Ever feel like the only hurdle between you and your dream role are the outmoded audition (and, let's face it, gender) norms that many casting agents presumably adhere to? Tired of stale and lifeless soliloquies that leave your mouth dry and your spirit in tatters? Sick of feeling hamstrung by both your material and your imagined audience? In Break the Rules and Get the Part: Thirty Monologues for Women, Lira Kellerman will help you infiltrate, navigate, and obliterate the arbitrary guidelines that keep you tethered to dull, flaccid monologues and a disembodied stage personality.

Characterized by Broadway World as “a complex combo of prude and seductress ” Kellerman knows the ins and outs of both sides of an audition. Onstage she boasts extensive experience as an actress and dancer – experience that, in tandem with her skill as a writer and proud embrace of her inner dork (despite said dork's predilection toward words like “hella” and “dude” in moments of emotional intensity), led to the creation of this palpably empathetic book. Behind the table, her many gigs as an acting coach and casting director have taught her what your most important critics expect – and exactly how you should surprise them.

She brings this knowledge to bear on each original (that's right, original!) monologue in Break the Rules and Get the Part. Every one-minute piece is emotionally self-contained, featuring a clear internal narrative arc, sharp turning points, and several beats to choose from, each of which can make the text your own. These comedic, serio-comedic, and dramatic monologues are also followed by what Kellerman terms Helpful Direction: a list of key points that highlight character objectives and intents, several ideas on which emotions you should hit (and how and where to hit them), and multiple comedic and dramatic suggestions that heighten your individuality and personal essence within a piece.

Break the Rules and Get the Part is the sort of book a showbiz vet at the top of her artistic game wishes she had when she first entered the field. Don't fret about getting your foot in the door – kick it down, stride in, and make your wildest dreams a reality!