For directors, drama teachers and stage managers
Hear your script read by your real cast.
Upload the script and send one link. Everyone records their lines from their phone, then the whole cast rehearses the play in each other's voices, with gaps for your own lines.
- No app or accounts for the cast
- AI fills any line not yet recorded
- Deletes itself after closing night
- Free for your cast
You can't get the whole cast in a room every night.
Running lines alone with a robot isn't the same as hearing your scene partner.
How it works
Upload. Send one link. Run the play.
1 · Upload
Upload the script you already have.
A PDF or Word file. Offbooked finds every scene, character, line and stage direction, usually in under a minute. Add your performance dates and that's the setup.
2 · Send
Send one link to the whole cast.
Drop it in the group chat. Everyone picks their part and records from their phone, hands-free. Nobody installs anything or makes an account.
3 · Run
Run the whole play, anywhere.
Listen line by line in your castmates' own voices. Any line nobody has recorded yet is read by an AI voice, so the play is fully voiced from day one.
The demo
Press play. You're Lady Macbeth.
This is what your cast see and hear: the scene line by line, each line in the voice of the castmate who recorded it, with a pause for yours.
Real-cast recording coming soon. A cast is recording this scene. Until it's in, the demo plays silently so you can see how a listen-through moves.
In “Pause, then read” the play waits for you to say each of your lines out loud, then plays it.
For directors and teachers
Get the whole cast off book before tech week.
You set it up once. Your cast do the rest from their phones, whenever they have ten minutes.
Set up in about two minutes
One screen: the title, your performance dates and the script. Then copy one link for the cast.
See who has recorded what
The call sheet shows every part, who is reading it and how many of its lines are in, so you know who to nudge.
Read in for anyone missing
Your own recordings count. Cover a part until its actor records it, and theirs takes over.
Anyone can record any part
Understudies, doubling, a cast member on a new phone: everyone picks a part from the same link.
Safe for student casts
No accounts for the cast, your email address is never shown to them, and everything is deleted after the show.
Fix anything in place
Split, join, retype or reassign a line, with the original page of your script beside it.
For actors
Practise with your scene partners, without them.
On the bus, on a walk, in the kitchen: the whole play in your cast's voices, with room for yours.
Hands-free recording
The app follows along as you speak and moves to your next line by itself. A beat in the middle of a line won't cut you off.
Pause, then read
Listen through the play with a pause sized to each of your lines, so you say it out loud before you hear it.
Words light up as they're said
Your lines are highlighted and your cues underlined. Jump to any scene.
Any speed
Run a scene at half speed to 4×, with voices at their normal pitch.
Screen stays on
Prop your phone on the music stand: it stays awake while you read along.
Safe on bad Wi-Fi
Every take is saved on your phone first and uploaded when there's signal, even through a dropped connection.
Privacy
Built for the run of a show, then gone.
Scripts and recordings are deleted automatically 7 days after your final performance. Nobody has to remember to clean up.
- RehearsalsYour cast record and listen.
- Final performanceThe date you set up front.
- +7 daysTime to grab anything you need.
- GoneScript, recordings and lines, for good.
- We never train AI on your voice or script. Recordings only play through your production's own links.
- No accounts for the cast. A first name is enough. Names are cleared after the show unless someone verified their email.
- Speech recognition runs on the phone. The microphone only opens when you tap record.
- No marketing email. We only email to sign you in, to confirm an address, or to say a castmate has finished or the play is ready.
Pricing
Free for your cast. Always.
The person running the show pays, once per show. Never per word, minute or actor.
Free beta
C$0 while in beta
Everything Offbooked does, for every production you set up during the private beta.
- The whole script
- Unlimited cast and recordings
- AI voices for lines not yet recorded
- Deletes itself after closing night
Show Pass
Coming soonabout C$29 per production
One flat price for the whole run of a show. For a cast of 15, that's under C$2 an actor.
- The whole script
- Unlimited cast and recordings
- Until closing night
Season
Coming soonLater for schools and companies
Several shows a year, paid by invoice or purchase order.
- Every show in your season
- One bill for the year
Offbooked is in private beta. Email contact@nathanpannell.com for an access code. Your cast never need one.
Questions
Fair questions
Do my cast need an account or an app?
No. Your cast open one link in the browser on their phone, pick their part, type a name and start recording. Only the person who sets up the show signs in, with a link we email them. There are no passwords.
What scripts work?
PDFs with real text in them and Word .docx files, up to 20 MB and 300 pages. Scanned pages (a photo or scan of a script with no text layer) don't work yet. Line breaks and indentation are kept, so verse and lyrics stay as written, and you can fix any line in place with the original page beside it.
What if someone never records?
Their lines are read by an AI voice, with the voices spread across the characters, so the play is fully voiced from the day you upload it. Anyone can also record those lines in the meantime, you included, and the newest recording is the one that plays.
Can two people record the same part?
Yes. Anyone can record any part, so understudies, doubling and a director reading in all just work. The newest recording of each line plays, and older takes are kept until the show's content is deleted.
Does it work on Android?
Yes. Offbooked works in Chrome on Android, Safari on iPhone and any up-to-date browser on a laptop or Chromebook. There's nothing to install.
What happens to our recordings after the show?
Seven days after your final performance, the script, every recording and every line are deleted for good, automatically. Cast members' names are cleared too, unless they chose to verify an email. You can also delete your account at any time, and everything in it goes at once.
Is Offbooked the “Off Book!” app?
No. Off Book! is a separate iPhone app from a different developer. Offbooked runs in the browser at offbooked.com, and your whole cast joins from one link without installing anything.
Is my script private?
Yes. Nothing is public: recordings only play through your production's own links. To find the characters and lines, the script's text is read by Anthropic's Claude, which doesn't train on it, and we never train AI on your voice or your script.
What does it cost?
Nothing during the private beta, for you or your cast. Later there will be a flat Show Pass of about C$29 per production, never priced per word or minute, and your cast will always be free.
How do I get access?
Offbooked is in private beta. Email contact@nathanpannell.com for an access code and enter it after you sign in. Your cast never need a code: they just open the link you send them.
Places, everyone.
Upload your script tonight, drop one link in the cast chat, and the whole play is ready to listen to. By opening night, it's all your cast.
Set up your show, freeWorks on iPhone, Android, laptops and Chromebooks. No app needed.