Act Normal : Mark Wheeller Contemporary Monologues

Act Normal includes 31 contemporary monologues from Too Much Punch For Judy, Hard To Swallow, Missing Dan Nolan, I Love You, Mum - I Promise I Won't Die, G ame Over … and many more of Mark's plays and musicals.

Written with young performers in mind and available for classroom or audition use, they offer a range of characters and topics – both comic and serious - along with acting notes for each monologue. Many of the monologues are verbatim, providing a unique opportunity for actors and directors to explore this exciting form. Act Normal is the first exclusive collection of Mark's monologue work.

' Surprise your teacher, your friends, your family, your audience and last but not least, yourselves! '
– Mark Wheeller

Monologue topics:

True stories and verbatim pieces

• British World War II evacuee experience
• Testimony of world champion blind athlete Graham Salmon
• Account of sisters involved in a drink-driving accident
• Story of a woman's battle with anorexia
• A young woman's struggles breaking into the football world
• Two pieces on the life-changing consequences of a car accident
• Recounting of a prison assault
• Dan Nolan 's 2002 disappearance
• Grooming and human trafficking
• Students excluded from the mainstream education system
• Accidental drug overdose
• Young people and self-harm
• Online predators

Fiction

• Absurdist, allegorical tale about a fantasy King
• Unplanned teenage pregnancy
• Fandom and mourning an idol (reference to David Bowie )
• Theatre in Education piece on road safety

Featured plays, with character options and ages

(NB: all are suitable for performers of any age and gender)

• Blackout - Operation Pied Piper - Jean, aged 9
• Graham – World's Fastest Blind Runner – Junie, pre-teen/ Graham, adult
• Too Much Punch For Judy – Judy, young adult/ Duncan, adult
• Hard to Swallow – Anna, young adult/ John, adult
• Sweet (W)FA / Lethal In The Box – Miss Vallas, adult/ Spanner, adult
• Chicken! – Nut-Job, teenager/ Chris, teenager
• Legal Weapon 2 – Andy, young adult
• Wacky Soap – Storyteller, adult
• Missing Dan Nolan – Pauline, adult / Sarah, young teenager/ Andy, adult
• One Million to Stop The Traffik – Mary, adult
• Kids Who Look Out of the Window – Tonisha, teenager
• Chequered Flags to Chequered Futures – Jane, adult/ Driver, adult
• I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won't Die – Jack, teenager
• Scratching the Surface – Louise, adult
• This Is For You – Susan, adult
• Can You Hear Me Major Tom? – Mark, adult/ Jasmine, adult
• Game Over – Lorin, adult