2019 Mouthful Monologue Festival
Monologue Summaries
"Becoming Friends With David Copperfield" by Isabella Rey
Grade 8, Cedarbrook Middle School
Every magician’s dream is to meet David Copperfield… but not to “gently kidnap” him. In the light-hearted piece "Becoming Friends with David Copperfield", a rather worn-out birthday party magician recounts his aspirations and dreams, and the way he plans to turn his life around. #humor #magician #dreams
"Biracial" by Jessica Nguyen
Grade 11, Central High School
A painfully honest narration about the struggles of being a young half white, half Vietnamese woman. With just a touch of humor, "Biracial" chronicles the day-to-day conflicts of what it’s like to look one way on the outside, but identify differently on the inside. #biracial #identity
"Dear Black People" by Alloyah Abobi
Grade 12, Friends Select School
A powerful call-to-action to the black community, "Dear Black People" addresses the power and destructive nature of the n-word regardless of pronunciation or context. #n-word #racism
"Glutton’s Sandwich" by Haja Jalloh
Grade 10, Norristown Area High School
Can food be a vehicle through which we fill an internal void? Narrated with unique and lively humor, "Glutton’s Sandwich" gives the audience a look into the mind of a person who really, really loves their sandwich. #food #humor
"In My Dreams" by Katherine Fang
Grade 8, Bala Cynwyd Middle School
Being the new kid, changing yourself to fit in, these are all experiences we have had one time or another. In "In My Dreams", Fang narrates the life of a young woman constantly switching schools, and with each new environment creating a new persona. After all of the code-switching, this young woman is forced to find her real self, buried deep beneath all of other identities she has created. #fittingin #identity #acceptance
"Ketchup and Mustard" by Elizabeth Galpin
Grade 11, Upper Dublin High School
Announcing your identity to the the world can be scary, especially when that identity isn’t widely accepted in society."Ketchup and Mustard" recounts a child explaining to their mother that they identify as agender, using the simple but effective metaphor of ketchup and mustard. #comingout #agender #identity #gender
"Letting Go" by Kaleigh Hall
Grade 9, Interboro High School
The life of a balloon begins hopefully in a party store and is often tragically cut short by a careless child at a birthday party. In "Letting Go", Hall gives us a glimpse into the mind of a balloon who has just been fatefully “let go” at a party, and is floating around aimlessly awaiting her demise.
"A Piece of Advice" by Keysha Polanco
Grade 10, Esperanza Academy
"A Piece of Advice" is a powerful monologue about a young boy’s uncle recounting his past mistakes, insisting his nephew not follow his same path. Emphasizing that he must remove himself from the drug scene and stay in school, "A Piece of Advice" grapples with the themes cyclical poverty and incarceration, and one man trying to help a boy break that vicious cycle. #drugs #incarceration #advice
"Reflections on Human Ways" by Aidan McLaughlin
Grade 10, Science Leadership Academy
What would happen if an alien came down to Earth and attempted to court human women? "Reflections on Human Ways" is a critique of how men treat women in society told ingeniously through the lens of an alien trying to do the same. While hilarious and silly on the surface, it leaves audiences reminded that women should never be treated like objects, even though they so often are. #sexism #catcalling #critique
"Speaking My Truth" by Bria Smith
Lankenau High School
Written in verse, a young woman confronts her abuser at a barbeque and details her horrifying and painful struggle to heal from his sexual abuse. "Speaking My Truth" is a powerful tale of redemption and an empowered young woman making the choice to reclaim her own body, her own story, and her own truth. #abuse #redemption #forgiveness #empowering
"Summer Vacation" by Nicholas Pierron
Grade 11, Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush
Summer Vacation is playful take on the life of a teen gamer, and the consequences of being obsessed with the thrill of the game. Ultimately though, teenagers make the right choice to hang out with friends and experience human connection at the expense of time away from the TV… most of the time. #gaming #technology #teenlife
"The Never-Baby" by Mira Ghosh
Grade 12, Lower Merion High School
The struggle for a woman to get pregnant and the brutal reality of a miscarriage are topics that are often labeled as taboo in society. "The Never-Baby" tackles the heartbreak, anger, and self-blaming that a young woman experiences as she gets her period every month, each one a reminder of her lack of pregnancy and the never-babies that live inside of her, and the one real baby for which she truly longs. #reproductivehealth #periods #miscarriage #pregnancy
