So I'm new to a lot of this...I found a play and a monologue online and it said something along the lines of "all inquiries should be made to the author" on the page. So does that mean if I contact this person, I could use the monologue for an audition? It's not like I want to perform the show for money. Or am I going to have to pay to use the monologue? I just dont want to get in trouble for anything!
If you were doing a production of said play, then yes you should really pay for the rights. But you don't ever have to buy rights to use a selection as a monologue.