Staged Readings
Simply Intricate: Oral Tradition in Theatre
4. 16. 2012, 2:30 PM
As you may or may not know, we have been spending
quite a bit of time developing our newest production, Barbicide by Sean Pomposello. We had originally work-shopped
an early portion of the script in the fall, as part of our reading series, Universal
Monsters. After an overwhelming
response from our audience members, I began to see a great potential in a
script that had otherwise been an intriguing concept, (See, The Playwright’s
Pad: The Origin of Barbicide.) Shortly
after, what was read at Universal Monsters ended up becoming the first three scenes of Sean
Pomposello’s newest play! After lengthy conversations about the play itself,
changes to dialogue and characters, as well as modifying concepts that would
maintain a cohesive quality to the piece as a whole, we finally reached a rest
stop. I wanted to give Barbicide the
opportunity to truly evolve, so as the script was completed, we decided to
present a developmental reading of the finished product. We began rehearsals
last week for our reading of Barbicide, equipped with a great cast and a fantastic script. With a reading,
there are a variety of options to present a piece of theatre. Beginning this
process made me wonder, is there a proper way to direct a reading?
One of the most attractive qualities of a
reading is the simplistic nature of the event as a whole. “Hey, here’s a
reading. It’s free. Come see it,” is the essential structure of advertising
your typical reading. When you are in a space, all it calls for are a few
chairs and music stands, then you are set. I have been to readings that play up and play down the
event. Some readings I have been to can seem uptight and others too lax. How do
you find the happy medium? Does the environment of the reading affect the piece
itself? I do not believe there is one specific way to curate a reading, and
granted, the mood and environment certainly will be compared to the play
itself. The point is that these “simple” readings are an opportunity for
like-minded people to gather, discuss and participate in a play in order to
contribute towards it’s growth.
While the event itself can be presented simply or
intricately, what about the direction of the piece? The ultimate goal is to
tell a story. At a reading, there is typically very little stage direction. If
you are operating under equity guidelines, actors cannot be using props or
costumes. When I direct a reading I rely on three factors:
-An Actor’s Instincts: In a
reading, the actors have to rely on each other. There are no light cues or staging for them to
involve in their existence in the moment. Ultimately the actors must be
storytellers.
-Vocal Attention: The most
crucial element in directing a reading is the unique and interesting ways you
can guide a story by playing with vocalizations. With the actors unable to fall
back on scenery and staging to add additional conflict or intent to a scene,
they must resort to vocal variation. This keeps the audience involved while
appropriately serving as a storyteller.
-Audience Involvement: While you
cannot rely on an audience to interact, you hope they do. If you have a good
theatre piece on your hands, the audience will typically participate. This
doesn’t mean inviting them to read, though you could if you like. An attentive
and vocal audience is always appreciated at a reading. You get a sense of how
people enjoy the piece as well as moments of the play that are simply not
landing where you expected.
Really, readings are a prime example of oral tradition.
Every culture throughout the ages has told stories to an audience. Novelist,
Edwards Price once wrote, “A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the
species.” Everybody tells stories. Everybody includes their own influence towards
a story. That is what gives a story life. As it travels from person-to-person
and mouth-to-mouth, it naturally undergoes changes that are essential in it’s
growth and complexity.
Like most art forms, it is subjective to consider one proper
way of holding a play reading. We should, however, be promoting and holding
many more readings. We are responsible for carrying on the oral tradition.
Through readings, we become a part of an age old custom.
With that said, you may join The Theatre Project as we
continue our commitment to the spoken word. Friday April 20th, I
invite you to attend our developmental reading of Barbicide. The reading will be held at Moustache Tonsorial on
55 Greenwich Avenue. I look forward to seeing you there.
-Christian
The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.
The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.
