Working With Mock Sides For Actor Workshops
Mock sides are practice scripts used to prepare for workshop performances or auditions. They're not the final published material. They're the working copies actors receive weeks before tech week so they can memorize dialogue, find beats, and build character choices without the pressure of a live audience watching them make mistakes. The Cellar is a workshop space that has used its own mock side packets for years. The format is pretty standard: a cover page with scene context, character breakdowns, and a few production notes, followed by the actual script pages marked with parentheticals that tend to be more detailed than what makes it into the published script. That's intentional. The director leaves those notes in during the mock phase because actors need the signposts early on. By final dress, most of them have disappeared from the script itself.
Getting Mock Sides Original Scripts For Workshop Actors The Cellar
Those materials aren't publicly downloadable from any website I've been able to confirm. The Cellar's workshop sides are distributed internally to enrolled students and cast members through their office or workshop coordinator. If you're taking a class there, your instructor will hand them out at the first session or email them before you arrive. There isn't a general storefront or free download page for these documents. What I can tell you is how they're structured, what you should expect, and how to actually use them effectively when you do get your hands on a packet.
What The Packet Typically Contains
A standard mock sides packet from The Cellar runs about 8 to 14 pages depending on the piece. You'll get a scene breakdown page that lists the characters present, the time period, the location, and a short paragraph describing the emotional arc of the scene. That paragraph matters more than most actors give it credit for. It tells you what the scene is about before you read a single line of dialogue. Then there are the script pages themselves. The dialogue is formatted in standard play script style. Stage directions are minimal but present. Character names are bolded. There are usually margin notes from the director or dramaturg indicating where shifts in tempo happen, where a character catches themselves mid-thought, or where the subtext diverges from the text. Sometimes you'll get a second document: a character voice guide. This isn't always included, but when it is, it lists vocal qualities the director wants to hear. Things like "speaks quickly when anxious" or "delays responses as a power move." Beginners tend to ignore these pages entirely and go straight to the script. Don't do that. The voice guide is where the director's actual intention lives.
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How I Use Them In Rehearsal
When I get a mock sides packet, I don't start by memorizing lines. I read the scene through once completely straight, no performance, just understanding what's happening. Then I read it again and mark up the script with my own annotations. Not the director's notes. My own. Where does my character want something? Where do they get it? Where do they fail to get it? After that comes the actual memorization work. I read the sides aloud alone first, then with a partner if one is available. The goal is to get the lines into my head so I'm not thinking about what word comes next while I'm trying to make emotional choices. Once the lines are solid, I stop looking at the script for the first run-through of the day. I carry the text in my head and let myself make mistakes. That's the point of a mock side session. You're allowed to mess up. The published script doesn't exist yet in any formal sense. Everything is still being shaped.
One Specific Problem I've Dealt With
There was a workshop where the sides packet I received had a scene that was clearly cut from the final version. The director had updated the script after my packet was printed, but I hadn't been notified. I spent three full rehearsal sessions working with dialogue that was going to disappear entirely. When the updated pages finally came out, I had to unlearn choices I'd built around beats that no longer existed. The workaround was straightforward but easy to miss: at the top of every rehearsal, I ask my scene partner and the director whether anything has changed since the last session. I also check the shared drive or email thread where the workshop materials live, because updates often get posted there without a direct message to each actor. It only added about two minutes to my prep time but saved me from wasting half a day on dead material.
Counter-Intuitive Things Beginners Miss
Most actors treat mock sides like they're learning lines for an exam. They focus on accuracy and delivery. The material that actually makes a difference is what happens between the lines. The silences. The things the character says but doesn't mean. The director is watching how you handle the gaps, not whether you hit every word perfectly. Another thing: actors tend to play the emotion written into the parentheticals. If a direction says "(frustrated)," they show frustration. What actually works is playing the action. Frustration is an emotion. The action is "to push back against being dismissed." You do the action. The emotion shows up on its own. It's a small distinction but it changes everything about how the scene reads to people watching.
When Mock Sides Don't Work
This approach has clear limitations. If you're working from a poorly prepared packet — and I've seen this happen — the scene breakdown will be vague, the notes contradictory, or the script pages outdated. In those cases, spending extra time on the mock sides can actually hurt you because you're building choices on shaky ground. The better move is to request clarification from the director or coordinators rather than guessing your way through ambiguous material. Another scenario where mock sides fall flat: when the workshop group is too large. If there are more than eight or ten actors in a room, you simply won't get enough run-through time for the sides to settle. The material stays surface-level. In those situations, the sides still matter, but the real work happens in one-on-one table reads with your scene partner before you bring the full group together. If you can't get access to The Cellar's specific mock sides, you can still practice the same method with any standard workshop script. The process doesn't depend on the source material. It depends on how deliberately you engage with it.
