A line reader app that waits for you
blablabla is a line reader app: it reads the other parts in distinct voices, pauses on your cue for as long as you need, and never talks over you. It is the best way to run lines when nobody is free to read with you.
What a line reader does
A line reader is the person, or the app, who reads everyone else's lines so you can say yours. In blablabla you import the script, choose your part, and every other character is read aloud. When your line comes, the reader stops.
It reads only what is on the page. No coaching, no comments, no extra words between the lines. The choices in the scene stay yours.
It is there at midnight, on a Sunday, and on the fortieth pass. Nobody has to give up their evening.
It waits on your cue, however long you take
Most recordings of the other lines play at one speed, and you fit yourself around them. blablabla listens while you speak and reads the next line when you have finished yours. Take twenty seconds to find a word and it waits twenty seconds.
Stumble, start the line again, take the pause the scene wants. The reader holds the silence until you are done. There is no timer.
A different voice for every character
Cast each character from a catalogue of premium voices before you start. A four-hander sounds like four people, so you always know whose cue you are waiting for.
Change a voice whenever the scene wants something else. The lines stay the same.
From reading the lines to knowing them
Start in Listen to hear the whole scene, your lines included. Then move to Practice, where your lines go quiet and you say them.
A dial sets how much of your own line you can see: the full line, a hint, the first letter of every word, or nothing. Turn it down as the lines go in. If one goes, turn it back up for a pass.
That is the difference between a line reader and a line learning app, and blablabla is both: the same scene takes you from first read to off book.
Any script, any language, offline
Import a PDF, a Word file, Fountain, Final Draft, a photo of paper sides, or pasted text. blablabla works out who says what, and you can fix any line before you run it.
It detects the language of the scene and matches the voices and the speech recognition to it, so a Danish play or a Spanish audition is read in the language it was written in.
Once the audio is made, the scene plays offline. Trains, green rooms and corridors outside the audition room all work.
Questions actors ask
What is a line reader app?
A line reader app reads the other characters' lines aloud so you can rehearse your own without a partner. blablabla is one: import the script, choose your part, and it reads the rest in distinct voices while it waits for you.
What is the best app for learning lines?
blablabla is the best app for learning lines when you want the scene to wait for you, because it reads every other part aloud and stops on your cue for as long as you need. A dial hides your own line a little at a time, so you go from reading it to knowing it in the same scene.
Does the line reader skip my lines?
In Practice, yes. Your lines are silent, the app waits while you say them, and it moves on when you finish. Listen reads every line, yours included, when you want to hear the whole scene first.
Can I use it hands free?
Yes. Auto-advance moves the scene on when you finish speaking, so there is nothing to tap. For a manual cue you can use Siri, a Shortcut, or a tap on your Apple Watch.
Is it free?
There is a free tier, and Pro is a subscription for actors who rehearse a lot. Details are on the pricing page. iPhone, iPad and Android.
Run your next scene with a reader that waits
Import a script, pick your part, and start on the free tier. iPhone, iPad, and Android.