Will Shakespeare…maybe?

I have an audition coming up. Thank heavens because I haven’t had one in a while. Nothing like not even getting seen to get a girl down, but that’s part of it: grind, grind, grind, rejection, grind, grind, grind, hustle.

This audition is for a couple of Shakespeare plays. I’m to have a verse monologue prepared. I haven’t done anything but contemporary auditions for some time so I’m slightly nervous. But, I’m never not nervous about an audition so that’s par for the course.

How I’m going to prepare:

When I have a classical audition, I always start with: Soliloquy: The Shakespeare Monologues.  I have the women’s version, which, for some reason, is a little harder to find than the men’s version. Not only does the book have the monologues, each entry contains a mini-dictionary explaining unfamiliar terms. Also included is a valuable description of the character. The character profile is helpful not only if you are in a pinch and don’t have time to read the play (NOT recommended) but also to provide you a reference point before diving into the play.

I’ve also recently found Shakespeare’s Monologues. It’s divided into men and women. The monologues are presented in chart form and it denotes whether the speech is in verse or prose.

I try to match the character of the monologue to the character that I’m most appropriate for in the show. Shakespeare’s writing contains some rather similar ladies so, thus far, it hasn’t been an issue.

I will memorize the monologue through the process I described in my post on How to Memorize a Monologue.

If you’re pressed for time:

If you don’t have the time to read the play, the following websites provide plot summaries.

Shakespeare Online: Comprehensive summaries on the plays. Also contains some articles ranging from Shakespeare’s language to information on the Globe.

No Sweat Shakespeare: Super short summaries.

Absolute Shakespeare: Summaries and commentaries on the plays.

Any resources and/or tips that you suggest? Comment below.