Monologue: Young Man, 20s, Neurotic Depressed Author Type

This is a monologue from BLUE SKIES YONDER by Peter Fenton for the role of HARRIS. BLUE SKIES YONDER is an Agatha Christie-inspired dark comedy murder mystery play currently seeking a world premiere. This copyrighted monologue is free for use in audition and educational settings. The full play can be read on New Play Exchange or read a sample on this website.  © 2024 by Peter Fenton. All rights reserved.

About the Character:

HARRISON “HARRIS” FOWLER (Mid-20s, male-presenting, likely white or multiethnic), a debut novelist presently angry at his editor, unsure whether his work is any good, and sitting on a compromising secret. His book, BLUE SKIES YONDER, is set to launch with Blackfeather Press next week and is expected to be a best-seller. Harris has yet to be paid a penny of his hefty advance and his novel is being sent to market with edits he never approved. In the heat of the moment, he has broken off his engagement to his fiancé, Jason, but the dead body in the house has complicated the situation.

About the Play:

Full-length. A contemporary Agatha Christie-inspired locked room murder mystery in the shadow of late-stage capitalism. At his lavish book launch party, a promising young author spirals under the weight of a mismanaged manuscript and the deadly ambitions of his colleagues and loved ones. In the cutthroat world of publishing, the real killer might be whoever tells the best story. A dark comedy about queer survival, creative ownership, and the stories we tell to stay relevant—even if it kills us.

JASON

Let’s just run away.

HARRIS

Was that your plan? After the wedding? Just slip out in the middle of the night—

JASON

Harris—

HARRIS

Why didn’t you just tell me? About Birdsong. Or the visa. Or—

JASON

Because—

HARRIS

The only person who I know for sure ever loved me is dead, and everyone thinks I killed her.

JASON

I know you didn’t kill her.

HARRIS

Because you did?

JASON

No. Because I know you. I love you.

He holds out the ring.

HARRIS

I don’t know what to believe anymore.

JASON

How can I win your trust back?

I will do anything.

HARRIS

Anything?

JASON

Anything in the world.

Both lovers wonder if either would—or have already—killed for each other.

HARRIS

I don’t know how to describe it. Because I’m not even sure what I want. But I know exactly what I want to feel. When I walk out of this house today, and my book gets published, everyone else is just gonna see I made it. And I’ll tell some bullshit version of the story that works for Instagram. And my book is gonna come out. It’s gonna make the bestseller lists. And we’re gonna get married.

But they’re still dead. And my book still sucks. I wish any of this mattered. Not because of my passport. Not because my dad’s rich. Not because I wrote a book. But to know that if all of that disappeared--

JASON

Harris.

HARRIS

There’s a killer in this house.

But they’re not coming after me.

Because everyone needs me today.

Until they don’t.

JASON

You scare me sometimes.

HARRIS

Scare myself, too.

***

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.