"Turning Point" by Danielle Constantino
Grade 12, JR Masterman
Boys play football. Girls dance ballet. This seems like the natural order of things, but not to the young man in "Turning Point". As a young football star longs to perform onstage and shares this idea to his disapproving father, he realizes he accepts himself for who he is, and that’s all that will ever matter. #gender #stereotypes #acceptance
"Organic" by Dameer Byrd
School of the Future
School can be boring, and students fall asleep in class - that’s just the reality. Sometimes, though, students daydream instead. "Organic" is a poignant and humorous account of one student’s daydream that ultimately comes back full circle to an interesting conclusion. #daydream #school
"Unstoppable" by Sarah Weill-Jones
Grade 9, Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
When Oliver steps in the boxing ring, he is unstoppable. "Unstoppable", told with a quickness that keeps audiences on their toes, uses the metaphor of fighting in a boxing ring to narrate one person’s experience with domestic violence, and their ultimate healing and reclaiming of self. #fighting #domesticviolence #redemption
"What I Will Tell You" by Isabel Mehta
Grade 11, Germantown Friends
Losing a friend can be painful, especially when social media and popularity play a role in the process. "What I Will Tell You" is an girl’s confrontation to all of the friends that she lost throughout the years, and a token of appreciation to the one who stuck around through it all. #friendship #socialmedia #healing
"What I Wouldn’t Do" by Mab Rongione
Grade 12, Radnor High School
A harrowing piece told from the perspective of a student witnessing a school shooting, "What I Wouldn’t Do" eloquently narrates the paralysis one experiences during the terrifying event, and the guilt that follows. #schoolshooting #fear #guilt
"What You’ve Done" by Aubrey Russo
Grade 8, Drexel Hill Middle School
Some believe that deceased victims can come back to haunt us in mysterious ways. In "What You’ve Done", a young victim of a drunk driving accident returns to the home of the woman who was at the wheel that fateful night. While the woman cannot see her, the enraged young victim confronts her with a heavy question: Do you really understand what you’ve done? #drunkdriving #death #confrontation
Grade 8, Cedarbrook Middle School
Every magician’s dream is to meet David Copperfield… but not to “gently kidnap” him. In the light-hearted piece "Becoming Friends with David Copperfield", a rather worn-out birthday party magician recounts his aspirations and dreams, and the way he plans to turn his life around. #humor #magician #dreams
"Biracial" by Jessica Nguyen
Grade 11, Central High School
A painfully honest narration about the struggles of being a young half white, half Vietnamese woman. With just a touch of humor, "Biracial" chronicles the day-to-day conflicts of what it’s like to look one way on the outside, but identify differently on the inside. #biracial #identity
"Dear Black People" by Alloyah Abobi
Grade 12, Friends Select School
A powerful call-to-action to the black community, "Dear Black People" addresses the power and destructive nature of the n-word regardless of pronunciation or context. #n-word #racism
"Glutton’s Sandwich" by Haja Jalloh
Grade 10, Norristown Area High School
Can food be a vehicle through which we fill an internal void? Narrated with unique and lively humor, "Glutton’s Sandwich" gives the audience a look into the mind of a person who really, really loves their sandwich. #food #humor
"In My Dreams" by Katherine Fang
Grade 8, Bala Cynwyd Middle School
Being the new kid, changing yourself to fit in, these are all experiences we have had one time or another. In "In My Dreams", Fang narrates the life of a young woman constantly switching schools, and with each new environment creating a new persona. After all of the code-switching, this young woman is forced to find her real self, buried deep beneath all of other identities she has created. #fittingin #identity #acceptance
"Ketchup and Mustard" by Elizabeth Galpin
Grade 11, Upper Dublin High School
Announcing your identity to the the world can be scary, especially when that identity isn’t widely accepted in society."Ketchup and Mustard" recounts a child explaining to their mother that they identify as agender, using the simple but effective metaphor of ketchup and mustard. #comingout #agender #identity #gender
"Letting Go" by Kaleigh Hall
Grade 9, Interboro High School
The life of a balloon begins hopefully in a party store and is often tragically cut short by a careless child at a birthday party. In "Letting Go", Hall gives us a glimpse into the mind of a balloon who has just been fatefully “let go” at a party, and is floating around aimlessly awaiting her demise.
