Saturday, January 22, 2011
Readings give New York theater fanatics a chance to see a show's birth
Seattle Times Newspaper: "New Yorkers love nothing more than to boast, 'I was there first,' whether it's getting a reservation at a buzzworthy restaurant, snatching up the latest handbag or seeing a film before the rest of the country. That same quest extends to the theater. Seeing a show before it hits the big time is the stuff of legend (or of tales told by people who weren't actually there). Anyone who was at the first performance of 'A Chorus Line' or 'Rent' — to name just two shows that started small and ended up conquering Broadway — has real bragging rights. One way to catch the next potential 'It' play or musical is to attend a reading. Before a show gets a full-fledged production, it has to start somewhere; a reading is a work in progress needing feedback. The format can be simple (a group of actors with scripts on music stands) or more elaborate (a workshop with choreographed numbers and musicians). Many readings are free and open to the public, although reservations are often required, and some are open only to theater subscribers.
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5 comments:
Readings seem like generally an all-win process. I know I've seen benefit in readings I've been a part of just from hearing the words aloud, but a theatrical production is for the audience. Having an audience makes all the difference in the early stages of play development - it keeps you thinking about the experience of live theatre, with an audience, and not just your hangups. And the audience gains a real sense of ownership. Because truly successful plays are deep, emotional experiences, anything that could make you feel closer to the process and the product (and perhaps even influence the product!) only bolsters that sense of ownership.
I don't think there's much to be said about audience attended readings. There's an intimacy that exists between performer and spectator; it is the very fabric of the theater Having that interchange between parties early on doesn't seem right to me. Imagine this: there's a great architect working a new building. He draws the plans up and sends to the construction sight. Construction starts and then he says, lets have tenants move in right now before the building is done and lets give them some input on how it should be built. Just doesn't sound like a good idea.
I support the idea of the public attending readings as long as they understand where the play is in its process; I think it has more to do with the audience experiencing the play as a script/story than as a performance, where the difference between the audience members reading the script versus attending the reading is that the playwright gets the benefit of the audience's instant feedback. Furthermore, readings easily expose people less likely to attend commercial theatre to the theatre, and can on occasion be quite entertaining.
I think that the idea of having an audience view a play early in its process is fantastic. Whether we like it or not, the success of our work in the theater rests largely on the audience's enjoyment and appreciation of it. If readings have become so popular, they must provide playwrights and other artists developing a production with a good deal of useful feedback. While I don't think it is necessary for an artist to change his or her work just because of this feedback, I do think that the opinions of these early audience members should at least way in to the process of producing theatre that will be commercially successful. Also, I agree with Daniel- the audience members attending a reading should be made fully aware of the stage of development that the play is in at the time. Many theater-goers would love to see a show at different stages and would be responsible enough as critics to keep in mind that a show is in progress.
I think reading are great. Some people love to see a project all the way though. I know subscribers that love the first performance and then come back just before closing to see how a show evolved. This is a great glimpse into the bigger picture for them. I agree with the article that it also serves the playwright in his/her work. It also helps the theatre to see what audiences are responding to so they can plan the next season to be a hit. Its like a product focus group for theatrical works. I don't see us losing them any time in the near future.
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