I sometimes get email from aspiring actors asking what monologue they ought to perform for their class project. First, let me say I am in no way qualified to answer this question, but, even assuming I were an actor, I would still find the question impossible to answer. So many factors may enter in. If it is simply a matter of finding what is available, though, let me recommend the Librivox Shakespeare audio monologues as a starting point. You will find them listed at the following URL:
http://librivox.org/newcatalog/search.php?title=&author=Shakespeare&status=all&action=Search
This is not the best way to find them, however. You will find this listing rather confusing and difficult to follow. Far better is the version stored at the Internet Archive, where the monologues are divided into three collections:
The monologues are provided in three bitrates and two formats (two MP3 versions and one Ogg Vorbis). The full text of the monologues is also supplied in PDF format. You will also find the text at a web site called Shakespeare's Monologues.
The trouble with the Librivox recordings, and this can be said across their free audiobook catalog, is that the quality of voice performance is quite uneven. The recordings are made entirely by volunteers, and some volunteers obviously have not had voice training or have not considered carefully the delivery of their lines. This seems like a golden opportunity for new and aspiring actors. Why not volunteer, record one of the soliloquies as professionally as possible, and use it as a voice audition? Librivox and the Internet Archive will profit, and it will be a means of publicity for the actor?
At the very least, the Librivox recordings can give the flavor of a text when considering alternatives in that beginning acting class.
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