RunlinesGuide
Cue lines: what they are and how to learn yours
Short answer
A cue line is the line spoken just before yours, and the cue itself is usually its last few words: when you hear them, you speak. Learn each of your lines as the answer to its cue, not on its own, and drill them cue first: hear or read the cue, say your line from memory, check, repeat.
What counts as a cue
Most cues are words: the end of the other character's line. In theatre a cue can also be an action (a door slams), a sound effect, an entrance, or a lighting change. Whatever it is, it is the signal that it is your turn.
You will also hear directors say "pick up your cues". That means come in right as the cue ends, without the small gap that creeps in while you search for the line. A scene where everyone picks up their cues feels alive; one with a beat of silence before every line feels like a reading.
How to learn your cues
Mark the last three to five words of every cue
Underline them in the line before each of yours. Those words are what you are listening for.
Learn in pairs: cue, then line
Cover your line, read the cue out loud, say your line, check. Never practice your line without saying its cue first.
Make cue cards for the stubborn ones
Cue on the front, your line on the back. Shuffle them, so you learn each pair without leaning on the order of the scene.
Practice by ear
Reading a cue and hearing one are different skills. Record only the cues, or use something that speaks them, and answer out loud.
Listen for the thought, not just the last word
Your scene partner will paraphrase sometimes. If you understand what their line means, you can still tell it is your turn when the exact words change.
An example
In this scene from the Runlines sample, you play MARA. The underlined words are her cues.
Look for links like these in your own script. Writers often hand a word from the cue into the reply, and once you notice the link, the cue practically says your line for you.
When two cues end the same way
Sometimes two different cues end with the same words, such as two lines that both end "I know." Hear the first one, answer with the line that belongs to the second, and you have skipped half a page. Actors call this jumping. When you mark your cues, look for repeats, and learn what comes just before each one so you can tell them apart. Saying the whole cue line in your head, not just the last word, is the cure.
Common mistakes
- Learning your lines as a list. If you can only recite your part top to bottom, a single skipped cue leaves you lost.
- Watching for the end instead of listening. Staring at your partner's mouth waiting for the last word makes your line arrive late and sound unconnected.
- Learning the cue from the character name. "After DEV" is not a cue. DEV speaks many times; you need his words.
- Ignoring non-verbal cues. If your line follows a sound or an action, rehearse with that moment, even if you just knock on the table.
Where Runlines fits
In every Runlines run, the cue line stays on screen above your covered line while the app reads it aloud, so you practice cue-then-line by ear from the first run. With Runlines Pro, cue-only runs skip everything except the last three words before each of your lines, which turns the whole scene into a fast cue drill. If you tell the app "Missing my cue" when it asks what trips you up, your plan points you to that drill. How the reading works.
