Arts & Culture

Are you a woman with an audition coming up?  Check out the Arts monologue collection!  Here are a few of my favourites… 

Actor's choice:  monologues for women:  this collection is great because the audition pieces are current and fresh. And at  playscripts' website you can find an almost complete copy of the play itself.

Looking for Canadian monologues? She speaks:  monologues for women offers a collection that is 'volcanic, raw, deeply funny and utterly unique' (from Judith Thompson's introduction).

And then there is  Audition speeches for women, useful not only for the monologues but also for the section about the audition process itself. 

For those auditioning for a period piece, here are two excellent volumes from the Classical monologue series.  Organized chronologically, the monologues are taken from the greatest playwrights of all time, including Sophocles, Marlowe, Moliere, Wilde, Schiller, Voltaire and many more.

Classical monologues.  Volume 3, women, from Aeschylus to Racine

Classical monologues. Volume 4, women, from the Restoration to Bernard Shaw.

And then (of course!) let's not forget Shakespeare….

Do you automatically look for books with 'complete' in the title?  Then Shakespeare for one: women: the complete monologues and audition pieces delivers the goods.

But maybe you want to zero in on a specific selection.  For women:  pocket monologues from Shakespeare brings together 56 monologues from Shakespeare's greatest female characters, each with an engaging in-depth description that establishes the character's intent and place in the scene.

And if your taste runs to the overlooked, Alternative Shakespeare:  auditions for women offers monologues from lesser known plays. This work, too, gives descriptions of scene and character, as well as explanations for mystifying words, phrases and references.

You'll find the monologue collection on the 5th floor with the drama collection.  Ask at the Arts Information Desk for any help you need.   

Lastly, did you know the Arts Department of the Toronto Reference Library has an online audition board with current audition listings and materials to read at the Library ?