Transparent time range
See a fast-to-slow planning range based on editable dialogue and direction reading speeds.
Free · private browser tool
Free Screenplay Table Read Time Planner
Estimate a cast table-read session from dialogue and action word counts, then tune reading pace, directions, setup, breaks, and scene timing.
Opens as a new Plot project once you sign in or create a free account. Inkwell keeps this copy for 24 hours.
Tune the room, not the screenplay
Reading pace varies by cast, performance, and discussion. Adjust the assumptions to get a planning range; this does not predict finished screen runtime.
minutes
Planned room time
10 min
Likely planning range: 10 min–11 min
- Read-through
- <1 min
- Setup
- 10 min
- Breaks
- 0 × 10 min
- Readers
- 2
Draft run-of-show
- <1 min
Scene 1
INT. COMMUNITY RADIO STATION - NIGHT
15 dialogue · 19 direction wordsAbout 10 min elapsed - <1 min
Scene 2
EXT. RADIO TOWER - LATER
17 dialogue · 11 direction wordsAbout 10 min elapsed
Useful output, not a score
What this tool gives you
Scene run-of-show
Estimate each scene's read time and cumulative position so breaks and room bookings are easier to place.
Reader load
Compare approximate spoken time for the most dialogue-heavy characters before assigning or scheduling readers.
How to use it
- 1
Add Fountain text
Paste a full draft or selected scenes. The browser counts dialogue and action separately.
- 2
Set the room assumptions
Adjust dialogue pace, decide whether directions are read aloud, and add setup and break time.
- 3
Copy the run sheet
Use the planning range, scene timings, and reader load to book the room and share a practical schedule.
Questions writers ask
Is this the same as the one-page-per-minute rule?
No. Page count is a rough screen-runtime convention with wide variation. This planner uses actual dialogue and action word counts to estimate a live read-through, then adds explicit setup and breaks.
What dialogue pace should I choose?
Start near 130–140 words per minute for a natural read, then move slower for rehearsal, unfamiliar material, or frequent discussion and faster for a polished cast.
Should action directions be read aloud?
Include directions for story clarity and early development; omit or shorten them when the cast already knows the material and dialogue flow is the focus.
Defined in the glossary
Table Read
A table read is a reading of a script aloud by actors seated around a table, before or during production. Writers and producers use it to hear the dialogue, check pacing and find what confuses or loses the room before the script is shot.
Dialogue
The words characters speak in a story, play or film. In a screenplay each speech sits under the speaker's name in a narrow centered column; in Plot, a dialogue pass proposes tighter lines you accept or reject one at a time.
Action
The descriptive prose of a screenplay — what the audience sees and hears, written in present tense. Also called description.
Keep working with the draft
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Open toolFree Writing Deadline & Word Goal Planner
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Open toolContinue in Plot and keep writing, with the screenplay formatting done for you.