Acting Scenes

Theatre Acting Scenes
This is a list of great acting scenes. These are all fantastic theatre scenes to work on for classes or auditions. Each category is divided into male/female; male/male or female/female acting scenes. Because of copyright reasons we can’t always put the actual text on the site, but we have a few pdf links where possible. We have listed below all the information about each scene within the table below. It’s not glamorous, but they are all great scenes.
You should be able to pick most these plays up from any good library or else try to get the play online. We talk more on the importance of working on scenes below, but for now here are our favourite theatre scenes:
Theatre Scenes for Auditions and Acting Class
Male/Female Acting Scenes
Play | Author | Genre | Characters | Pages | Country of Origin | Rating |
The Goat | Edward Albee | Drama | Stevie/Martin | America | 2/5 | |
When the Rain Stops Falling | Andrew Bovell | Drama | Gabriel/Gabrielle | Australia | 4/5 | |
When the Rain Stops Falling | Andrew Bovell | Drama | Henry/Elizabeth | P41 – 44 | Australia | 3/5 |
Les Liasons Dangereuses | Christopher Hampton | Drama | Valmont/De Merteuil | Scene 12 | England | 3/5 |
Les Liasons Dangereuses | Christopher Hampton | Drama | Valmont/De Merteuil | Scene 16 | England | 4/5 |
O Go My Man | Stekka Feehly | Drama | Sarah/ Ian | P42 – 49 | England | 3/5 |
Reasons to be Pretty | Neil Labute | Comedy | Greg/Kent | P96 – 110 | America | 3/5 |
The Crucible | Arthur Miller | Drama | Proctor/Abigail | P20 -55 | America | 5/5 |
Betrayal | Harold Pinter | Comedy | Emma/Jerry | Scene 3 | England | 3/5 |
Betrayal | Harold Pinter | Comedy | Emma/Jerry | Scene 8 | England | 3/5 |
Doubt | John Patrick Shanley | Drama | Sister Aloysius/Father Flynn | America | 3/5 | |
The Real Thing | Tom Stoppard | Serio-comic | Annie/Henry | P45 -55 | England | 3/5 |
The Real Thing | Tom Stoppard | Serio-comic | Annie/Henry | Scene 5 | England | 3/5 |
The Real Thing | Tom Stoppard | Serio-comic | Annie/Henry | P45 -55 | England | 3/5 |
4000 Miles | Amy Herzog | Drama | Bec/Leo | P34 – 41 | America | 4/5 |
Male/Male Acting Scenes
Play | Author | Genre | Characters | Pages | Country of Origin | Rating |
Fat Pig | Neil Labte | Comedy | America | 4/5 | ||
Hurly Burly | David Rabe | Comedy | Eddie/Phil | Scene 1 | America | 3/5 |
Female/Female Acting Scenes
Play | Author | Genre | Characters | Pages | Country of Origin | Rating |
Rockabye | Joanna Murray Smith | Comedy | Sidney/Julia | Scene 1 | Australia | 5/5 |
A View From the Bridge | Arthur Miller | Drama | Beatrice/Catherine | P 42 – 45 | America | 4/5 |
Great plays to find acting scenes…
Hurly Burly (David Rabe)
The Only Game in Town (Frank D. Gilroy)
Red (John Logan)
Lou Gehrig Did Not Die of Cancer (Jason Miller)
Dolores (Edward Allen Baker)
Reasons to be Pretty (Neil Labute)
Landscape of the Body (John Guare)
Boy Gets Girl (Rebecca Gilman)
Blue Room (David Hare)
More more of the best plays for scenes.
Why working on Acting Scenes is Important
Acting is all about relationships. It’s about connecting with the other actors on stage to tell a great story. When we are starting out as actors we often get lost in the world of monologues. Though monologues are a great device for refining you actings chops, they are quite rare in plays. The majority of the time you are dealing with scenes. Interacting with other actors and working towards your objective.
If you’re not booking work as an actor make sure you are working on scenes regularly. This may be in an acting class format or just starting a private scene club. It can also be great to get together and put down scenes on camera. I recommend asking yourself where you want to head in your career and where are you weakest. If you have worked a lot in theatre and don’t audition much for film and TV, then get a camera and do some self tapes.
Actors love to feel sorry for themselves, and I am definitely victim to this. But the reality is that there is a lot you can do in between jobs. Practicing and refining your acting when your not working means you will have a competitive edge in the audition room, and be stage fit when you do land that role. So make sure you are working on scenes whenever you can.
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