This is where the study of the play begins to differentiate based on what role you are playing in
the production. Since most people begin their theatrical journeys as actors, I’ve decided that an
actor’s primer for highlighting lines would be as good a place to start as any.
Why highlight your lines?
You’re not going to have the script in your hands when you step on stage for the actual
performance (and least you’d better not!), so your lines have to be memorized anyways. Why go
to all the trouble of highlighting them?
Highlighting your lines and cue lines has the very practical benefit of helping you find your lines in
the script while you’re in rehearsals. This is important because you don’t want to slow down the
pace of a scene because you can’t find your line on a full page of black-and-white text (especially
if you’ve only got one or two lines on a page). But there’s also another important process that
begins when you highlight your lines – you begin to see your character as a distinct entity,
something to be considered within the context of the play as a whole.
Here’s a small passage from the script to illustrate how to highlight. In this example we’re playing
the character of Evelyn:
the production. Since most people begin their theatrical journeys as actors, I’ve decided that an
actor’s primer for highlighting lines would be as good a place to start as any.
Why highlight your lines?
You’re not going to have the script in your hands when you step on stage for the actual
performance (and least you’d better not!), so your lines have to be memorized anyways. Why go
to all the trouble of highlighting them?
Highlighting your lines and cue lines has the very practical benefit of helping you find your lines in
the script while you’re in rehearsals. This is important because you don’t want to slow down the
pace of a scene because you can’t find your line on a full page of black-and-white text (especially
if you’ve only got one or two lines on a page). But there’s also another important process that
begins when you highlight your lines – you begin to see your character as a distinct entity,
something to be considered within the context of the play as a whole.
Here’s a small passage from the script to illustrate how to highlight. In this example we’re playing
the character of Evelyn:
| Theatre Resources |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| How to highlight lines |
