Sure, this might be one of the most overused audition songs in the history of theater. But dang it, it's still one of the best showtunes ever written. "The Impossible Dream" (also known as "The Quest) is the show stopping solo sung by Don Quixote, the most tragi-comically mixed up hero ever created. Even though the original novel pokes fun of Quixote, reveling in his obliviousness, in the musical version, Man of La Mancha the audience favors Quixote's imagination versus the brutal reality of the everyday world.

Of course, a song is only as good as its singer. In the mid-1960s, Richard Kiley originated the role, bringing a classical flair to Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion's music. He became so iconic in the role, he revived the character on Broadway in two revivals during the 1970s. For some reason, the film version featured Peter O'Toole; he must not have had the singing chops for the role because the film makers dubbed his voice for each song. My all-time favorite portrayal of Quixote is by Brian Stokes Mitchell.

If you want to be truly inspired, watch his performance of "The Impossible Dream," filmed live at the 2002 Tony Awards.

One of the most recent comedic hits to land in the West End and then skip across the pond to Broadway is Richard Bean's whimsical One Man, Two Guvnors. Fill with far-fetched plot twists and secret identities, this farce features an amiable (albeit idiotic) hero who finds himself working for two different bosses. Plot complications ensue, as does the laughter. Check out the New York Times review for more about the storyline and the audience's rollicking response.

One Man, Two Guvnors is actually rooted in very old material. Bean adapted his farce from an 18th century play, Servant of Two Masters, written by Commedia del Arte master Carlo Goldoni. Although many new jokes have been added to Bean's play, the zany, impromptu spirit of the original Italian comedy is still in tact.

Students in my "Introduction to Literature" course recently completed their final. It was an usual assignment. Since they had spent the entire semester diligently crafting research based essays, I wanted to send them off with something a little more creative.

So, instead of a typical in-class essay, I asked each student to choose one of the plays from their textbook and create a brand new scene. The scene could take place before, after, or in-between the playwright's storyline. During the writing process, the students may remain true to the characters, or they may spoof them or modernized their language. The "A" papers will master the dialogue style, characterization, and thematic nature of the original piece.

Wow, now that I think of it. This sounds pretty hard. Hope my students don't hate me! To learn more about this writing activity and other quirky ways to get your class involved in drama studies, check out my article "5 Creative Ways to Analyze Plays."

The following monologue is the third installment of an ongoing creative project called "The Vampire Monologues" by Wade Bradford. It is an original monologue series published exclusively at About.com.

What Has Happened So Far:

In Part One, three recently "turned" vampires enter a funeral parlor. They meet Cunningham the Minion, who briefly tells them some words of wisdom. Mangle the Half Zombie enters to take the "new bloods" things.

In Part Two, Morgenroth the Elder enters. She is a stunning, young-looking vampire from ancient days. She welcomes the new bloods, warning them that not many survive their first few months of being a vampire, and that she (being the eldest in North America) eliminates any vampire unsuitable for existence. Morgenroth then requests to hear each of the new blood's stories.

Monologue #3 begins as Morgenroth glares at them, her gaze burning into them, until the one of the new bloods (the only girl vampire of the three new arrivals) begins to speak.

Read onward to find out what Aria has to say...