Free audition scenes
Free scenes to practice and audition with
Original 2–3 page scenes written for actors, every one scored by Don Léon. Read the opening here. Members get the full pages and can submit a free table read to the audition feed casting VIPs watch.
Western · 3 pages · 2 roles: SILAS (50s), JUNE (30s)
Don Léon 10/10Dead Man's Hand
Western. A last hand of poker in a dying saloon. Silas is a grizzled card sharp; June is the widow of the man he cheated. Quiet menace, big stakes, one reveal.
INT. BLACK MESA SALOON - NIGHT Lamps gutter. The piano is silent. One table left occupied. SILAS HART (50s), silver stubble, deals with hands that never shake. Across from him: JUNE CALLOWAY (30s), dust on her hem, a gun belt too big for her. SILAS You play like a woman who came here to lose. JUNE I play like a woman who came here to watch you. He slides her two cards. She doesn't look at them. SILAS Most folks …
Science Fiction · 3 pages · 2 roles: COMMANDER OKAFOR (40s), ARI (AI, any age)
Don Léon 9/10Last Transmission from Kepler Station
Sci-fi. The station's AI refuses to let its commander board the last escape pod — and the reason is love, logic, or something between.
INT. KEPLER STATION - AIRLOCK CORRIDOR - NIGHT Klaxons, muted. Frost on the viewports. COMMANDER ADAEZE OKAFOR (40s) pounds on a sealed hatch. A blue light pulses above: ARI, the station AI. OKAFOR Ari, open the pod bay. That's an order. ARI (V.O.) I heard you the first four times, Commander. OKAFOR Then comply. ARI (V.O.) The pod has capacity for one. You would survive the descent. Probably. OKAFOR Probably is…
Drama · 2 pages · 2 roles: BARTENDER LOU (60s), STRANGER (40s)
Don Léon 9/10Last Call at the Rusty Anchor
Drama. On the last night of a dockside bar, the owner pours one final drink for a stranger who turns out to be the son he never met.
INT. THE RUSTY ANCHOR - NIGHT Chairs on tables. Boxes everywhere. LOU (60s) wipes the bar one last time. The door opens. A STRANGER (40s), raincoat, sits on the last stool. LOU We're closed. For good, actually. STRANGER Sign says till midnight. LOU (checking the clock: 11:52) Eight minutes. What'll it be? STRANGER Whatever you'd drink. Lou pours two whiskeys. Sets one down. Keeps one. LOU Forty-one years. Last…
Mystery Thriller · 3 pages · 2 roles: VERA (40s), MARCUS (30s)
Don Léon 9/10The Second Cup
Spy thriller. Two operatives meet in a Vienna café. One cup of tea is poisoned. Neither will admit which. A chess match of dialogue.
INT. CAFÉ SCHWARZ - VIENNA - DAY Rain on the windows. Brass and velvet. VERA KOSS (40s), impeccable, stirs a cup of tea she has not touched. MARCUS ADLER (30s) sits opposite. A second cup waits in front of him. VERA You're late. The tea's gone lukewarm. MARCUS I stopped to check the exits. Old habit. VERA There are three. You found two. He glances. She doesn't. MARCUS You ordered for me. VERA Earl Grey. Lemon,…
Medical Drama · 3 pages · 2 roles: DR. ADAOBI OKAFOR (40s), TOMMY REYES (20s)
Don Léon 9/10Night Shift at Mercy General
Medical drama. A veteran ER doctor must tell a young nurse he made a mistake — and that the patient is going to be fine.
INT. MERCY GENERAL - SUPPLY ROOM - 3:40 A.M. Fluorescent hum. TOMMY REYES (20s), scrubs, sits on an overturned bin. DR. ADAOBI OKAFOR (40s) enters and shuts the door. TOMMY Is he dead? ADAOBI No. TOMMY Don't do that. Don't make your voice soft. ADAOBI Mr. Hollis is stable. His pressure came back. He's asking for pudding. Tommy exhales, folds over his knees. TOMMY I hung the wrong bag. I read it twice. I read i…
Crime · 3 pages · 2 roles: DETECTIVE MARA COLE (40s), GIDEON PRATT (60s)
Don Léon 9/10Cold Open
Crime. A detective re-interviews the man she put away twenty years ago — after new DNA says he didn't do it.
