Bonita Elery is an actress, improviser and sketch writer to keep on your radar. Her fun-loving, quirky-comedic personality was discovered at a young age. Spending countless hours in front of a mirror wielding a hairbrush as a microphone and donning a towel as a wig, she knew she was destined for stardom. After graduating from the Art Institute of Atlanta, she worked as a graphic designer for Fox News, but it was time to move and pursue personal endeavors. She sold her house, stepped out on faith, and moved to New York City to fulfill her dreams. After wringing everything she could out of an acting class, she caught the acting bug. When she’s not up late at night playing Fallout 4 or talking to herself in the mirror, you can catch her performing improvisation and sketch in Atlanta.
Marissa is an NYC actor/teacher/writer/Facebook status updater, originally from the great state of New Jersey. She received her BFA in Acting from NYU and her MFA in Acting from Ohio University. She is a teaching artist at Hamilton Heights Elementary School as part of Arts for All’s Literacy Through Arts Program. Marissa has worked 2 summer stock seasons at the Monomoy Theater in Chatham, MA and has performed in various NYC productions, readings, and short films. She is a member of the NY Madness Acting Company as well as a regular company member at the Educational Theater of NY. Select credits include Wait Until Dark (Suzy Hendrix), The Crucible (Elizabeth Proctor), Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Jeanette Fisher), Hamlet (Gertrude), The Illusion (Lyse, Elecia, Clarina), The Cherry Orchard (Varya), Fiddler On the Roof (Chava), A Little Night Music (Charlotte). Marissa enjoys the finer things in life ( ie. Cats, tacos, eyebrow threading).
Deborah White has been a professional actress for more that 50 years, working in television, theatre and films, in both New York and Los Angeles. She made her mark in television on shows like Laverne & Shirley, The Waltons, Colombo, Murder She Wrote, Maude, St. Elsewhere and Law & Order. She has appeared in films such as Oh God, Stir Crazy, Ten and most recently Guided By Voices. She’s done numerous commercials and is one of the founding members of the improvisational troupe, War Babies, performing with them on both coasts. In New York she has appeared in plays at Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New Dramatists, and The American Playhouse. She understudied Bernadette Peters on Broadway and was seen in Key Exchange at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Ms. White most recently appeared on The Americans on FX. She is also a professor of American History at Hostos College in the Bronx, New York.
Nefertiti Warren is an actress and writer born & raised in the Bronx, NY. An alum of The City College of New York, Nefertiti has always had a passion for writing and has a growing collection of creative works ranging from short stories to poetry, songs and now monologues! “I remember starting out as an actor and sometimes struggling to find a monologue that sounded like “me.” I have always had a love for words and to be able to add my voice to the chorus of characters birthed on a page is an incredibly humbling experience. Being a mom has also encouraged my responsibility as a storyteller on so many levels. Following the wisdom of the priest in The Laramie Project, I wish nothing more but to help ‘tell the story correctly.’ May these monologues live vicariously and infinitely through you!”
Jocelyne Roueiheb is a writer, director, filmmaker, improvisor and performer in the New York area. She performs sketch comedy and improv all around the city including the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre, PIT, and Magnet stages. Her work has been seen such places as Jimmy Kimmel Live, College Humor, Huffington Post Comedy, and NY Mag. She has studied with SNL and 30 Rock writers and performers such as Neil Casey, Chris Kelley, and John Murray.
Keenan is an actor/writer/musician. He has appeared on Turner Broadcasting’s Cartoon Network and was seen at the Fox Theatre in Les Miserable, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Beauty and the Beast. Other stage performances include: Wyatt in A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre), Schroeder in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Lyric Theatre) and Willard in Footloose. He has also performed in Oliver!, The Sound of Music, Miracle on 34th Street, and High School Musical. Film credits include: Hunter in Runaway Forever, Todd in Enchanted Forrest, Bully in Magellen and various roles in Your Guide Around P.E. I. Keenan plays guitar, piano and oboe and has performed in bands and choruses in many venues. His writing has evolved as an extension of performing and his love of creating new works. He is a student at Florida State University.
