Three Sample Monologues from Life After Life

Life After Life has over 40 individual characters, each based on people buried in the Common Burying Ground and God’s Little Acre. The play itself takes audiences on a tour of the Graveyard where audiences encounter various characters presenting scenes and monologues. The language the characters say either comes directly from their words or were written based on the research we uncovered.

These are three monologues that may give you a sense of a few of the many characters we’ll encounter. As you prepare for your audition, feel free to select one and get to know it.

Desire Tripp

  • Buried in 1793. Her stone depicts an image of her arm, which was buried in 1786 after amputation alongside her two young children. We imagine that she is nervous, quite religious and perhaps superstitious.

  • It’s my arm. See. Well, now it’s here. Attached . . . As it was most of my life! But then the troubles came and William thought it best to see Dr. Senter. He said it would have to come off and when he said that well I about fainted I said no no please anything but that, but William said hush now and be a good girl and stop making all this fuss when I knew it was a sickness and that the devil was all around us and that Dr. Senter was saying something true. [beat] He cut my arm off in 1786 when I was 41. It took 6 minutes and I felt every moment. William paid ￡6 -- nearly a month’s wages for the procedure and then that was it. Two babies dead and one arm gone. The devil hung about me and now everyone could see it plain. I’m sure William thought this would be the end of it, but for me it was the start. Of the phantoms. The feelings -- my arm itching but nothing to scratch. My babies -- William and Wait -- crying out for me, but no babies to soothe. I was sure to go mad but then William brought John Bull to the house to discuss a stone. [John Bull approaches.] Oh there you are! 

Dr. Harriet Rice

  • Buried in 1958. She was a doctor awarded prestigious honors despite facing prejudice throughout her life. She is intelligent, hard-working, funny, and honest about what is frustrating.

  • My name is Harriet Alleyne Rice. Daughter to George and Lucinda Rice. Born in 1866 in Newport, Rhode Island. I graduated from Rogers High School in 1882 and went on to be the first African heritage student to graduate from Wellesley College in 1887. I studied medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and then received my medical degree from the Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. However, as a highly educated woman of color during the late 19th century, it was nearly impossible to practice medicine at any American hospital, so I joined Jane Addams at Hull House in Chicago to provide medical treatment to poor families. I eventually came home to Newport and opened a medical practice out of our family home on Spring Street right around 1900. Later I moved to Boston and lived at the Harriet Tubman House and served on the medical staff at Plymouth Hospital.

    When World War I broke out, I offered my services as a medical doctor to support the troops, but the American Red Cross didn’t want me as a doctor because of my race. But I am from Newport. I am the descendant of people who do not give up, and so I contacted the French government, who gladly accepted my offer of medical help. When I was 49 years old I went to France and served in French hospitals treating wounded soldiers. I was there on the frontlines from January 1915 until just a few days after the Armistice in November 1918. In 1919, the French Government awarded me the Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française, -- the Medal of French Gratitude -- for my work treating wounded troops. Of all the times in my life, that was when I felt most useful. Most inside my purpose.

    After the war I moved back home to Newport and lived with my sister until she passed in 1925. I was nearly 60 and devastated. I was “a lonely wanderer on the face of the earth, without friends, without home, without employment of any kind.”

    After that I went to New York City to work in a Columbia University Medical Center lab. I was sure they were about to lay me off in 1933, so I wrote back to Hull House in Chicago, seeing if they needed a doctor. I didn’t hold back much about how hard it was to find my way. I wrote that I was thinking about “jumping out of a window, or turning on the gas, or the like.” Dramatic I know! But the struggle is REAL. At the end I said I knew I must “keep on fighting a while longer.” Because what else is a Newporter like me going to do? In any rate, I left New York in 1935. 

    I died in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1958 when I was 92 years old. They brought me home -- to be with all of you. I’m buried in my family plot here in God’s Little Acre. Just over there.

Edmund Briggs, Jr.

  • Though not technically buried in the CBG, in 1822 he was accused of murder and his victim was buried in the CBG with Edmund Briggs’ name carved into the stone naming him as his assassin.

