How to Run a Playreading Group

[pegkerr]

Since penmage asked:

Here is how our playreading group has worked over the years.

We used to meet every two weeks. We'd start at about 7:00 p.m. and go until . . . whenever. Generally 10:00 or 11:00, sometimes longer. We tended to gravitate to one person who hosted most of the time, because they were willing, and because they had the best living room layout. Since we had a set time and date (first and third Fridays of the month) there wasn't a lot of organization necessary. People showed up at the agreed upon time and brought copies of the play. Sometimes the host would try to have two or three extra copies on the play on hand, if people didn't have their own. Many of us would resort to the library. Occasionally we would run into trouble when there were variant editions of the play (we ran into that problem with Arcadia last night, as a matter of fact) and if we knew that was the case, we might specify which edition to pick up.

Mostly, we'd have a number of people that fluctuated between about five to about twelve at the most. Generally, we picked plays that had enough characters that everyone would get at least one part, and sometimes two or three. We would sit around the living room in a rough circle, depending on the layout of chairs and couches.

Food (in our opinion) is essential to a pleasant playreading experience. The host would provide a variety: cakes, cookies, bread, cheese, hummus, fruit. Other people would bring other offerings: tomatoes from the garden, homemade tortes, sometimes a little wine. I always looked forward to pameladean's gingerbread (and if any of you start a playreading group and ask me, I will forward you the recipe). Edited to add: The gingerbread recipe is here. We would grab a plateful of food, fix ourselves a mug of coffee or tea, and then gravitate toward the living room. We would chat and visit for awhile, and gradually, we would decide to start reading. Usually, there was someone who had already read the play and could advise as to which parts were good to double (so that you didn't end up reading two different characters who would be in the same scene so that you would end up arguing with yourself). A person might say, "I'd like to read Iago tonight," if she really had a hankering for a part, but if no one has any particular preference, someone who knew the play well would dole parts out. Since we'd been reading together for years, we knew that if you read a major part tonight, next time you might have three minor parts, but it all eventually evened out in the end.

We would usually break at a halfway point (in a Shakespeare play often after Act III) for more food and visiting, which might last ten or fifteen minutes while people refilled their plates and coffee mugs.

A few people brought needlework, and that was okay, as long as they followed the play along so that there wasn't a long pause while they were counting their stitches and eventually realized that no one was speaking because they were waiting for a part to come in, "Oh! Is it my line? Oh, sorry! 'Come, bring forth the prisoners' . . . etc."

As for how to find people: well, ask around to see who's interested. It's a pretty good bet to include literary people who like books and drama. They certainly don't have to be trained actors! We all got good with practice, and some of us became quite excellent indeed.

At the end of the evening, we would discuss which play we would like to do next, ("Let's try Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning), but we wouldn't set parts until people showed up that night, and we actually saw who was present. If you are just getting started, I would suggest trying a comedy first, just to show people how much fun it can be. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a good place to start.

Playreading, as I have said, is surprisingly fun, and it's a great way to spend an evening with friends. If you start a group, let me know how it goes! Any questions, leave 'em in the comments.

Comments

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Thank you. This is really helpful. I am really going to have to ask around and see if I can find some willing comrades in arms.

[wild-patience.livejournal.com]

This sounds like tremendous fun.

[vass]

So people go buy the plays in question? I think that'd be tough for most of my friends, who are either students working shitty casual jobs, or unemployed.

Bother. I could probably get around that using Shakespeare, since so many people have a complete plays edition or two hanging around. And classical Greek plays get set for high school English so often that I could probably find enough of them at ~$3 each at op-shops and second-hand bookstores for those who didn't keep their Year 12 copy, but they use such bad, flat translations that it leaches the fun out of Euripides, Sophocles or whoever.

Stoppard (sigh) would just be right out of budget. There's not enough of him in second-hand shops down here. And photocopying would be prohibitively expensive as well as illegal. Ditto Fry (sigh, again.) Ditto the Discworld adaptations, which I think I'd get more takers for.

Hmm. Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf was a Lit 3/4 text, and thus probably on people's shelves or in second-hand stores. Not that I just really want to read Martha or anything, oh no. :-) But Albee might be a harder sell to my friends.

I'd have to work on the scheduling, too - an 11pm finish lets out people working the next day if it's a weekday, and people on public transport if it's a weekend.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Peg mentioned using the library to get copies.

K.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Well, as I said, we often resorted to the library.

And Shakespeare will keep you in good plays for a bunch of meetings.

If you are just getting started, I would suggest trying a comedy first, just to show people how much fun this can be. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a good place to start.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

One final thought: start with a comedy, just so that people see how much fun this can be. A Midsummer Night's Dream or Twelfth Night are good ones to try when you're just getting your feet wet.

[mjryan.livejournal.com]

I think this sounds wonderful! I might have to put out some feelers with my friends. Have you, or would you, include your children if they show interest?

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

It depends on the child, I think. Fiona is definitely interested, but she has always had extremely elevated reading skills. But most high schools start teaching Shakespeare, so in most cases, a high school student would probably be fine. I was definitely interested in Shakespeare starting at about age ten, when I saw Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. But I was an advanced reader, too.

(Shakespeare's plays take two and a half to three hours to read, so there might be an issue with bedtimes for a younger child, too, unless you pick a weekend in the afternoon.)

If you give it a try, do let me know how it goes!

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Can I have the gingerbread recipe pre-emptively? *puppy dog face*

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Here ya go! Enjoy. If you try it, let me know what you think.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Dover Thrift Editions were pretty common in my high school-- a dollar or two each, usually. They seem to have an okay selection.