Talia is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and has had many performances, publications and a C.B.C. (Canadian public radio) drama commission. STAGES: Creative Ideas For Teaching Drama was published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing. Confessions of an Art School Model toured Canada and the USA, including the NYC Fringe Festival. Dracula has been produced by several high schools. Cry After Midnight was chosen for the Women Playwrights International Conference in Stockholm, 2012. It is based on her experiences in Afghanistan as a ‘war artist’ with the Canadian Armed Forces, as is her screenplay, Anywhere But Here. Her shorts, I Dream of You, Collections, The Strawberry Confession and Intel have been shown at many film festivals. Her commission with the Vancouver Olympics, 2010, Aerial Artistry, featured her performance as an aerial dancer, on silks. As a member of ACTRA and EQUITY, Talia has appeared in many feature films, television shows, independent shorts and on many professional stages. Talia also teaches drama at the University of Winnipeg and coordinators a Youth Mentorship in the Arts Program for ACI (Arts and Cultural Industries Association of Manitoba).
Born in the UK, Bryan is a writer/actor/director. He has had plays produced by the BBC and Radio Telefis (Ireland). Many of his plays have been performed on the London Fringe with several touring the country. He won the Festival du Cinéma de Paris best actor award in 2007. Bryan is currently resident writer with Utopia Arts and also writes for and directs “The Poetry Show.”
Joe Naples was born and raised in West Palm Beach, FL. After attending Northwestern State University, he made his New York City debut in 2005. He went on to write, direct and perform in many plays, productions and sketch comedy shows in and out of NYC. He is now a director and writer for the theatre company, “The Actors Project NYC”. His monologues are a bit out-of-the-box and perfect for someone with natural, quick wit. You can see his works performed in TAPNYC’s Off-Broadway showcases.
Deborah Napier is an actor/writer here in New York City. She is a current lifetime member of the Actors Project where she began her writing skills. Since she started writing for the Actors Project, some of the actors have used her writing in monologue contests and have become runners up. Being a natural storyteller she enjoys taking that talent and squeezing it into 1 to 2 minutes. She has been fortunate enough to also work on TV shows, commercials, stage and now MonologuesToGo here in New York.
Alisa Murray describes her pieces as a beautiful mixture of sass, sarcasm and sweetness. This actress/writer/improviser pokes fun at stereotypes. She states, “If you’re not slightly uncomfortable, then I did something wrong.” Alisa Murray is currently working on a collection of monologues called SteroTYPES and is a staff writer for The Actors Project NYC as well as a company lifetime member. As a member of In Studios, she studies and performs improv throughout New York City. She has trained in the Meisner Technique as well as Shakespearean acting with the Simon Studio and the Weist Barron Studios. She has toured nationally with The American Theater Company, has appeared in several independent films, television dramas and commercials. Alisa has also studied film and writing for screen and stage. She recently completed a Masters Degree with an emphasis in Film Making at New York Institute of Technology. As an actress she understands how hard it is to find a great, “Hello, this is me,” monologue to impress an agent or casting director. That’s why she is ecstatic to pair with MonologuesToGo! She shares monologues that have proven to work for actors when auditioning for representation and pieces that never fail to get a laugh. The best way to make it in the business, in her opinion, is to be remembered and the best way to make them remember you is to make them laugh!
Ashley Moran is a born and bred New Yorker! She successfully juggles the worlds of acting and writing, both of which she loves. She has professionally trained in acting at JRP and continues to hone her craft as an actress with her private acting coach. She works at the Manhattan Monologue Slam and stars in an upcoming new YouTube series. Her main focus in writing is drama. She loves to write about real life problems and experiences, creating characters and situations that people can relate to.
