At a glance: DRAMATIC · 75–90 SECONDS
Best for: teen/young-adult acting practice, class work, or auditions that allow original material
Word count: 144 words
Format: one speaker addressing a silent listener
Timing: approximate; time your own delivery before using it for a strict audition limit
The Empty Chair: full monologue
Nobody sits there.
That’s the weird part.
There are twenty-three people in this room and somehow that chair stays empty like everyone agreed without talking about it.
You used to throw your backpack under it so hard the music stand shook. You’d complain about warm-ups. You’d borrow my pencil and forget to give it back.
Normal stuff.
Annoying stuff.
I thought that was what I’d miss—the big things. The last concert. The goodbye at your house. Watching the moving truck pull away.
But it’s this.
A chair nobody wants.
Yesterday the new kid asked if they could sit there and I said, “Sure,” way too fast. Then rehearsal started and every time I looked over, I expected you to be rolling your eyes at me.
I know you didn’t die. You moved three states away.
So why does an empty chair feel this loud?
What’s happening in this monologue?
You are in the school music room talking to someone who knows the friend who moved away.
Acting questions to explore
- Why has nobody taken the chair?
- Where does the speech shift from memory to admitting the loss?
- What are you asking the listener to understand?
Use these as rehearsal questions, not fixed answers. The point is to make a specific choice and stay responsive rather than copy a single “correct” performance.
Rehearse this monologue free in CueRoom
Use the real CueRoom rehearsal tools with this monologue already loaded: hide your lines, hear a prompt, mark a tricky beat, and try another take. Choose manual advance, timed hands-free practice, or Voice Control where your browser supports it.
No purchase or sign-in required. The Studio voice is already recorded. Practice as often as you like without using Studio credits.
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Fixed original monologue and recorded voice. Changes stay in this tab. Microphone access is optional and only needed for Voice Control.
Try a scene with two characters
Want to hear CueRoom read the other part? Try The Last Train, a short original scene for Maya and Jules. Choose either character, say your lines, and let the prerecorded reader play the other role.
Try the two-person demo free →
No purchase or sign-in required. Both voices are already recorded, so switching characters, prompts and replays use no Studio credits.
How to memorize this monologue
- Choose a clear image for the chair, backpack, pencil and warmups. Recall each observation in sequence, checking the small details that make this classroom feel familiar.
- Work the transition from the imagined big goodbye to the small everyday absence. Begin there once without performing the opening first.
- Let the explanation that the friend has moved away change how you address the listener. Run the ending without inventing a different loss or pushing for tears.
For a complete short-deadline routine, use How to Memorize a Monologue. For active-recall exercises, see How to Memorize Lines.
Why CueRoom helps: reading the speech is not the same as retrieving it. Put permitted text into CueRoom, hide your lines, prompt yourself when a phrase disappears, and return to the exact transition that keeps breaking.
More monologues to explore
- One More Song Before We Go — another friendship piece about the end of a familiar routine.
- The Voicemail I Never Sent — a more direct attempt to reach an absent person.
- The Trophy Shelf — a quieter contemporary speech with a personal admission.
Ready for the full CueRoom app?
Practice this monologue free as often as you like. Buy CueRoom when you are ready to upload your own scripts, choose reader voices, and keep a personal library.
Working to a short time limit? Compare this piece with the one-minute monologue selection, then time your own delivery with pauses. The full text and prerecorded demo stay the same.
Explore this piece alongside the other dramatic monologue selections, with guidance on the listener, the request and the change you can rehearse.