Magical Readings is an Alexa skill used to read out specific lines of a chosen play under vocal control. This would be used by drama professionals or students to help them learn their lines. The sequence of voice commands and spoken responses, demonstrates the use of Magical Readings in a typical scenario. You want to repeat some sets of lines, because you want to focus on them or learn them.

2. Magical Readings is an Alexa
skill used to read out specific
lines of a chosen play under
vocal control.
This can be used by drama
professionals or students to
help them learn their scripts.

3. This sequence of voice
commands and spoken
responses, demonstrates the use
of Magical Readings in a
typical scenario.
You want to repeat some sets of
lines, because you want to focus
on them or learn them.

4. In this scenario you want to:
• listen to specific lines in a
particular play
• repeat sets of lines previously read
• read sets of lines at different speeds
• listen only to the lines of a chosen
character
• save and retrieve sessions
• use controls to wait, halt, stop

5. We will now hear Alexa reading
sections from Romeo and Juliet

6. You say:
Alexa, open Magical Readings
Alexa responds:
Welcome to ‘Magical Readings’.
This is for actors or anyone
looking for a practical way to
learn and remember plays or
long texts. It can be used in
studios, theatres, schools or in the
home. …

7. You say:
Select play named Romeo and
Juliet
Alexa responds:
Selected the play named Romeo
And Juliet by Shakespeare …

8. You say:
Go to act 2 scene 2
Alexa responds:
Now at act 2 scene 2 :
SCENE 2 : Capulet’s orchard.
…

9. You say:
Read 3 lines
Alexa responds:
Stage directions: Enter Romeo
ROMEO: He jests at scars that
never felt a wound.
Stage directions: JULIET
appears above at a window
But, soft! what light through
yonder window breaks? It is the
east, and Juliet is the sun. …

10. You say:
Again
Alexa responds:
Stage directions: Enter Romeo
ROMEO: He jests at scars that
never felt a wound.
Stage directions: JULIET
appears above at a window
But, soft! what light through
yonder window breaks? It is the
east, and Juliet is the sun. …

11. You say:
Go to line 34
Alexa responds:
Now at line 34 …
Note: this is now at the beginning
of a famous speech

12. You say:
Read 5 lines
Alexa responds:
ROMEO: And sails upon the
bosom of the air.
JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo!
wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy
name; Or, if thou wilt not, be
but sworn my love, And I’ll no
longer be a Capulet.

13. You say:
Set speech rate faster
Alexa responds:
Speech rate now 110 percent …
Note: this could be repeated again
to make it 120%

14. You say:
Again
Alexa responds (but faster):
ROMEO: And sails upon the
bosom of the air.
JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo!
wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy
name; Or, if thou wilt not, be
but sworn my love, And I’ll no
longer be a Capulet.

15. You say:
Set speech rate normal
Alexa responds:
Speech rate now 100 percent …
You say:
Set speech rate slower
Alexa responds:
Speech rate now 90 percent …

16. You say:
Choose current character
Alexa responds:
Your chosen character is Juliet …
Note: You have chosen the character
of the current line enabling the
following command to read out just
the lines of that character

17. You say:
Read my next lines
Alexa responds (chosen character):
JULIET: ‘Tis but thy name
that is my enemy; Thou art
thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor
hand, nor foot,
…
And for that name which is no
part of thee Take all myself.

18. You say:
Save session
Alexa responds:
Saved your session, you may
retrieve this at any later time …
Note: you have saved the location for
retrieving at a later time, including:
play, act, scene, current line, last set
of lines read, chosen character

19. You say:
Read play structure
Alexa responds:
The play Romeo And Juliet has
5 acts
Act 1 has 6 scenes
Act 2 has 7 scenes
Act 3 has 5 scenes
Act 4 has 5 scenes
Act 5 has 3 scenes

20. You say:
Go to act 2 scene 6
Alexa responds:
Now at act 2 scene 6 :
SCENE 6 : Friar Laurence’s
cell.
…

21. You say:
Wait
Alexa responds:
I can wait for 16 seconds
…
Note: you want to think what to do
next (avoiding time-out)

22. You say:
Read all lines …
Alexa halt
Alexa responds:
Stage directions: Enter FRIAR
LAURENCE and ROMEO
FRIAR LAURENCE: So smile
the heavens upon this holy act,
That after hours with sorrow
chide us not!
(halted early)

23. You say:
Retrieve session
Alexa responds:
Successfully retrieved your
previous session from the
database. Tuesday, 14th of
August 2018, 04:35 pm …
Note: now at play, act, scene,
current line, last set of lines read,
chosen character when session saved

24. You say:
Again
Alexa responds (last read lines):
JULIET: ‘Tis but thy name
that is my enemy; Thou art
thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor
hand, nor foot,
…
And for that name which is no
part of thee Take all myself.

25. You say:
Help
Alexa responds :
‘Magical Readings’ allows for
controlled readback of literary
works: plays, poems. To select a
literary work, say ‘select’,
followed by the work type and
name, for example, ‘select play
named, Much Ado About
Nothing’. …

26. You say:
Stop
Alexa responds :
Stopping ‘Magical Readings’.
For more information, go to our
web site:
www.magical-readings.com

27. This has been a demonstration of
some of the basic features, many
more voice commands are available.
Additionally custom scripts can be
added to Magical Readings.
For more information:
www.magical-readings.com