Part 3: Lesser-Known Monologues to Add to Your Repertoire

Even Dame Judi Dench has no idea which play this is.

By now you've warmed up, read some plays, gone through the old repertoire of old stand-by audition monologues...

And you're hungry for more.

Shakespeare wrote northwards of thirty-seven plays (the exact number is hotly debated) but many are rarely read or performed.  The reasons for this are debatable: maybe tickets sell better for the handful of plays that have been made into popular films or perhaps no one knows how to pronounce the character name "Iachimo."*  Whatever the reason, some fantastic monologues often go overlooked, and they might be just the stuff you need to present yourself desirably in your next audition.

What follows are some of the most underutilized monologues Shakespeare---that also happen to be very good.

For Ladies:

• Portia 3.4, Lines 57-84 ("Come on Nerissa" to "measure twenty miles today") The Merchant of Venice
• Olivia 3.1, Lines 117-133 ("O by your leave" to "let me hear you speak") Twelfth Night
• Julia 4.4 Lines 185-210 ("A virtuous gentlewoman" to "make my master out of love with thee!") Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Isabella 2.2, Lines 106-123 ("So you must be the first" to "laugh themselves mortal") Measure for Measure
• Volumnia 5.3, Lines 131-182 ("Nay, go not from us thus" to  "I am hushed until our city be afire, and then I'll speak a little") Coriolanus
• Goneril 1.4, Lines 220-273 ("Not only, sir, this your all-licensed fool" to "Which know themselves and you") King Lear
• Ophelia 2.1, Lines 75-100 ("O, my lord" to "bended their light on me") Hamlet
• Imogen 3.6, Lines 1-27 ("I see a man's life" to "Such a foe, good Heavens!") Cymbeline
• Dionyza 4.3, Lines 16-46 ("She died at night" to "At whose expense 'tis done") Pericles
• Paulina 3.2, Lines 173-215 ("Woe the while!" to "To look that way thou wert") The Winter's Tale

For Gents:

• Duke Senior, 2.1, Lines 1-18 ("Now, my co-mates" to "I would not change it") As You Like It
• Berowne 5.2, Lines 394-415 ("Thus pour the stars" to "sans crack or flaw") Love's Labour's Lost
• Shylock 1.3, Lines 107-130 ("Signor Antonio" to "thus much moneys?") The Merchant of Venice
• Theseus 1.1, Lines 65-90 ("Either to die the death" to "austerity and single life") A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Lysander 1.1 Lines 135-149 ("Ay me!" to "bright things come to confusion") A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Orsino 1.1 Lines 1-24, ("If music be" to "what news of her?") Twelfth Night
• Ulysses 1.3 Lines 142-184 ("The great Achilles" to "As stuff for these two to make paradoxes") Troilus and Cressida
• Menenius 2.1, Lines 51-70 or as far as 99. ("I am known to be a humorous" to "this character, if I be known well enough too?" or "I will be bold to take my leave of you") Coriolanus
• Brutus 2.1, Lines 162-183 ("Our course will seem" to "When Caesar's head is off") Julius Caesar
• Porter 2.3, Lines 1-22 ("Here's a knocking" to "I pray you, remember the Porter") Macbeth
• Timon 4.3, Lines 250-276 ("Thou art a slave" to "Thou hadst been a knave and flatterer") Timon of Athens
• Aaron 4.2, Lines 88-105 ("Stay, murderous villains!" to "excuse it how she can") Titus Andronicus

If you would like me to go into detail explaining the meaning and context of any of the monologues I've mentioned today or in yesterday's post, speak up and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

*It's pronounced "YAH-kih-moh" and it means "little Iago" which in a way is quite correct.  The character is a much lesser villain than Shakespeare's Iago.  Iachimo's monologue from Cymbeline (2.2, Lines 11-51) is also a fun, underutilized one to try... but may need a trunk and a sleeping lady wearing a ring to be done most effectively.

Part 2: Most Overused Shakespeare Audition Monologues (And if you Should do Them Anyway)

If you google "overdone Shakespeare monologues" you'll see many lists from various surveyed professionals.  For ladies this is particularly frustrating, as many lists of the most overdone female monolgues in Shakespeare are pretty much lists of ALL monologues for female characters in Shakespeare.  