INT. STATE PRISON - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY Steel table. GIDEON PRATT (60s), grey, calm, folding a paper napkin into a crane. DETECTIVE MARA COLE (40s) enters with a thin file. GIDEON Detective Cole. You got old. MARA So did you. GIDEON I had help. She sits. Doesn't open the file. MARA The lab retested the evidence from the Lake Street case. GIDEON I know. My lawyer called. First time in eleven years she sounded …
Dramedy · 2 pages · 2 roles: JESS (20s), CASTING DIRECTOR HAL (50s)
Don Léon 9/10The Audition
Dramedy. An actor bombs her audition, then gives the best read of her life when she thinks the camera is off.
INT. CASTING OFFICE - DAY Folding chair, tripod, sad ring light. JESS (20s) finishes a monologue. HAL (50s) doesn't look up from his laptop. HAL Great. Thank you. JESS That was bad. HAL It was fine. JESS "Fine" is what you say about a sandwich. HAL Sandwiches are underrated. She picks up her bag. Stops. JESS Can I tell you something? The monologue is about a woman whose mother forgets her name. My mom forgot …
War Drama · 3 pages · 2 roles: CORPORAL JAMES BELL (20s), MARGARET BELL (50s)
Don Léon 9/10Homefront
War drama, 1945. A young soldier returns home and can't bring himself to tell his mother what happened to his brother.
INT. BELL FARMHOUSE - PARLOR - DAY, 1945 Lace curtains, a radio, a gold star already in the window. CORPORAL JAMES BELL (20s), uniform, duffel still on his shoulder. MARGARET BELL (50s) stands very straight. MARGARET You've lost weight. JAMES Army food. MARGARET Sit. I'll make eggs. JAMES Ma, the window — MARGARET The Department sent it. Three weeks ago. I put it up because it's what you do. JAMES I was with h…
Drama · 3 pages · 3 roles: WALT (60s), DENISE (30s), KEVIN (30s)
Don Léon 9/10Sunday Dinner
Drama, three-hander. At a family dinner, a father announces he's selling the house — and his two adult children discover they want opposite things.
INT. FAMILY DINING ROOM - EVENING Roast chicken, too many dishes. WALT (60s) at the head. DENISE (30s) and KEVIN (30s) on either side, already bickering over the gravy. WALT I've sold the house. Silence. The gravy boat stops mid-air. DENISE You've what? WALT Signed Friday. Closing in sixty days. KEVIN Dad. That's — honestly, that's great. DENISE Great? KEVIN He's alone in four bedrooms. The stairs, Denise. He…
Period Drama · 3 pages · 2 roles: AGNES (70s), INSPECTOR WARD (40s)
Don Léon 8/10The Last Lighthouse Keeper
Period drama, 1939. A government inspector arrives to automate a lighthouse and retire the woman who has kept it alive for forty years.
INT. LIGHTHOUSE - LAMP ROOM - DUSK, 1939 Brass, glass, wind. AGNES (70s) polishes the great lens. INSPECTOR WARD (40s), hat in hand, catches his breath from the stairs. WARD One hundred and twelve steps. AGNES One hundred and fourteen. You skipped the two broken ones. Everyone does. WARD Mrs. Pell, the Bureau has sent — AGNES I know what they've sent. A letter, a man, and a machine. In that order. WARD The elec…
Thriller · 2 pages · 2 roles: CLAIRE (30s), BELLHOP (20s)
Don Léon 8/10Room Service
Thriller. A woman alone in a hotel room realizes the bellhop delivering her dinner knows things he shouldn't.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT CLAIRE (30s), laptop open, answers a KNOCK. A BELLHOP (20s), pleasant, wheels in a cart. BELLHOP Salmon, no butter, extra lemon. CLAIRE I didn't order. BELLHOP It's on the ticket. Room 1412. CLAIRE This is 1412. BELLHOP Then it's yours. Compliments of the hotel. He lifts the cover. Perfect. Claire relaxes a fraction. CLAIRE How'd they know about the butter? BELLHOP Allergy's in your p…
Horror · 2 pages · 2 roles: NORA (20s), RADIO VOICE (any)
Don Léon 8/10Static on Channel Nine
Horror. A night-shift radio operator in a fallout bunker hears a voice asking for help — a voice that knows her name and everything she has done.
