5Is theater still relevant in this new century? The almost one hundred monologues in this collection prove that contemporary theater is alive, vibrant, and vital to our culture. The human experiences depicted in the works expose our hopes and fears, our bravado and our masks, as we live life in the first quarter of this new millennium. Divided into monologues for men and women, the selected pieces in Contemporary Monologues for a New Theater draw on the many diverse stories that weave the tapestry of our experience in this exciting new time. Performers and directors will become acquainted with the work of the many new playwrights they discover within these pages. And by performing these monologues, actors will emerge with a better understanding of the diversity and the beauty of life on this planet at this point in human history, gaining greater empathy toward those with different perspectives. The monologues hold a mirror up to society, allowing audiences to see hidden reflections in the shadows and the refracted colors and sounds dancing in plain sight. It is as true today even as it was for the Greeks-theater makes us more fully human.