Monologues and Duologues for Young Actors

This collection of scenes offers drama teachers a wide range of topics to explore through characterisation of the moment. There are scenes based on the historical past, these could be linked to cross-curricular activities. Those set in the present seek to draw young actors into a setting with which they can identify and emotionally explore. The author believes that young actors often wish to explore comedy. With this in mind, many of the scenes reflect comedic values. Some of these fun situations hold deeper resonances which the drama teacher would be able to explore with the actor. Each scene contains many different levels for the actor to identify with and emotionally develop. As the words are brought to life, the actor should imagine that they relate to a given set of circumstances; each scene is directly linked to the human situation. A young actor's motto should be: "I will live the words I learn."

Jeffrey Grenfell-Hill trained for the professional theatre at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he was chosen to be student director in the final year. After a tour of American colleges, universities and performing arts centres, he was invited to join the examining board of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

His poems have appeared in Penguin and Heinemann anthologies. Samuel French have published his plays, and his monologues for young actors have been published by Oberon Books in an anthology edited by Shaun McKenna. His monologues and duologues have been chosen for the LAMDA examination syllabus for the acting exams as ‘setpieces’. They are often performed as ‘own choice’ selections at major festivals of Speech and Drama. Jeffrey himself is an adjudicator of many years’ standing with a doctorate from the University of Wales. He was Director of Sixth Form Studies at St George’s School, Harpenden, where he taught A/S and A level Theatre Studies.

Jeffrey remains an examiner for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and in this capacity examines both in the UK and overseas.