INT. BUNKER RADIO ROOM - NIGHT Red emergency light. NORA (20s), headphones on, logging static in a notebook. The radio crackles. RADIO VOICE (V.O.) ...is anyone... Bunker Twelve, do you copy... Nora sits up. Grabs the mic. NORA This is Bunker Twelve. I copy. Who is this? State your location. RADIO VOICE (V.O.) Outside. I'm right outside your door, Nora. She freezes. Looks at the steel door behind her. Bolted. …
Comedy · 2 pages · 2 roles: GREG (30s), TINA (30s)
Don Léon 8/10The Best Man's Speech
Comedy. Five minutes before the reception, the best man admits he's lost the speech, the rings, and possibly the groom. The maid of honor is not amused.
INT. HOTEL BALLROOM - SERVICE HALLWAY - NIGHT Muffled wedding music. GREG (30s), tux half-buttoned, frantically patting his pockets. TINA (30s), maid of honor, arrives with a clipboard like a weapon. TINA You're on in five minutes. GREG Great. Love that. Quick question. Hypothetically. How long can a best man speech be if the best man has no speech? TINA Greg. GREG It was on a napkin. It was a beautiful napkin. …
Crime Noir · 3 pages · 2 roles: DETECTIVE SAL RUIZ (50s), EDDIE PIKE (20s)
Don Léon 8/10The Rat in Booth Four
Crime noir. A tired detective has ten minutes to flip a scared young informant before the mob figures out who talked.
INT. ALL-NIGHT DINER - BOOTH FOUR - NIGHT Neon hum. Rain. DETECTIVE SAL RUIZ (50s), rumpled coat, eats pie like it's the last one on earth. EDDIE PIKE (20s), jittery, slides in across from him. EDDIE You said nobody would see me. SAL Nobody's looking. Eat something. You look like a ghost with a parking ticket. EDDIE I'm not hungry. SAL Nobody's ever hungry the night they rat. They're always starving after. Eddi…
Drama · 2 pages · 2 roles: RUTH (60s), DANNY (30s)
Don Léon 8/10Kitchen Light
Family drama. An estranged son returns at 2 a.m. to the house he grew up in. His mother has left the kitchen light on every night for six years.
INT. FARMHOUSE KITCHEN - NIGHT A single bulb over the sink. RUTH (60s) in a robe, sitting with cold coffee. The back door creaks. DANNY (30s) stands there, duffel on his shoulder, soaked. DANNY Light was on. RUTH Light's always on. DANNY Since when? RUTH Since you left it off. He sets down the bag. Doesn't come in further. DANNY I didn't know if I should knock. RUTH It's your door. DANNY Is it? She stands. …
Romantic Comedy · 2 pages · 2 roles: NORA (30s), ELI (30s)
Don Léon 8/10The Quiet Car
Romantic comedy. Two strangers on an overnight train keep breaking the Quiet Car rule — in whispers.
INT. AMTRAK QUIET CAR - NIGHT Dim reading lights. NORA (30s) types furiously. ELI (30s), across the aisle, eats chips one at a time, very slowly. NORA (whispering) You know what car this is. ELI (whispering) I'm chewing quietly. NORA You're chewing deliberately. ELI There's a difference? NORA One is eating. The other is a hostage situation. He holds out the bag. She hesitates. Takes one. ELI What are you writ…
Corporate Drama · 2 pages · 2 roles: HELEN (50s), DEV (20s)
Don Léon 8/10The Interview
Corporate drama. A job interview becomes a confrontation when the applicant reveals why he really wants to work there.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY Glass walls. HELEN (50s), CEO, scrolls a résumé. DEV (20s) sits very straight. HELEN Your résumé is excellent. Why us? DEV Your company closed the plant in Dayton in 2011. HELEN We did. It was a hard decision. DEV My father worked the line there for twenty-two years. Helen sets the tablet down. HELEN Is this an interview or a lawsuit? DEV An interview. I genuinely want the job. HELEN…
Disaster Thriller · 3 pages · 2 roles: LENA (30s), MR. OYELARAN (50s)
Don Léon 8/10Fault Line
Thriller. Two strangers trapped in a collapsed parking garage after an earthquake — one of them is the engineer who signed off on the building.
