Vision
PlayAlong is a web app for group dramatic reading. Around a campfire, at a table, or remotely across the world, a group of players can self-organize, select a play, assign speaking parts, and perform the lines together in real time.
The speaker whose turn it is sees visual indication — highlighted text, "Your Turn" — while others follow along. Anyone can advance to the next line.
Benefits
Drama practice: Perfect for actors learning lines or rehearsing scenes together.
Literacy development: Readers follow along with highlighted text. Non-readers can be prompted by audio (future feature). Social participation motivates reading improvement.
Personal growth: Approximates public speaking in a supportive context. Everyone knows what to do, does it on time, contributes to the artistic experience.
Connection: We are making art together. The social skills in dramatic dialogue — praise, conflict, emotion — become learning content.
By playing a role in Shakespeare, you learn part of what being human means.
Technical Implementation
PlayAlong uses PeerJS/WebRTC for peer-to-peer connectivity. No server required for the reading session — devices connect directly after initial signaling.
The host's browser holds the canonical state and broadcasts updates. Participants receive state and render their view. Anyone can trigger "Next" to advance.
Scripts are stored as JSON and fetched on demand from a static library.
Future
- Audio prompts for non-readers
- Recording and playback
- Remote audio streaming between participants
- Script upload/editor
- User accounts and saved history