Men's Comedic Monologues That Are Actually Funny
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www.chrisquintos.com
RACHEL RAINES grew up in St. Louis, where she spent time working in the performing arts and volunteering in theater. She attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in California, studying film and stage acting as well as being trained in improvisational comedy. She has worked as a freelance writer for seven years, and her past work includes an essay in The Diamond Project: Ordinary Women Leading Extraordinary Lives, edited by Cynthia Hurst, and various articles for online social media. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
ALESSANDRA RIZZOTTI has written for GOOD, Heeb, Smith, Hello Giggles, and The Neave. She’s also been published in three Harper Perennial books with her six word memoirs, and is now working on a novel about finding her father. She currently edits for Backstage Magazine, bridging the gap between filmmakers and actors.
alessandrarizzotti.com
KATE RUPPERT My drink is vodka. I don’t go on dates. I’m funny. I have to write things down. Small talk is annoying. I’m left-handed. I cannot spell. I love red meat. I’m decisive. I hate the phone. I don’t keep food in my house. I’m ambidextrous. I can’t sleep on airplanes or in a car. Dogs, children, parents, and black people love me. I love to tip. I am unapologetically in love with TV. I think spontaneity is overrated. I’m never passive-aggressive. My cell phone is always charging. I’m efficient mostly so I can be lazy. I have ChapStick, a nail file, a hair clip, and Post-its within arm’s reach at all times. I don’t dance. Ever. I prefer to watch than participate. I’d rather stay home every time. I’m awkward and clumsy. I have very little pride. I tend to speak in hyperbole. I don’t check my messages. Food is my most favorite thing. I love to sleep. I’m acutely aware. I watch General Hospital.
CHRISSY SWINKO is a writer and performer in Los Angeles. She has written for and performed on several notable stages including the Comedy Central Stage, iO West, iO Chicago, the Second City Hollywood, and Comedy Sportz Chicago. She has studied writing and improv comedy at UCB, and with the Groundlings, the Second City, and the iO Theater. She grew up in Ohio and is a graduate of Denison University. Her hobbies include eating chocolate, reading, and watching movies. As the founder of Women Made It, she loves to help other people tell their stories and achieve their creative goals. Find her online at @omg4reals and www.ChrissySwinko.com. She thanks you for reading and performing her monologue. Have fun out there and “break a leg!”
chrissyswinko.com
MATT TAYLOR hails from a pestilent wasteland just short of the Scottish border with England. Neither the English or Scottish people wanted anything to do with him or his foul-smelling city, so he fled to the United States after telling a series of outrageous lies to an infinitely more attractive American woman so she would marry him. Before he started trying to be funny for a living, he served in the Royal Marines Commandos for a decade, and saw action in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is renowned for being the only soldier in coalition history that found Baghdad much more pleasant than his own hometown. He now resides in the much more agreeable Pasadena, California, with his perpetually misled wife. He is not trusted with children or pets after he once put his spouse’s goldfish “back in its cage” before retiring to bed.
http://newsfury.blogspot.com
LYNN TRICKEY is an actor, writer, and improviser originally from Seattle. She’s studied Meisner Technique at the Elizabeth Mestnik Acting Studio, improv comedy at UCB, the Groundlings, and iO West, and has a BA in theater from Pitzer College. She’s written and performed sketch comedy at Second City Hollywood, at iO West Sketch Festival, in Character workshops, and at the Comedy Central Stage. Lynn performs weekly in and around Los Angeles with the improv teams Wheelhouse, Big Bennessy, and Doctor Who Live.
www.lynntrickey.com
KATHY YAMAMOTO is a Los Angeles native, although she wishes she had been born in Warsaw, Poland. She could’ve been born in Poland, but her dad made her mom immigrate before her birth so she might one day be president. From an early age, she realized she had a knack for making others laugh, even earning the title of “Funniest Girl in Traditional Japanese Dance Class,” an honor admittedly earned without much competition. Now, instead of governing the free world, Kathy spends her time writing and performing comedy. In addition to performing improv and stand-up around town, Kathy is a writer on iO West’s topical sketch team, Top Story Weekly. You can find her on YouTube in her web series, Kat&Nat, and on Twitter @yamaDRAMA.
Acknowledgments
A lot of people are awesome. Some people are more awesome in regards to this book. They get extra thanks from Alisha Gaddis:
Thank you to Sara Camilli—best literary agent ever. I adore you. You are like family to me now. And look—now we have a series! This is just the beginning.
Thank you to all the writers. You all put yourselves out there. It is hard to be funny, and extra super hard to be funny on paper in a particular format. You guys did it and it is amazing!
Thank you to Applause Theatre & Cinema Books (especially John Cerullo and Marybeth Keating). You guys have given me so much guidance, support, and freedom. I couldn’t ask for more in a publisher. And thank you to copyeditor Patty Hammond. You make all our funny writing grammatically correct, readable, and even more hilarious!
Thank you to my parents, family, and friends. Obviously. You all are the best.
And the super biggest thanks of all to my handsome husband. You are my ideal match. Thank you for inspiring me to live past my largest, most grand dream. You make me better every single day. I cannot thank you enough. But I will keep trying.