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The Boy with No Name and A Memory of Harold
Today we feature two dramatic monologues, both from award-winning playwright Ev Miller. Though written nearly 40 years ago the themes still fully resonate decades later, thanks to Miller’s masterful writing held together by the common thread of reflection and remorse.
In The Boy with No Name, Kathy, mother of developmentally disabled Eddie, pours her heart out to one of her last remaining friends, revealing remorse over her feelings toward her son. She has come to believe what her mother always said is true: her premarital pregnancy is the cause for her lot in life. She believes she’s being punished for her “moral mistake.”
In A Memory of Harold, one of Harold’s old classmates, Robert, reflects on his own memory of a cruel prank played on odd Harold Barnick, who was the butt of jokes and generally mistreated by classmates who saw him as “simple” and “ugly.” Even as Robert admits Harold “never bothered any of us,” he confesses to joining others in fooling poor Harold to believe he had a prom date. “I don’t know why we did what we did, except that he was available,” Robert concludes, neither fully remorseful nor fully comfortable with the actions of his past.
In both instances, it’s a reminder that the past maybe be past, but it is never forgotten. Similarly, it’s a reminder that remorse has no expiration date, and the consequence of your actions is that feelings of guilt can linger for a lifetime.
Here are our updated guidelines for Monologue Mania! if you or any of your students wish to record and share their performance. We’d love to see them!
- Perform the memorized Pioneer monologue either with or without costumes and/or props.
- Email your video to monologues@pioneerdrama.com or choose your favorite social media platform (Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook) to post your video using the hashtags #pioneerdrama and #monologuemania so we’re sure to see it.
- Uploading the video and tagging it with #pioneerdrama gives Pioneer Drama Service explicit permission to share the entire video on our own social media platforms.
- The video must start with the following:
- The performer’s first name
- The full name of the play
- The full name of the playwright(s)
- “Published by Pioneer Drama Service”
- A short introduction to set the scene. For many plays, this can be done in just one or two lines.
- Do NOT include your full name or any school name or location since we want to protect everyone’s privacy.
Here are today’s monologues:
Male: https://www.PioneerDrama.com/Newsletter/Teaching_Resources/Memory_of_Harold-Robert.pdf
Female: https://www.PioneerDrama.com/Newsletter/Teaching_Resources/Boy_with_No_Name-Kathy.pdf
A Memory of Harold
Sometimes a simple prank turns into a cruel incident. A young man, recalling his high school years, remembers a “joke” that illustrates how insensitivity can affect those around us.
The Boy with No Name
In this gripping drama, a family struggles with the challenges of raising a disabled teenager. This powerful play is simple to stage, and has outstanding acting opportunities for serious actors.
