Three Sisters: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Anton Chekhov, translated by Julius West. 16 speaking roles, 17,351 words, about 124 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Vershinin has the most to say in Three Sisters: about 277 lines and 2,439 words, 14.1% of the play. Three Sisters follows the Prozorov sisters in a provincial garrison town as their hopes of returning to Moscow slip away. The load is unusually even: no role holds more than 14% of the words, and the eight largest parts all speak in every act. Vershinin has the most words, with Irina, Tuzenbach, Masha, and Olga close behind.

Speaking roles: 16
Scenes: 4
Words: 17,351
Speech time: 124 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Vershinin	277	2,439	14.1%	17.4	4
Irina	273	2,138	12.3%	15.3	4
Tuzenbach	219	1,828	10.5%	13.1	4
Masha	228	1,800	10.4%	12.9	4
Olga	211	1,676	9.7%	12.0	4
Andrey	189	1,650	9.5%	11.8	4
Natasha	165	1,452	8.4%	10.4	4
Kuligin	171	1,450	8.4%	10.4	4
Chebutikin	168	1,289	7.4%	9.2	4
Soleni	85	652	3.8%	4.7	4
Anfisa	39	331	1.9%	2.4	4
Fedotik	35	286	1.6%	2.0	4
Ferapont	37	261	1.5%	1.9	4
Rode	15	97	0.6%	0.7	3
Andrey’s voice	1	1	0%	0.0	1
Vershinin’s voice	1	1	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	Act 1	Act 2	Act 3	Act 4
Vershinin
Irina
Tuzenbach
Masha
Olga
Andrey
Natasha
Kuligin
Chebutikin
Soleni

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Vershinin: “Yes. How strange everything really is! When th…”	Act 3	394	40
Andrey: “I’ll only say this and go. Just now. … In the …”	Act 3	224	23
Andrey: “Oh, what has become of my past and where is it…”	Act 4	223	23
Vershinin: “Well, I say! You know a lot too much! I don’t …”	Act 1	202	21
Chebutikin: “Devil take them all … take them all. … They th…”	Act 3	190	19
Irina: “When I woke up today and got up and dressed my…”	Act 1	185	19
Kuligin: “Oh, drop it! Today the soldiers will be gone, …”	Act 4	158	16
Tuzenbach: “It is curious how silly trivial little things,…”	Act 4	155	16
Tuzenbach: “How well I can understand that craving for wor…”	Act 1	153	16
Kuligin: “Today is Sunday, the day of rest, so let us re…”	Act 1	148	15

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Rode and Vershinin’s voice
Andrey’s voice and Vershinin’s voice

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Three Sisters?

Vershinin, with about 277 lines and 2,439 words, 14.1% of everything spoken in the play. Irina is next, with about 273 lines (12.3%).

How long is Three Sisters?

The full text has 17,351 spoken words, about 124 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in Three Sisters?

16 named roles speak in this edition, across 4 scenes. 6 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.