Character: Geoff, a swimming-pool caretaker approaching retirement.
Suggested playing age: Late 50s–70s.
Tone: Dramatic · a difficult first request.
Length: 219 words; approximately 90–120 seconds.
Format: one man addressing a silent listener.
The playing age is a guide to the circumstances. Time your own delivery, including reactions and pauses. This complete original is not an extract from a longer published play.
Before They Drain the Pool: full monologue
Leave one of those out, would you? The blue float. No, there's nothing wrong with it. I checked the seam this morning. I was hoping you might have ten minutes before you go.
They're draining it on Friday. New tiles, new filters. By the time it opens, someone else will know which cupboard sticks. I've written it all down. Even the radiator in reception that only works when nobody is complaining about it.
I thought I might get in. With you here. I can stand in the shallow end; I'm not asking you to drag me across the whole thing. I just don't know what happens after standing.
Don't look at the deep end. I've spent thirty-one years making sure this place was ready for everyone else. Watched little children arrive holding both their parents' hands and leave racing them to the car. I kept meaning to ask.
No, next month won't do. Next month I'll have to book at reception and explain why the old caretaker needs the beginners' class. Here, you already know me. I was rather hoping that would make this easier.
Could you start with the steps? Tell me where to put my feet. I know that sounds ridiculous. I've scrubbed every one of them. I'd just like, once, to use them for getting in.
Understand the scene
Speaking to: A swimming teacher he has worked alongside for years, packing away the floats after the final class.
Immediate objective: Get her to stay for ten minutes and help him begin learning to swim.
The change: His explanation of the building gives way to a plain request for help beginning the lesson.
Acting questions
- What makes Geoff choose this teacher and this particular evening?
- When does professional knowledge stop protecting him from being a beginner?
- Does the teacher's glance toward the deep end feel like a question or an assumption?
- What small response would let him move toward the steps?
A rehearsal experiment
Give the teacher a different silent response in two takes: a cheerful offer of a lesson next month, then an immediate willingness to help. Keep the words fixed and let the response change Geoff's urgency. Resist illustrating the swim; work on getting the teacher to stay.
Rehearse Before They Drain the Pool free
Open the real CueRoom rehearsal interface with this exact text divided into six thought beats. Choose Practice my lines to recall the words, Listen to the recording to hear the prepared reading, or Prompt for the current beat. Bookmark a difficult transition and return to it.
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Remember the sequence of thoughts
Follow six concrete landmarks: blue float, Friday's closure, standing in the shallow end, watching children, next month's reception desk, the steps. Join the working history to the refusal to postpone without adding a sentimental pause by habit.
Attempt a beat before revealing it, check the wording, then connect it to the next thought. Once the sequence holds, time a complete take. Use the monologue preparation plan when you have a deadline or the line-learning guide for an ongoing routine.
Using this piece for an audition or class
Check the brief before learning it. Some auditions require a speech from a named published play, a specific period or a strict duration. This original standalone piece suits situations where original material is permitted. The demo rehearses the complete text; it does not create a custom cut.
Content: Fear of water, retirement and embarrassment about learning; no strong language.
You may use this CueRoom original for personal rehearsal, classes and auditions that accept original material. Do not republish or sell it as your own.
Find a contrasting piece
Compare The Birdwatching Trial Period for a different tone and relationship. Notice how each character changes his approach to the listener. Contrast can come from status, rhythm or the size of the request as well as comedy versus drama.
For material from a classical play, explore Benedick’s comic self-persuasion or Edmund’s defiant ambition. Read the surrounding scenes before deciding whether a speech meets your brief.
Browse 18 monologues for men · Compare audition monologues · Explore the full library
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Choosing for a limited performance slot? Compare this 219-word piece with the other short monologue selections, then time your own complete take with the pauses you need.
Explore this piece alongside the other dramatic monologue selections, with guidance on the listener, the request and the change you can rehearse.
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