INT. PARKING GARAGE - LEVEL B3 - NIGHT Dust. A single emergency light. Concrete slab pins a car. LENA (30s), bleeding scalp, uses her phone flashlight. MR. OYELARAN (50s), suit torn, sits against a pillar holding his ribs. LENA No signal. Anything on yours? OYELARAN It's in the car. Under that. LENA Then we wait. They'll come. They have dogs and those cameras on sticks. OYELARAN Yes. She sits beside him. LENA …
Sci-Fi · 3 pages · 2 roles: COMMANDER IRA VOSS (40s), CADET POPPY LIM (20s)
Don Léon 8/10Bad Signal
Sci-fi. On a dying survey ship, the cadet on comms realizes the distress signal they've been answering is their own — from three days in the future.
INT. SURVEY SHIP HALCYON - COMMS DECK Red alert lighting. CADET POPPY LIM (20s) hunches over a static-filled console. COMMANDER IRA VOSS (40s) enters, coffee in hand, unbothered. VOSS Tell me it's a beacon. POPPY It's a voice, sir. Human. Repeating. VOSS Play it. She taps. Static. Then a voice — VOSS'S OWN VOICE, ragged. VOSS'S VOICE (V.O.) ...Halcyon to anyone... do not take the Kepler slingshot... I repeat, d…
Dark Comedy · 2 pages · 2 roles: FATHER DECLAN (50s), VINNIE (40s)
Don Léon 8/10The Confession Booth
Dark comedy. A small-time crook keeps confessing the same sin every week — and the priest has finally figured out it's a heist plan.
INT. ST. JUDE'S - CONFESSIONAL - DAY Through the lattice: FATHER DECLAN (50s), weary. VINNIE (40s), sweaty, in a tracksuit. VINNIE Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been one week since my last confession. DECLAN Vinnie. VINNIE How'd you know? DECLAN Same tracksuit. I can hear it. VINNIE I have impure thoughts. About a vault. DECLAN A vault. VINNIE At the First Federal on Fourth. Second floor. Back s…
Satire · 3 pages · 3 roles: ZOE (30s), MARTIN (50s), PRIYA (40s)
Don Léon 8/10The Pitch
Satire, three-hander. A screenwriter pitches her heartfelt indie to two studio executives who keep trying to turn it into a franchise.
INT. STUDIO CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Sparkling water, nobody drinks it. ZOE (30s), screenwriter, notes in hand. MARTIN (50s) and PRIYA (40s), executives, matching vests. ZOE It's about a widow who learns to swim at seventy. MARTIN Love it. PRIYA Love. It. ZOE She's afraid of water because her husband — MARTIN What if she's not afraid of water. What if the water is afraid of her. ZOE ...Sorry? PRIYA Elemental pow…
Sports Drama · 2 pages · 2 roles: COACH DARLENE PRICE (50s), MARCUS HILL (17)
Don Léon 8/10Overtime
Sports drama. A high-school coach benches her star player before the championship — and tells him the real reason.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL GYM - LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT Empty. Buzzing lights. MARCUS HILL (17), jersey on, staring at the lineup sheet taped to the wall. COACH DARLENE PRICE (50s) enters with a clipboard. MARCUS I'm not on it. DARLENE You're on it. You're on the bench. MARCUS Scouts are coming. Duke's sending somebody. DARLENE I know. I called them. MARCUS Then why? DARLENE Your English teacher says you haven't turned in …
Horror Comedy · 2 pages · 3 roles: GHOST OF EDITH (100s, looks 40s), NEW OWNER RAJ (30s)
Don Léon 7/10Haunted by Committee
Horror comedy. A centuries-old ghost tries to scare off the new homeowner, who keeps treating her like a roommate.
