Readers Theater
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Printed Date: 6/07/25 at 6:55pm
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Topic: Readers Theater
Posted By: Guests
Subject: Readers Theater
Date Posted: 7/27/00 at 7:18pm
Our Group is doing a series of readers theater plays this summer - a different play every week between mid June and Labor Day.
We just finished THREE VIEWINGS by Jeffery Hatcher.
Three monologues (1m, 2W) about 25 minutes each - absolutely wonderful - the two monologues by the women will make you laugh and will tear your heart out. The man's monologue is also good but is so different it almost doesn't fit.
I would never have picked it from the description in the French catalog but if you are looking for soemthing a little different, try it.
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 4/06/01 at 1:45am
Where do you locate material for the Readers Theater? I have been all over the place. Guess I'm looking in all the wrong places(sounds like a title for someone!) I think we could really make good use of this.
Thanks, Ruth
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 4/06/01 at 11:16am
There are a lot of sources of materials. It also depends on how much "readers" theater you want it to be. I have seen productions that were simply readings - occasionally with someone reading the stage directions - I have also seen what I would call staged readings with a considerable amount of blocking.
The back of the French Catalog has a listing of plays suitable for readers theater. You need a play that does not depend on a lot of movement - you would be surprised how many plays that rules out. Here are some of the ones we have done recently: Love Letters (written to be read), The Gin Game (with minor blocking), Spoon River Anthology (the actors had lots of fun being different characters), The Wild Party (original poem not the play), The Woman in Black (Halloween), A Song at Twilight (Noel Coward), Valley Song (wonderful), The Cemetary Club (very good) and of course Three Viewings that I mentioned before (the three actors came out one at a time, put their script on a music stand and read it). In addition, we have written a couple including a Lewis Carroll readers theater for younger audiences. We did this at Christmas to standing room only. You will notice that many of the plays I listed are for older actors - that is what we have here - both actors and audiences so that is what we target.
The thing I like about the readers theater is that we do not need a stage - a corner of a restauraunt works, they move easily from night to night, there is not the terrible time committtment of a full production and best of all, it is the entry level for new actors who want to get their feet wet but are unsure if they can handle it. Almost all of our new actors started in the Readers Theater. We do three performances of each show - a different location each night. We get $5.00 a head from the venue. They range from 30 to 50 seats. It costs us $80 to $90 per performance for royalties, advertising, miscellaneous so that is the first 16 to 18 people in the door. After that we make money. If we find a venue that consistantly loses money, we find another - if it isn't working for us it isn't working for the venue either. Some places sell out and others don't. Out of over 15 shows only one lost money although we have had several individual nights where we lost money. The venues do not charge us - they make their money from the dinners they sell - there is one down side for the restauraunt - they only get one sitting a night rather than turning the table over two or three times. We have tried cocktail lounges but that has not worked at all - people with too much to drink and people who want to talk rather than listen.
Let me know if I can help any more.
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 4/06/01 at 11:57pm
Doug, thanks for your advise, I'm sure our group will be doing some Readers Theater. Also I must let it be known how much I enjoy and appriciate this forum. As I read the postings, I'm not sure if we are insane or just plain guttsy(sp). We started last Nov. getting the group together and Feb. 23 was opening night of STOCKHOLDERS DINNER, four shows (great fun), the first night 75 in the audience,
second night about the same third night 40 (boy it was scary), fourth and final performance, 105!!!! We were elated!! We are still
hearing how much it was enjoyed. Fluke? could be. Sure hope not.
LOVE THIS FORUM Hugs, Ruth
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 4/11/01 at 11:29am
Our group got started the same way. Around here, directing is a Catch 22 - you can't get a slot without a lot of experience and, of course, can't get experience without a slot. After trying for two years to get a slot and some serious negotiating with my wife, I guaranteed to cover any losses of the play I wanted to direct: "TO GILLIAN ON HER 37th BIRTHDAY". We rented the theater and off we went. It was really scary. Who would come to an unknown play from a group with no track record and not sanctioned by the theater itself (and could not use the advertising machine of the theater)? Our audiences for the first weekend were smaller than expected then the word of mouth kicked in for the second weekend and we did great - ended up making $1,000 on the production.
Then the rules changed. My rentals had to be approved by the theater committee (which also wanted approval rights for what play I did), I couldn't rent the theater within a month before or a month after one of their plays (that left no time available) and they tripled their rental rates.
So we went off on our own, did a lot of readers theater and several small and not so small plays that could move night to night and made a name for ourselves - quality, quality, quality - I don't care if we make money just make sure we do good stuff and the people will come.
Our group has done a lot of good work - things that I am proud to be associated with. We have a good reputation for quality. Groups are now coming to us asking for special programs. We have had to turn down many requests due to lack of time.
We were approached by a local resort to do a mystery dinner theater. We wrote it ourselves and had a dry run a couple of weeks ago and it went very well so we are adding it to our offerings.
Our group is expanding and having a lot of fun without all the bureaucracy of the big theater. We did $11,000 worth of business and made $2,000 in our first year. I'm not going to quit my day job but I'm sure having more fun than my day job. Best of all, the theater asked us to come back and do a play of our choosing this summer at their expense. They pay all the expenses, keep all the revenue and pay us a $1,000 production fee. Life in the theater is good.
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