32 ACTORS. 1 BRACKET. 5 ROUNDS. LAST ACTOR STANDING WINS $1000

Created in 2011 by actor-producer Edward Daniels, this annual tournament of acting has kept sold-out audiences on the edge of their seats and has awarded over $20,000 in cash and career resources to worthy talent.

 

From an open call audition where upwards of 200 actors are seen, only 32 make the cut into a single-elimination tournament bracket.  Two weeks later, each actor arrives, prepared with three of their best one-minute monologues, to perform before a live audience and a panel of industry judges.

 

Through the rounds of Comedy, Drama, and Classical, actors take to the stage in pairs. The highest-scoring actor advances to the next round while the other is eliminated.

 

For those making it to the final four, the Cold Read Round, the evening becomes a bit more interesting. Actors are handed an unseen monologue and given just five minutes to prepare before returning to the stage to perform.  Two actors advance to the final round where our judges hand down a final adjustment which decides our Champion and recipient of $1000.

 

Monologue Madness celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2026 with competitions in Washington, DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and new stops in NYC and Chicago!

 

The competition has been graciously funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.