRST day in office, I will abolish Mondays. (waits for cheer) Now, some so-called "experts," like my opponent, like the PRINCIPAL, will tell you a person cannot abolish a day of the week. To them I say: have you tried? Have you even tried?
Under my administration, the vending machine will be free. All of it. Forever. (beat) Do I control the vending machine? No. Do I know who does? Also no. But I will find them. And I will look them in the eye.
Pizza Fridays? Weak. Small dreams. I'm bringing you Pizza EVERY Day, and on the SEVENTH day, we will have a second, secret pizza. I will personally negotiate with the lunch ladies, who are the true power in this building, and I will treat them with the respect they deserve, because I am not a fool.
My opponent says he wants "a suggestion box." A BOX. In the year we live in. I will give you a suggestion HELICOPTER. Do I have a helicopter? (long pause) Not yet. But that is exactly the kind of thinking that has held this grade back.
So when you go to that ballot -- which is a shoebox with a hole in it, outside the library -- remember: my opponent offers you reality. I offer you a dream. (raising a fist) I offer you no Mondays, free snacks, and one flying box of hope. Casey. For president. It's already happening.
"Vote For Me", by FreeSchoolPlays.com, via FreeSchoolPlays.com. Free to perform; attribution required.
Audition prep notes
Full piece: 6 beats, ~282 words -- very short (Under 2 minutes), about 2 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 6 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 -- Comedy
Comic timing lives in the pause before the turn, not the punchline itself. Find the setup-and-turn shape in each beat and hold a beat longer than feels natural before you land it.
Framing for Middle school (6–8)
You are ready to work two things at once: an outer action and an inner feeling that does not fully match it. Look for one moment where the character says one thing but means something else, and let your face -- not your voice -- carry the gap.
Forensics eligibility -- Humorous Interpretation
This piece reads as Humorous 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.