Liz Shannon Miller is a writer for stage, screen and the web, currently working as a staff writer on G4′s ATTACK OF THE SHOW. She has a BFA in screenwriting from USC, and since graduating has written dialogue for the U.S. Army, covered the online video world for the tech site GigaOM, and been published by the New York Times, Variety, The Wrap, Nerve and Thought Catalog. Produced theater works include the critically acclaimed LIGHTS OFF, EYES CLOSED (Skypilot Theatre), as well as the one-acts SOMETHING BIBLICAL (Sight Unseen Theatre), IDEATION (3 of a Kind Theatre), NEGOTIATIONS (Black Box Theatre), and JUDGEMENT (Skypilot Theatre). Based in Los Angeles, she has been a playwright-in-residence with Skypilot since 2010. For more information,
www.lizshannonmiller.com
Jessie McLaren, is a playwright, actress, comedian and singer. She was recently honored to have her one-woman show, “The Free and The Brave” produced in NYC by Monolodge. She studied at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, Hunter College and University of Phoenix. She possesses a BS in Psychology for which she is quite grateful, as it informs character development, plot and acting. As a singer/songwriter she has performed regularly at Luna Lounge, Kenny’s Castaways, The C Note, The Baggot Inn and Arlene’s Grocery. She loves performing stand-up comedy and enjoys the writing process tremendously. Among other honors, she won the Boston Comedy Club stand-up competition. While living in Kansas City, Jessie became a painter and sold her first painting exactly one year after finishing her first piece. Jessie is delighted to be writing and performing and considers it a privilege to be a staff writer for MonologuesToGo!
Margot Jewers first studied drama at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada where she grew up. She moved to New York and graduated from the performing arts school, AMDA, and then continued to study acting privately with Michael Howard (NY), Caymichael Patten (NY) and Leigh Kilton-Smith (LA). Margot received her BA in Theater from SUNY. She is currently an active member of SAG-AFTRA in Manhattan, where she resides. In addition to her acting pursuits, Margot has also explored the other side of the camera. She received Certificates in both Film Production and Screenwriting through studies at the Newschool, resulting in writing and directing several short films. In particular her short film, My Mouse, screened at the Reel Women’s International Film Festival in Los Angeles. She also won the Dorothy H. Hirshon Award for “Best in Show” through the Newschool. She has completed a feature film screenplay, Claire Journey, garnering several awards at various film festivals. Her short film script, Eye Contact, was a quarter finalist at GEM and she has completed a teleplay, Lipstick, which also ran the circuit at various festivals.
Penny Jackson is an award-winning playwright, novelist and short story writer. Her play, SAFE, won best new dramatic writing at The Planet Connections Theater Festivity. This play was later produced at 59E59 in the East To Edinburgh Festival and then at The Edinburgh Fringe at The Space UK Theater. Her play, I Know What Boys Want, was produced by Ego Actus at The Workshop Theater in New York City. SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING was recently produced by at The Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando, Florida. Upcoming plays include BITTEN, a site specific play that will be presented in a pub near Times Square and BEFORE for Manhattan Theater Works. Awards include a Pushcart Prize, The Elizabeth Janeway Prize for Writing and a MacDowell Colony Fellowship. Recently, Penny was the only non-British playwright to be one of eight finalists for The Kenneth Branagh Prize for Drama. She is a member of The League of Professional Theater Women, The Dramatists Guild and The Author’s Guild. Penny’s plays are published by Indie Theater Now.Penny’s novel, Becoming The Butlers and collection of short stories, L.A. Child and other stories, are available on Amazon.
Renee Iovine is a New York City based actor, writer and Disney lover. When she’s not performing or at Disney World, she’s the Company Manager of The Actors Project NYC (TAPNYC). It’s with TAPNYC where she truly discovered her love for writing and creating her own characters, which she performs regularly in showcases. Described as the quirky girl next door, sheenjoys taking her real-life experiences and encounters as inspiration for her pieces. Renee loves to keep the audience guessing what is fact or fiction in each one of her monologues. While she’s performed in various film, television & media projects, it’s the stage that she finds the most exciting and exhilarating. She’s thrilled to join MonologuesToGo and to be able to share her work with other actors! If you’re just dying for more, visit Reneeiovine.com
Bobby is the Founder and the Artistic Director of The Actor’s Project NYC. He has written, directed, performed, and produced many theatrical productions in NYC ranging from industry showcases to full-length orignial plays. He is also the author of OUT OF THE BLUE , A Unique Showcase Book of Hilarious Monologues, Clever Scenes, and Outlandish Sketch Comedy! which has assisted actors win acting competitions and features monologues which have been performed by Broadway Stars and TAPNYC Stars. Bobby graduated with a B.A. in Theatre from the University of West Florida and toured for five years as an actor with different theatre companies. He has appeared in commercials and several international independent films. His New York stage credits range from Fick in Balm and Gilead to Woodruff Gately in Private Wars. He has also written and performed for ABC’s television morning show Daybuster’s. Currently Bobby is directing industry showcases for The Actor’s Project NYC, writing another one-act for next season, and coaching performers in the business of acting.