    Much of this language was written directly by Brigg’s in a deposition, but some of it we imagine based on his circumstances. He is frustrated and also maybe not telling the truth.

  • I went on the Point with my brother and father on the evening of September 20, last past for the purpose of getting my brother’s clothes which were at Mrs Murphy’s to be washed. This was not far from 10 o’clock. After sitting there sometime we sent for some gin. I sent first for a pint. My brother afterwards sent for another pint. Before it was all drank there came in four or five men. The only one I knew was Lewis Lawton. We asked them to drink, which they declined, but sent themselves for a pint of cherry rum. They asked me to drink, which I declined as I thought I had drunk sufficient and mentioned that I was then going down on board the vessel. In time the cherry rum was brought, several others in. I then, with my father and brother, went out of the house. After I got out, about a nod from the house, I stopped against the fence to make water. Four or five of those I left in the house came and took hold of me and insisted on my going back into the house to drink with them. Which I declined for the reason before given, that I had drunk enough. They still held on, until I jerked clear of them. I then started and walked off with my father and brother until I got near to Washington St, when I looked back and discovered they were in pursuit of us, being as I concluded, six or seven in number. We then started and ran on which they began to throw stones after us. One of the stones hit me in the back part of the head; and also several times in the legs. They chased us nearly to where Holmes’ Candle Works formerly stood. There I got away from them. They came near enough to strike me and kick me. This was some distance above. I do not wish to state anything more at present.

    All this and it’s my name on that blasted stone of that louse who had it coming for all eternity. I’m not buried here in this crummy place. Nor my father! Yet we are trapped here because his idiot family chose to carve my name on their son’s stone! As if our punishment wasn’t enough. It has to be for all time that my name is here. In 1822 I find myself in Newport mixed up in this silly drunken mess and now. . . Over two-hundred years later my father and I are still being called back to recount the night. Truly once I was out of prison, I never looked back. None of this mattered much in my life or my children’s lives. (to Tennant) You idiot. I never should have accepted that cherry rum. None of it was worth this. I didn’t even know your idiot family had kept my name on your gravestone until after I’d died. “Why am I getting pulled back to Newport” I’d wonder. Then finally I saw it -- Killed by an assassin there on YOUR STONE is MY NAME. Edmund Briggs. This should be illegal. You should not be allowed to get away with this. And yet, here we are. Pathetic.

All of the Characters in Life After Life

CHARACTERS IN THE INTERLUDES (in the order they appear)

  • Samuel Ward

A Colonial governor who died of smallpox months before he was supposed to sign the Declaration of Independence.

  • Michelle Corne

A portrait artist originally from Elba (Italy), he is credited with introducing the tomato to North Americans who previously thought it was poisonous (tho this probably not true)

  • Samuel Cranston

The longest-serving Colonial Governor of RI from 1698-1727, as a young newlywed, pirates kidnapped Cranston off Key West. After seven years in captivity he escaped and walked back to Newport to find his bride who was about to remarry. He got there in the nick of time. 

  • Stonecarvers (several)

A chorus of stonecarvers who represent the artisans and craftsmen based on visits with Nick Benson and the stonecarvers at the John Stevens Shop, which has been in existence since 1705.

  • Lichen (several)

A living partnership between fungus and algae, Lichen grows prolifically in the Graveyard. Caretakers take great pride in blasting them off the stone to see the names of the dead.

  • Edmond Briggs

In 1822 Edmund Briggs’ son stabbed William Tennant in the street. He later gave court testimony describing the incident. 

  • Edmund Briggs, Jr

In 1822 Edmund Briggs, Jr stabbed William Tennant in the street, who later died. His name is carved on Tennant’s stone in the Graveyard naming him an "assassin." He later gave testimony describing the incident.

  • William Tennant

In 1822 William Tennant was stabbed by Edmund Briggs, Jr in the street. He later died and on his stone his family named Briggs, Jr as his assassin. He gave testimony just before dying.

  • Ghosts (several)

We don’t know everyone who is buried in the Graveyard, but everyone who is buried there lived.