"A Piece of Advice" by Keysha Polanco
Grade 10, Esperanza Academy
"A Piece of Advice" is a powerful monologue about a young boy’s uncle recounting his past mistakes, insisting his nephew not follow his same path. Emphasizing that he must remove himself from the drug scene and stay in school, "A Piece of Advice" grapples with the themes cyclical poverty and incarceration, and one man trying to help a boy break that vicious cycle. #drugs #incarceration #advice
"Reflections on Human Ways" by Aidan McLaughlin
Grade 10, Science Leadership Academy
What would happen if an alien came down to Earth and attempted to court human women? "Reflections on Human Ways" is a critique of how men treat women in society told ingeniously through the lens of an alien trying to do the same. While hilarious and silly on the surface, it leaves audiences reminded that women should never be treated like objects, even though they so often are. #sexism #catcalling #critique
"Speaking My Truth" by Bria Smith
Lankenau High School
Written in verse, a young woman confronts her abuser at a barbeque and details her horrifying and painful struggle to heal from his sexual abuse. "Speaking My Truth" is a powerful tale of redemption and an empowered young woman making the choice to reclaim her own body, her own story, and her own truth. #abuse #redemption #forgiveness #empowering
"Summer Vacation" by Nicholas Pierron
Grade 11, Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush
Summer Vacation is playful take on the life of a teen gamer, and the consequences of being obsessed with the thrill of the game. Ultimately though, teenagers make the right choice to hang out with friends and experience human connection at the expense of time away from the TV… most of the time. #gaming #technology #teenlife
"The Never-Baby" by Mira Ghosh
Grade 12, Lower Merion High School
The struggle for a woman to get pregnant and the brutal reality of a miscarriage are topics that are often labeled as taboo in society. "The Never-Baby" tackles the heartbreak, anger, and self-blaming that a young woman experiences as she gets her period every month, each one a reminder of her lack of pregnancy and the never-babies that live inside of her, and the one real baby for which she truly longs. #reproductivehealth #periods #miscarriage #pregnancy
"Turning Point" by Danielle Constantino
Grade 12, JR Masterman
Boys play football. Girls dance ballet. This seems like the natural order of things, but not to the young man in "Turning Point". As a young football star longs to perform onstage and shares this idea to his disapproving father, he realizes he accepts himself for who he is, and that’s all that will ever matter. #gender #stereotypes #acceptance
"Organic" by Dameer Byrd
School of the Future
School can be boring, and students fall asleep in class - that’s just the reality. Sometimes, though, students daydream instead. "Organic" is a poignant and humorous account of one student’s daydream that ultimately comes back full circle to an interesting conclusion. #daydream #school
"Unstoppable" by Sarah Weill-Jones
Grade 9, Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
When Oliver steps in the boxing ring, he is unstoppable. "Unstoppable", told with a quickness that keeps audiences on their toes, uses the metaphor of fighting in a boxing ring to narrate one person’s experience with domestic violence, and their ultimate healing and reclaiming of self. #fighting #domesticviolence #redemption
"What I Will Tell You" by Isabel Mehta
Grade 11, Germantown Friends
Losing a friend can be painful, especially when social media and popularity play a role in the process. "What I Will Tell You" is an girl’s confrontation to all of the friends that she lost throughout the years, and a token of appreciation to the one who stuck around through it all. #friendship #socialmedia #healing
"What I Wouldn’t Do" by Mab Rongione
Grade 12, Radnor High School
A harrowing piece told from the perspective of a student witnessing a school shooting, "What I Wouldn’t Do" eloquently narrates the paralysis one experiences during the terrifying event, and the guilt that follows. #schoolshooting #fear #guilt
"What You’ve Done" by Aubrey Russo
Grade 8, Drexel Hill Middle School
Some believe that deceased victims can come back to haunt us in mysterious ways. In "What You’ve Done", a young victim of a drunk driving accident returns to the home of the woman who was at the wheel that fateful night. While the woman cannot see her, the enraged young victim confronts her with a heavy question: Do you really understand what you’ve done? #drunkdriving #death #confrontation
Monologue summaries written by Isabel Mehta