Amanda B. Goodman is a native New Yorker with a passion for fashion and a tude’ for lewd. Oh wait! Wrong bio! Amanda is a graduate of Hunter College with a B.A in Theatre and Film. While at Hunter she studied acting, film, and playwriting. She is an actress/writer with a flair for the spastic. Right before graduating from Hunter, she received the W. Eaton award for Playwriting for her original one act comedy. She is the producer/writer/star of her own original web sketch comedy show “Goody’s Goodies” and her sketch pieces have been performed by others in various comedy performances in NYC. Amanda is extremely excited to share her passion for monologues with Monologues To Go and its growing fabulous community. And chocolate… she also likes chocolate.
*AmandaBGoodman.com*
Mara is an actress/writer/producer living in New York City. Her one-act play, Steel or Pretzels, was chosen as one of the best plays of the Strawberry One-Act Festival of 2009 and is published in volume 6 of their anthology, The Best Plays of the Strawberry One-Act Festival. Her poetry has been published in John Jay’s Finest, volume 22 – a yearly publication showcasing the best student work for that year at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has also been published as the forward to well-known NY poet, Douglas Rothschild’s, recent collection: The Minor Arcana, which closes out his latest book of poetry, Theogony. She has a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice – an area of study she draws upon often in her writing and performing.
Jean Ann Garrish is an actress, singer, writer and director. She earned her degree in film production and creative writing. After graduation she focused on her first love: performing. She was quickly cast in Richard Maxwell’s, “Showy Lady Slipper”, where The New York Times called the performances “comically inspired”. She had the huge opportunity to tour Europe with the show. Most recently, she was seen in New York City Players’, “Neutral Hero.” The show was named one of Ben Brantley’s Top Ten Shows, as well as one of the best by Hilton Als of The New Yorker. When not performing, she continues to develop her craft studying with Tony and Emmy Award-winner, Helen Gallagher, as well as Austin Pendleton. Recently, she’s been writing again: plays, music, a television pilot and the comedic mockumentary, “Composing Life”: http://www.composinglifetheseries.com. She also just released her first EP with the Indie Folk band, RED WINE + WHISKEY.
*composinglifetheseries.com*
Tashana has worked various jobs in entertainment and theatre including production technician work at New York and regional theaters such as the Crossroads Theater Company, Apollo Theater, State Theater and Freedom Theater. Tashana has production experience working as the assistant director and master electrician for various regional and off-off Broadway productions. She most recently served as Industry Coordinator for The Actors Project NYC. With extensive knowledge of daytime television, she has worked as the writers’ assistant at the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children, the script supervisor at One to Life to Live, and production office assistant at As the World Turns. A trained actress, Tashana studied with Bill Esper at The William Esper Studios. She has also been cast in roles on All My Children, One Life to Live, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, and Third Watch. She has also performed in plays and showcases produced by The Actors Project NYC, The Looking Glass Theatre and Ensemble Studio Theatre.
Ashley is a recent graduate from Wagner College earning a B.S. in Arts Administration and a minor in Journalism. She has been involved with the performing arts all her life and was continuously frustrated while trying to find monologues to perform growing up. She is happy to apply her writing to MonologuesToGo, and hopes those in search of the right monologues will find them here.
Allison Flom is a native New Yorker studying mass incarceration and social justice education at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She recently appeared in EVERYTHING IS WHITE, a one-woman show (which she also wrote, directed and designed). Other recent credits include String of Pearls, The Women of Lockerbie, and DSM #290.12. She plans to pursue writing and performance art – specifically with socially marginalized populations – outside of class and after college. She is thrilled to be a part of MonologuesToGo!
