Paste a monologue, pick a target words-per-minute, and read along with a moving highlight that paces you word by word. Built to fix the slow-and-careful audition tempo most actors default to under nerves.
73 words · 30s at 145 WPM
Conversational pace for contemporary plays and most theatre auditions.
How to use a pace trainer well. Read aloud with the highlight, matching its tempo. The first pass you will lag; that is the point. The second pass you will catch up. By the fifth pass the target tempo will feel like your own. Most actors default to ten to twenty WPM below what the casting brief actually wants — particularly under audition nerves — and a few paced run-throughs at the target rate before the room recalibrates your delivery.
Then run the same monologue against our scene partner tool — pacing locks in best when you carry it straight into a full-text run with no visual aid.
Quick reference: Shakespeare and verse-heavy classical text sits naturally around 110 WPM. Contemporary stage hits 140–150. Film and TV close-up registers usually clock 180–210. Comedy lives above 175.
Run Lines Online reads the other characters aloud — 20 unique voices, no scene partner needed. Free.