Monologue: College Age Male, Earnestly Religious Type

This is a monologue from ABANDON ALL HOPE by Peter Fenton for the role of EVAN. ABANDON ALL HOPE is a dark comedy satire play exploring religion and identity with a college aged cast. This copyrighted monologue is free for use in audition and educational settings. The full play can be read on New Play Exchange. © 2020 by Peter Fenton. All rights reserved.

About the Character:

EVAN DAIGLE (19, Male, Any Ethnicity but Probably White), clean-cut, naïve evangelical Christian out to prove he truly is a man after God's own heart. Earnest in beliefs and genuinely kind, but often cluelessly, brutally judgmental. He has arrived in Hell and cries out to God in prayer.

About the Play:

Full-length. Basically No Exit if Jean-Paul Sartre was raised Baptist. When three college freshmen (a scrappy feminist, a naïve evangelical, and a cocky analyst) meet in Hell—which appears as a dorm room—a fun-loving demon forces them to play a game with eternal stakes: The winner goes to Heaven. The others are tortured for eternity.

Evan sinks down to the floor. A light appears over Evan as he prays.

EVAN

Father God, I’m... I’m at a loss. I can’t even begin to understand--just, why God, I love you, Lord. You are the only thing that matters in the vast ocean of the universe, God. You’re perfect. I gave my life to pick up my cross and--I don’t get it. I know that without Your love, the transformative love of God sacrificing His only son on the cross, every single one of us deserves to go to Hell... even me. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. And yes--I understand in my heart how and why someone like Melissa belongs here. And maybe Sean, too--but surely I’m not like them.

(Pause.)

Am I?

I know I wasn’t everything my dad wanted me to be but, but You’ve always taught me that while man cares only about what is outside to be seen, God sees the beauty within.

(Pause.)

Are you listening?

Do you even hear the cry of my heart, God?

No response.

EVAN

Amen.

***

That's the end of the excerpt! If you want to read more from this play, go over to the plays page on this website. If you want to check out more monologues by Peter Fenton, there are a few on the blog.

Want to use it in an audition or in a classroom setting?

Be my guest! This material is free to use for those settings only. While I'd love to know that you resonated enough with my words to use it as part of your audition or class, you do not need to ask me permission. All I ask is that you credit me as the author and the play that it came from.

Want to perform it publicly or use it in a different way?

Please contact me and explain your situation. We'll come up with an agreement that makes sense and is fair to us both.