How does a soliloquy differ from an aside? a soliloquy is a conversation between two or more characters, while an aside is just a single character expressing his or her thoughts about the actions of other characters. a soliloquy is a stage direction during which all the characters exit the stage, while during an aside, they’re instructed to move to different sides of the stage. during a soliloquy, only the character making the speech is present onstage, while during an aside, others characters may be present onstage. a soliloquy is the opening scene of a play, while an aside is the closing scene of the play.