When looking for new monologues there really is nothing greater than short plays. You can find a wide range of styles and characters in plays which aren't hugely well-known, so you don't have to worry about doing the same piece as everyone else on the block. The Humana collections (I have several) are great for this. Recently finishing the 2004 version, I was able to find half a dozen monologues. The plays ranged from a epic poem lasting a few pages to lengthy multiple acts. Most are not realistic and range from absurdism to modernist. On a personal level this worked for me and not. There were plays I loved (one, in particular which I would love to direct) and plays I couldn't make heads or tails of. This was particularly true of the final "play" which was four plays by different authors interwoven. It was too many characters, too many threads. I found myself reading and re-reading whole pages to capture the storyline. That being said, collections like these are a boon to actors. I'm definitely looking to update my holdings to some of the more recent options.
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