Brett Epstein is originally from Connecticut, received his Bachelor’s Degree in Rhode Island [Providence College; Theatre/Writing—cum laude] and is now a New York based writer and actor. Brett loves to write dark comedies in which ordinary people are thrown into extraordinary situations. His full length I Loved Sam Stone was the winning play in the SLAM Playwriting Competition. He was also the recipient of Studio 42’s Unproducible Smackdown Fan Slam. Brett’s episodic piece Slaves of our Lives broke records at the Flea Theater. It ran for twelve episodes at #serials@theflea, the longest running piece in the show’s history. Following Slaves, his comedy Dance School: School for Dance ran for ten episodes. Brett produces the Rule Of series, which is entering its ninth incarnation. Via Rule Of—which invites numerous writers to create plays based on a set of regulations—Brett has written four full-length plays and four short plays. Brett has been called upon to write monologues and plays for TinyRhino, New York Madness, UCB, The Flea Theater, The Actors Project, Dirty Blondes Productions and Nylon Fusion Collective. He has worked with directors Danya Taymor, Courtney Ulrich, Kevin Laibson and David Delaney among others. He also reviewed productions for TheaterOnline, Theatre is Easy and NYTheater.com.
Dominique is a playwright, teaching artist, member of the Dramatists Guild, and recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Individual Playwriting Fellowship, 2003, and 2009. She is a graduate of Rose Bruford College in Kent, England, and Empire State College where she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, SUNY, Albany, and is now pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Goddard College. Ms. Cieri’s plays include Davie Award winner Pitz & Joe at Geva Theatre, N. Y. Pitz & Joe was also produced in Los Angeles, and Chicago, and is optioned for film. Other plays include: For Dear Life, finalist for Charlotte New American Plays Festival, Last Kiss, developed at Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, Centenary Stage’s Women Playwrights Series, and presented in North Carolina’s Festival of New Works, in 2004. Her most recent play, Count Down received productions in 2005 with Off World Theatre and The Artists Collective for Social Change at the Puffin Cultural Forum, in New Jersey, and in 2006, in New York, at the Bank Street Theatre. Her Essays on Arts and Education have been published in the New York Times, and Teaching Artist Journal co-authored with Catlin Cobb. Dominique has been designing and teaching playwriting and theatre workshops for the past seventeen years for numerous arts organizations, including, Theatre for a New Audience, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Young Audiences, Artist Teacher Institute and Arts Horizons.
Mark is a member of The Playwright/Director’s Unit of The Actor’s Studio in New York City. His play Catch A Falling Star was produced by the Labyrinth Theatre Company with Sam Rockwell and was directed by Paul Calderon. Catch A Falling Star was also produced by The Actor’s Studio and directed by Patrick O’Neal. His play Princess Grace was produced at the Triangle Theatre in New York and starred Arthur French. Princess Grace was also produced in Saratoga Springs starring Edwin Lee Gibson (2006 Obie Award Winner, The Seven) and was directed by Daphne Richards. Mark received a commission by Ellen Burstyn to write a play about the life of Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan.
Joyce Storey is an award-winning writer, producer, and actor. Her plays Caged and Time Wars have been produced in New York City. Other plays include: The Best That Mother Knows and Dirty Laundry. Screenplays include: Guardian Angel, Blind Allie, Run Away Forever, Enchanted Forrest and Thirty G’s. Her films have won awards both nationally and internationally. She has written for such publications as: The Guardian, Front of House Magazine, Live Sound International, and PLSN Magazine. Her column, Joyce Of The Theatre, has been read by more than 40,000 subscribers. She has written travel videos and audio tours for the Your Guide Around series, including: Your Guide Around NYC, The Empire State Building, Times Square, and Prince Edward Island. Her work has been published internationally in such anthologies as: Holding Onto Forever and Pearls Of The Past. Her poetry has been chosen for publication in the International Library of Poetry’s The Best Poems and Poets. She has several projects in development, including a new musical as well as her first novel. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Acadia University, a Producer’s Certificate from Dov Simens Film School and a Filmmaker’s Certificate from the Digital Film Academy in New York. Joyce is the founder of MonologuesToGo.com and co-author of 75 Monologues Kids Will Love! Joyce is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and SAG-AFTRA. She is a recipient of the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award and is cited in the Marquis Who’s Who of American Women. Joyce resides in New York City with her Tony Award-winning husband, Howell Binkley.