  • Sarah Langley

An 18th century wife and mother. 6 of her 11 children died in the first year of their lives. The stonecarver John Bull created an iconic and moving 6-headed stone for the children.

  • William Langley

An 18th century husband and father. 6 of his 11 children died in the first year of their lives. The stonecarver John Bull created an iconic and moving 6-headed stone for the children.

  • Children’s Chorus

There are many children buried in the Graveyard. We have moments where they play and sing. 

  • Henrietta Tew

The wife of a whaling captain, Tew kept a journal of her experience at sea from 1856-1859. 

  • John Deblois

One of the most famous whaling captains of the 19th century, his first voyage ended in catastrophe compared to Herman Meliville’s Captain Ahab.

  • Sarah Parisi

Mother of Parisi Parisi and wife of lobsterman Vasili Parisi. Sarah was born in 1882, died in 1951, and had four children. She and her children were all born in Greece.

  • Vasili Parisi

A lobster fisherman in Newport and later the owner of a variety store on Long Wharf, Vasili was Parisi Parisi’s father and Sarah’s husband. Born in Skiathos in 1872 and died in Newport 1956.

  • Parisi Parisi

Parisi Parisi was born in Skiathos in 1906 and died in Newport in 1936 at 29. He is buried in God’s Little Acre and all lettering on the stone is in Greek. A police medallion marks his grave but he was most likely NOT a policeman. His death certificate lists him as “ unemployed “ and the Newport Police have no record of him. The 1920 and 1925 census list no occupation for him and the 1935 census lists him as a manager of the Parisi Variety store on Long Wharf.

  • Old Granny Morgan

Elizabeth Morgan died January 2, 1775, age 70 and was a well known midwife in Newport. Described by Reverend Ezra Stiles in his Bills of Mortality as “Old granny Morgan, accustoms herself on occasion to a hocus-pocus & making cakes out of flour and her own Urine and sticking them full of pins divining by them.“

CHARACTERS IN THE SCENES (in the order they appear)

  • Duchess Quamino 

Born in the Gold Coast in the 1700s and brought to Newport to live as an enslaved housekeeper to William Channing. Quamino eventually buys her freedom and becomes a famous entrepreneur known as the Pastry Queen of Rhode Island. Duchess is the first character the audience meets in the Graveyard and later has a monologue where she describes her life. She also has a small scene with Ann Franklin about the erasure of enslaved people’s names from the archive and is part of the group scene in God’s Little Acre.

  • Ida Lewis

The most famous lighthouse keeper who also rescued untold numbers of people from her station at Lime Rock in Newport, Ida is our guide through the graveyard and the character who the audience will rely on throughout the piece. 

  • Ida’s Musician

A violist who accompanies Ida and the audience through the Graveyard.

  • A YouTuber

A would-be historian in the Graveyard finding “content” for his “channel,” Ida and the audience encounter him just before we settle in for the ride. With the audience's help, Ida magics him away in order to affirm the human touch.

  • Mary Almy

A wife and mother who lived in Newport through British occupation in the 1700s. While her husband is off fighting as a Patriot, Mary is a Loyalist. She kept a journal written to her husband detailing the horrific and mundane life of living through occupation while caring for their family. Mary has a long monologue, largely written directly from her journal. 

  • Benjamin Almy

Mary’s husband and a Patriot in the War for Independence. He was off fighting during the British occupation in Newport. In the play he is present during Mary’s monologue and completely silent, as he has no written reply to her journal.

  • Desire Tripp

A woman whose arm was amputated and buried in the 1700s in Newport. Other than losing two small children in the years before her arm, we know little about Desire Tripp. Her monologue is followed by a scene with John Bull, the stonecarver who carved the arm on her iconic stone. 

  • John Bull

A stonecarver who created two of the most iconic stones in the Common Burying Ground -- the Desire Tripp arm carving and the 6-headed Langley stone for their six children who died in succession. It’s said that John Bull tried often to leave stonecarving and Newport, but it always drew him back. He has a scene with Desire Tripp in the play.

