Thirty Seconds to Places

A monologue for middle school (grades 6-8), drama. By FreeSchoolPlays.com.

THE CHARACTER

THE SPEAKER -- a 12-year-old standing in the dark wings just before their first-ever entrance, whispering fiercely to themselves, hearing the audience murmur past the curtain.

THE MONOLOGUE

Okay. Okay okay okay. My hands are doing the shaky thing. Why are my hands shaking, they're just hands, I'm not lifting anything. (pressing them flat against legs) Stop. Be normal hands.

(peeking past the curtain) That is a lot of people. That is every person I have ever met plus a hundred strangers, and they are all going to be looking at exactly one thing in about thirty seconds, and the one thing is me. (pulling back) I could leave. Right now. There's a door. I could be sick, that's believable, I look sick. Understudy goes on, everybody lives, and I never have to feel this again.

(a breath, catching it) Except. I know every line. I know them in the shower, I know them on the bus, I said them to my dog until he left the room. The lines aren't the problem. The problem is I'm standing here letting the scared part vote first, and the scared part is a liar. It always says "run" and it's always wrong.

(steadier) My grandma took two buses to be here. Two buses. She's in row -- I don't even know which row, but she's out there in her good coat waiting to see me and not the understudy. (a small laugh) That's the thing that's bigger than the shaking. Somebody came a long way to watch me not run.

(listening -- the cue) That's it. That's my cue. That's my music. (inhale) Hands, we're going. Feet, we're going. If I throw up I'll do it in character. (stepping toward the light) Grandma. This one's yours.

PERFORMANCE NOTE

Play the physical panic for real -- fast breath, shaking hands, the genuine tug of the exit door -- so the courage means something. The comedy of the nerves ("I'll do it in character") should never tip into mugging; it's a scared kid using jokes to breathe. The turn is grandma's two buses: love outweighs fear. End on the step into the light, mid-inhale, so the actor literally walks the character's choice.

An original work by FreeSchoolPlays.com, free to perform -- attribution the only requirement.

Audition prep notes

Full piece: 5 beats, ~264 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 5 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 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 -- 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.

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