Do not worry yourself with these lists.  Choose what you know and love performing.

The fact is simply that the most "overused" monologues are for some of the best and most accessible characters in Shakespeare.  If a director has taken the time to direct Shakespeare, they should love the language.  If they do (and I speak from my experience) they will not get sick of seeing actors who enjoy performing it, no matter how many Romeos, Juliets, Macbeths and Hamlets walk in to audition.  Pick a monologue you'll enjoy repeating and replaying.

Here is a list of great monologues from Shakespeare that happen to be popular:

For Ladies

• Lady Percy Act 2 Scene 3 Lines 9-45 ("O yet, for God's sake..." to "Have talked of Monmouth's Grave.") from Henry IV Part Two
• Phebe Act 3 Scene 5 Lines 8-27 ("I would not be thy executioner." to "That can do hurt.")  and Lines 109-135 ("Think not I love him..." to "And thou shalt bear it--- wilt thou, Silvius?")  from As You Like It
• Rosalind Act 3 Scene 5 Lines 35-63 ("And why, I pray..." to "So take her to thee, shepherd.  Fare you well") from As You Like It
• Helena Act 1 Scene 1 Lines 226-251 ("How happy some..." to "To have his sight thither and back again") from a Midsummer Night's Dream
• Viola Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 18-42 (I left no ring with her" to "'Tis too hard a knot for me t'untie.") from Twelfth Night
• Julia Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 105-129 ("O hateful hands" to "contend, do what you will") from Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Portia Act 2 Scene 1 Lines 237-302, or any starting and stopping point within those lines ("Y'have ungently, Brutus" to "And not my husband's secrets?") from Julius Caesar
• Lady Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 39-55 (The raven himself is hoarse" to "To cry 'Hold, hold!") from Macbeth
• Emilia Act 4 Scene 3 Lines 87-104 ("But I do think it is their husbands'" to "The ills we do, their ills instruct us so") from Othello
• Juliet Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 1-35 ("Gallop apace" to "That Romeo bit thee fetch?") from Romeo and Juliet
• Hermione Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 92-117 ("Sir, spare your threats" to Apollo be my judge") from The Winter's Tale

For Gents

• King Henry V Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 259-297 ("We are glad the Dauphin" to "Convey them with safe conduct.  Fare you well") from Henry V
• Launcelot Gobbo Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 1-32 ("Certainly my conscience" to "I will run, fiend; my heels are at your commandment.  I will run") from The Merchant of Venice
• Benedick Act 2 Scene 3 Lines 7-37 ( "I do much wonder that one man" to "I will hide me in the arbor") from Much Ado About Nothing
• Launce Act 2 Scene 3 Lines 1-35 ("Nay, 'twill be this hour" to "I lay the dust with my tears") and Act 4 Scene 4 Lines 1-41 (When a man's servant shall play" to "Didst thou ever see me do such a trick?") from Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 575-634 ("Now I am alone" to "Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King") from Hamlet 
• Cassius Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 90-131 (I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus" to"And bear the palm alone") and Lines 135-161 ("Why man, he doth bestride" to "Th'eternal devil to keep his state in Rome As easily as a king") from Julius Caesar
• Edmund Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 1-22 ("Thou Nature..." to "Now, gods, stand up for bastards!") from King Lear
• Macbeth Act 2 Scene 1 Lines 33-65 ("Is this a dagger" to "That summons thee to Heaven or to Hell") from Macbeth
• Romeo Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 2-32 ("But soft! to "And sails upon the bosom of the air") from Romeo and Juliet
• Puck Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 6-34 ("My mistress with a monster" to "Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass!") from A Midsummer Night's Dream

For any monologue you choose, first read and understand the play before you rehearse.  You need to know the context in which your character delivers their speech.  If you're short on time to prepare for an audition, pick the play you're going to perform from first---meaning pick a play you know well.  Then pick your favorite character from that play and finally your favorite monologue from that character.  If you enjoy the lines, you'll enjoy playing with them as you rehearse.  This will come through in your audition and make you a delight to watch.

By the way, if you choose any of the monologues I've mentioned and need help understanding them a bit better, feel free to ask questions!  I suggested them because I know them well.

Next up...

Part 3: Lesser-Known Monologues to Add to Your Repertoire