Act Normal by Mark Wheeller

There may no longer be a need to search through piles of plays or scour the internet to find the perfect monologue. Mark Wheeller's Act Normal offers 30 contemporary monologues from his works of plays and musicals for a range of abilities, genders and ages. In fact, he specifically states, ‘the age of the performer should be no barrier’, which is music to a teacher's ears if they are juggling various year groups.

With a quick flick through, it is easy to identify genre, characters, and context for each monologue; and with many students using this book for auditions, it feels as though Wheeller's voice is there to guide you through this preparation with direction on tone, sub-text and movement. The monologues provide detailed stage directions, which could be considered limiting in terms of creative exploration but is suitable for guiding students.