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Monologue and Audition Resources

Your guide to using ASU Library resources for monologues, scene work, and your auditions.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Monologues and Audition Resource LibGuide! 

This site aims to provide resources for students looking for monologues and scene work materials. Use the tabs on the left side to navigate recommended tools and resources. Each tab moves through resources, including scripts in the library, databases for finding resources, as well as additional online tools. ASU Library has a large collection of playscripts as well as collected monologues and dialogues. This guide will walk you through searching for and accessing these materials both in print and online through the library catalog or the playscript databases the Library subscribes to.

This is a living document that will be continually updated with new information. 

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Monologue Search tips

First, identify the role and type of play you want to audition for. If you can find the full script for the play you are auditioning for, read it. If not, read carefully through the audition posting and character descriptions to try and identify characteristics of the character you are going for. This is key in choosing the right monologue for your audition.  

Once you have identified, based on the script and character being auditioned for, if you will be choosing a classical (Shakespeare) comedic/serious or contemporary comedic/serious monologue, you are then able to pull from monologues you already have or start on the journey of finding a new one.  

If you need a new one, think of scripts that feel like the play you are auditioning for. If none do, you can google “plays that are similar to X” and start reading plays from there to find a monologue within the scripts. Similarly, if you are in a hurry and do not have time to start reading a bunch of plays to find a monologue, you can google something like “women’s comedic monologue” and see which plays pop up as suggestions after the google search. This way, you will only have to read one or two plays instead of diving deep into a bunch.  

One thing to avoid when googling “women’s comedic monologue” is to just choose a random monologue that pops up on a website without first finding the source of the monologue and reading the source text. Typically, you want to choose a monologue that comes from a full-length play, and a lot of the search results you will get when just googling for monologues are people who have just posted monologues they have written, not ones that come from plays. There will be no subtext, character arcs, or context… all information you’ll need from the play when rehearsing your monologue. SO… stick to plays! (not films, not musicals, not isolated text).  

Credit:  Ali Brady, MFA in Theatre for Youth and Community ('25).

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.