Finding good material for scene study, monologue work, and auditions is a constant challenge for actors. This volume makes that job a whole lot easier. It is a complete guide to over six hundred playable scenes and monologues from Shakespeare and his contemporaries - the most extensive offering available in one place. This guide is designed to be easy to use. The authors have grouped the plays into traditional categories: comedies, tragedies, histories, and romances. From there, categories are broken down into further groupings (in the case of tragedies, for example: revenge tragedies, major tragedies, tragedies of classical times, and Jacobean tragedies). Short overviews are provided for each grouping; individual introductions are provided for each play. At the end of each section is a list of suggested excerpts suitable for use in auditions, monologue work, and scene study. Both beginning and seasoned actors will find this a valuable resource for making intelligent decisions about the roles they choose.