Tips &amp; Guides for Actors

The guilt of asking someone to run lines with you

Asking someone to run lines has a price, and actors pay it in takes. Why the guilt caps your take count, and what a self-tape reader really costs you.

August 26, 2026 · 5 min read

What is a self-tape?

A self-tape is an audition you film yourself and send in. What goes in one, how long it takes, and what casting actually expects to see.

August 10, 2026 · 5 min read

techniquescene-work

How to prepare for scene study class when your partner cancels

Scene study assumes you and your partner rehearse before class. Usually you meet once. Here is how to do the work anyway and walk in with something.

August 9, 2026 · 5 min read

techniquescene-work

Character development for actors: the part you do alone

Most character development exercises need a room full of people. Here is what the work looks like when it is just you, your sides, and a Tuesday night.

August 5, 2026 · 5 min read

rehearsaltechnique

How to stay warm between acting jobs

The actors who keep booking are warm, not chosen. Nine free scenes in 33 languages, and a practice habit that fits a week with nothing booked.

July 28, 2026 · 5 min read

Disney Channel audition scripts: family scenes

What family-adventure audition sides can test, how to play wonder without performing cute, and three free original two-person scenes to rehearse.

July 23, 2026 · 9 min read

HBO audition scripts: prestige-drama scenes

How to play status, restraint, silence, and a late turn in an adult prestige-drama audition, with three free original two-person scenes.

July 23, 2026 · 9 min read

Netflix audition scripts: naturalistic YA scenes

How to rehearse subtext, interruption, digital evidence, and close-up behavior with three free original contemporary YA two-person scenes.

July 23, 2026 · 9 min read

appsstudents

The best rehearsal apps for acting students in 2026

A working actor's guide to rehearsal apps for drama school: free tiers ranked, student pricing, and a scene-study workflow that holds up.

July 4, 2026 · 4 min read

It's 11pm, your selftape is due tomorrow, and no one can read with you

Tape due tomorrow and no one to read with you? How to record a self tape without a reader tonight, and why the guilt of asking is not yours to carry.

June 27, 2026 · 3 min read

memorizationrehearsal

How to learn lines with ADHD (or dyslexia)

How to memorize lines with ADHD or dyslexia: hear the other parts, leave a gap, and say yours out loud. The method that fits how your brain works.

June 25, 2026 · 4 min read

voicesrehearsal

A scene partner who speaks your language

Rehearse with a reader who speaks your language. blablabla now reads the other parts in more than eighty voices across more than seventy languages.

June 14, 2026 · 4 min read

How to be a great self-tape reader (and when to skip the favor)

How to be a great self-tape reader: feeding lines off-camera without stealing the scene, when a human reader hurts the tape, and when to skip the favor.

May 31, 2026 · 5 min read

selftapeindustry

SAG-AFTRA self-tape rules 2026: 8 pages, 48 hours, and what the contract did not change

The 2026 SAG-AFTRA contract is ratified and runs to 2030. It did not change the 8-page limit or the 48-hour turnaround. Here is what it did change.

May 20, 2026 · 8 min read

appsrehearsal

The 8 best rehearsal apps for actors in 2026

An honest comparison of every rehearsal app for actors in 2026: features, pricing, iOS and Android support, offline use, and how to pick what fits.

May 19, 2026 · 12 min read

selftapeiphone

iPhone self-tape: focus, exposure, and zoom controls every actor should know

The iOS camera controls that separate amateur self-tapes from clean ones, and where most actors leave them on default.

May 18, 2026 · 6 min read

appsrehearsal

AI scene partner apps: what actors need to know in 2026

An AI scene partner reads the other lines aloud and waits for yours. What the 2026 apps do well, where they fall short, and which ones make the cut.

May 15, 2026 · 7 min read

rehearsalmemorization

How to get off-book in 48 hours

An hour-by-hour runbook for two days, not two weeks. Scene work before lines, intention-based memorization, sleep you actually schedule, and a last day of rest.

May 14, 2026 · 5 min read

How to scan paper sides into your iPhone in 30 seconds

A two-tap workflow for turning paper sides into a script you can rehearse with. What to do with the PDF, why watermarks confuse OCR, and when a photo is better.

May 11, 2026 · 4 min read

auditionmemorization

How to memorize lines overnight

Sides at midnight, audition at noon. A working actor's hour-by-hour playbook for memorizing lines overnight without burning out.

May 8, 2026 · 6 min read

How to slate a self-tape

What casting wants in the first eight seconds: the slate mistakes that get good tapes skipped, portrait or landscape, and what to do if you forgot to slate.

May 8, 2026 · 6 min read

How to self-tape with just your iPhone

Camera, reader, and teleprompter on one device. The minimum setup, vertical or landscape, reading off the screen you record on, and what to check first.

May 5, 2026 · 6 min read

Vertical selftape: shooting for TikTok and short-form drama

When to shoot vertical and when to stay landscape, the framing trap that turns a rotated phone into an amateur tape, and three checks before you submit.

May 5, 2026 · 5 min read

explainervideo

See blablabla in 2 minutes

A 2-minute video walkthrough of blablabla - the rehearsal partner that reads every other character's lines aloud and waits for yours.

April 14, 2026 · 2 min read

How to self-tape without a reader

Three options when nobody picks up: pre-record the other lines, let your phone read them aloud, or let an app wait for you. A fixed recording locks your timing.

April 7, 2026 · 5 min read

auditiontechnique

What nobody tells you about cold reading

What acting school skips: the 30-second scan, the one choice that carries a cold read, what to do at a word you can't pronounce, and why you hold the sides up.

April 6, 2026 · 5 min read

techniquemonologue

How to rehearse a monologue alone at home

Monologues need different prep than scenes. Find the person you're talking to, break it into beats, get your body moving, and record yourself to watch it back.

April 5, 2026 · 5 min read

auditiontechnique

How to prepare for an audition you got last night

Sides at 9 PM, audition at 10 AM. A triage plan in four blocks: read and research, work out what's happening, get it on its feet, record one take. Then sleep.

April 3, 2026 · 4 min read

behind the scenesrehearsal

How to run lines by yourself before an audition

A practical system for running lines solo when the audition is tomorrow and nobody's available to read with you.

April 1, 2026 · 4 min read

Why I built blablabla

There's a face people make when you ask them to run lines again. I got tired of causing it and built a partner that reads the other parts and waits for yours.

March 31, 2026 · 1 min read

appsrehearsal

Best app to practice lines alone

A working actor's breakdown of the apps that help you run lines alone: how each handles cues, voices and offline playback, and when a real person still wins.

March 28, 2026 · 5 min read

techniquescene-work

How to break down a scene before you rehearse it

A practical walkthrough of scene analysis for actors - objectives, beats, operative words, and the one question that changes everything.

March 25, 2026 · 4 min read

castingselftape

What casting directors actually notice in self-tapes

What casting directors have said publicly about what makes a self-tape stand out, and what makes them stop watching.

March 20, 2026 · 5 min read