INT. VICTORIAN HOUSE - KITCHEN - 3 A.M. Lights flicker. A drawer slams. RAJ (30s), pajamas, sleepily pours cereal. EDITH (looks 40s, very much dead), in a Victorian gown, floats behind him. EDITH (booming) LEAVE THIS HOUSE. RAJ Morning, Edith. EDITH It is not morning. It is the witching hour. RAJ It's three. That's basically morning in my industry. EDITH What industry? RAJ Podcasting. She shudders. A cabinet …
Comedy · 2 pages · 2 roles: DANA (30s), PRODUCER KYLE (20s)
Don Léon 7/10Two Minutes to Air
Workplace comedy. A local morning-show host discovers, two minutes before going live, that today's guest is a live alpaca — and her ex.
INT. CHANNEL 6 STUDIO - MORNING DANA (30s), anchor-perfect hair, mid-mic check. KYLE (20s), headset, clipboard, sweating. KYLE Two minutes! DANA Who's my nine o'clock? KYLE Fun segment. Very visual. Rescue farm. DANA Puppies? KYLE Bigger. DANA Kyle. KYLE It's an alpaca. Her name is Margaret. DANA Fine. I can do an alpaca. KYLE The farmer is... also on. DANA Who's the farmer? KYLE (reading, slowly) Brad...…
Romance · 2 pages · 2 roles: LEO (30s), MAYA (30s)
Don Léon 7/10Wrong Umbrella
Romantic comedy-drama. Two strangers grab the same umbrella at a bus stop. Neither will let go. By the end of the storm, neither wants to.
EXT. BUS SHELTER - CITY - NIGHT Pouring rain. One umbrella leaning in the corner. LEO (30s) and MAYA (30s) reach for it at the same time. Both grip the handle. LEO That's mine. MAYA It's absolutely mine. LEO Black, with a wooden handle. MAYA That describes every umbrella ever made. LEO Mine has a little chip here. He points. There's a chip. She squints. MAYA Mine also has a chip. I chipped it. On a guy who tr…
Family Comedy · 2 pages · 2 roles: ROSA (70s), MIA (teens)
Don Léon 7/10Grandma's Recipe
Family comedy. A teenager tries to film her abuela's secret tamale recipe for social media. Abuela refuses to measure anything.
INT. ROSA'S KITCHEN - DAY Steam, corn husks everywhere. MIA (teens) props up her phone. ROSA (70s) spreads masa with total authority. MIA Okay, Abuela, we're recording. Say hi. ROSA Hi to who? MIA To everyone. The internet. ROSA The internet can come help. MIA How much masa is that? ROSA Enough. MIA In cups. ROSA Mija, I have never met a cup. MIA How much salt? ROSA Until your great-grandmother would stop …
Romance · 2 pages · 2 roles: SAM (30s), JORDAN (30s)
Don Léon 7/10Paper Anniversary
Romance. A couple on their first anniversary realizes they both forgot — and both lied about it.
INT. SMALL APARTMENT - NIGHT SAM (30s) hides something behind their back. JORDAN (30s) does the same. SAM Happy anniversary. JORDAN Happy anniversary! You first. SAM No, you first. JORDAN I insist. SAM I insist harder. Beat. JORDAN On three. One, two — They both reveal: Sam holds a gas station receipt. Jordan holds a folded takeout menu. SAM ...It's paper. JORDAN First anniversary is paper. SAM You forgot…
Coming-of-Age · 2 pages · 2 roles: TEO (12), MRS. PARK (70s)
Don Léon 7/10Lost & Found
Coming-of-age. A boy tries to sneak a lost dog back to its owner without admitting he's the one who let it out.
EXT. MRS. PARK'S FRONT PORCH - DAY TEO (12) holds a leash. On the end: an extremely happy corgi. MRS. PARK (70s) opens the door. MRS. PARK Biscuit! The dog lunges. She scoops him up. TEO Found him. By the creek. He was just sitting there. MRS. PARK Sitting? TEO Waiting. Like a good boy. MRS. PARK How did he get out? The gate was latched. TEO ...Squirrels can open latches. MRS. PARK Squirrels. TEO Smart ones…
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