Sides are the specific script pages an actor is given to perform for an audition. Instead of sending the full script, the casting team selects a scene or partial scene, usually one to five pages, that shows the essential qualities of the role.
The term comes from early theater, when actors received only their own lines and cues copied onto separate pages. The name stuck, and today "sides" is one of the first words every working actor learns.
How Sides Are Used in Auditions
When you are invited to audition, sides usually arrive by email or through the casting platform, typically one to three days before your session. For a self-tape audition, the sides are the scene you record. For in-person sessions, you perform them in the room, often with a reader speaking the other characters' lines.
Sides normally include:
- The scene or scenes casting wants to see
- Scene numbers or markings showing where to start and stop
- Sometimes a character breakdown or a note about tone and pronunciation
On set, the word has a second meaning: the mini script pages printed each day showing only the scenes being shot. Same idea, different stage of production.
Do You Have to Memorize Sides?
The honest answer: be as memorized as possible while staying flexible. Casting professionals widely say they would rather see a connected, alive performance with the page in hand than a stiff, perfectly memorized recitation. Holding your sides is normal and expected, especially with short notice.
A practical standard most actors use:
- Know the material well enough to keep your eyes up
- Hold the pages anyway, as a safety net and a signal that this is an audition, not a final performance
- Never let memorization anxiety flatten your choices. Connection beats accuracy
The exception is a cold read, where you receive sides moments before performing and no one expects memorization at all.
Working With Sides Like a Professional
Strong actors treat sides as a puzzle with limited clues. You rarely get the full script, so you extract everything the pages offer: who you are talking to, what changed just before the scene, what your character wants, and where the scene turns.
Read the sides more times than feels necessary. Make a specific choice about the relationship. Mark your beats. Then rehearse aloud, on your feet, before you tape or walk into the room. If you perform well, those same pages may follow you to a callback, where you will be glad you built your choices on solid ground the first time.