  • Ann Franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s sister-in-law who moved to Newport with her husband James and the first printing press in the Colony. When James died young in 1735, he left Ann with five young children. She petitioned to start the first newspaper, The Newport Mercury which she ran with her son James Jr. She has a scene with her five children who all pre-deceased her as well as a scene with Duchess Quamino about the erasure of enslaved people’s names from the archive.

  • James Franklin Jr

Ann Franklin’s son who ran The Newport Mercury with his mother after being sent to Philadelphia as an indentured servant with his uncle Benjamin Franklin. His scene in the play is with his mother and sisters.

  • Elizabeth Franklin

One of Ann Franklin’s daughters who is in the scene with James Jr and Ann

  • Mary Franklin

One of Ann Franklin’s daughters who is in the scene with James Jr and Ann

  • Abiah Franklin

One of Ann Franklin’s daughters who is in the scene with James Jr and Ann

  • Unknown Daughter Franklin

One of Ann Franklin’s daughters who is in the scene with James Jr and Ann. In our research we could only see that Ann had four daughters, but one is never named. Much of Ann’s scene is also about how we lose details to history, which this nameless daughter helps illustrate.

  • Frank Jones

An audience plant from the beginning with his partner, Mr Jones was buried in the Common Burying Ground in the last year because his partner is a descendant of someone with a family plot. The Jones’ never lived in Newport and emerge from the audience ¾ of the way through the play, reminding us that death comes for everyone someday. 

  • Eddie Jones

An audience plant from the beginning with his partner, Mr Jones was buried in the Common Burying Ground in the last two years because he is a descendant of someone with a family plot. The Jones’ never lived in Newport and emerge from the audience ¾ of the way through the play, reminding us that death comes for everyone someday. 

  • Rev Watson

The Reverend who conducted the Episcopal burial service in 1846 for the victims of the wreck of the Brig Sutledge. In the play he offers a eulogy that is a description of what happened while the actors playing the women and children who drowned perform a movement sequence.

  • Sutledge Women (4)

The Brig Sutledge was a ship traveling from Nova Scotia to Maryland with Scottish passengers on their way to work in coal mines when they hit fog and struck a reef. Though most people survived, four women and twelve children drowned in the wreck. Everyone was brought to nearby Newport where the community cared for the survivors and fundraised to bury the dead in the Common Burying Ground. In the play the women and children who died will have a movement piece that happens during Rev Watson’s eulogy. (no lines)

  • Sutledge Children (several)

The Brig Sutledge was a ship traveling from Nova Scotia to Maryland with Scottish passengers on their way to work in coal mines when they hit fog and struck a reef. Though most people survived, four women and twelve children drowned in the wreck. Everyone was brought to nearby Newport where the community cared for the survivors and fundraised to bury the dead in the Common Burying Ground. In the play the women and children who died will have a movement piece that happens during Rev Watson’s eulogy. (no lines)

  • Rev Geisler

The Pastor of the Thames Street Episcopal Methodist Church, he gave the eulogy at Ida Lewis’ funeral which attracted 1500 mourners. In the play, the Rev Geisler gives the exact eulogy to Ida that he gave at her funeral in 1911.

  • Dr. Harriet Rice

Buried in God’s Little Acre in the mid-20th century, Dr. Harriet Rice was born and raised in Newport and trained as a doctor. Though she faced much rejection over the course of her career because of her race and gender, she served as a doctor for the French army in WWI and earned a prestigious award. She is featured in the play in God’s Little Acre.

  • Zingo Stevens

A stonecarver who lived in Newport in the 18th century, he was enslaved in a stonecarving shop where he learned to carve and signed at least one of the stones in God’s Little Acre. While we don’t have much more information about Zingo (and there’s even speculation from some scholars that Zingo was the same person as Pompe Stevens), in the play Zingo is featured in God’s Little Acre and speaks to the long memory of stone.

  • Mintus

Named in some historical texts as “the last Colored undertaker,” Mintus  cared for the African Heritage community of Newport with great style and ceremony and was a member of the Free African Union Society. In the play, Mintus is featured in God’s Little Acre, both speaking about himself and responding as others speak about him.