Imagine a stage production in which there are no limitations whatever
on the
size of the set, the finery of the costumes, the brilliance of the
lighting.
Imagine a theatrical production in which the words sound sharper,
crisper than
usual, in which the acting choices are bolder, more daring. Now,
imagine
yourself as one of the first beings on the planet, in all of history,
to
experience this drama rendered so expansively. Well, guess what? You
can enjoy
this kind of theatrical experience in Austin all the time. Hey, there
are four
this week alone. They’re called play readings. If you’ve only considered the play reading as a pale shadow of the
full
theatrical production – no set, no costumes, actors with scripts in
their hands
– then it’s time to give it a bit more thought. Play readings are
becoming
increasingly popular in Austin, and playgoers who dismiss them are
missing a
chance to savor drama in a special way, not to mention make vital
contributions
to a new generation of theatrical work.
“It’s theatre all in your head,” says Ann Ciccolella of the appeal
of play
readings. Though perhaps best known locally as the Austin Circle of
Theatres’
executive director, Ciccolella is also a playwright, and her new work
The
Last Best Hope will be given a read-ing at Hyde Park Theatre
Sunday. With
readings, she says, “your imagination is filling in all of the spaces.
It’s
akin to storytelling in that regard. It’s all happening in your mind.”
Emily
Cicchini, another Austin playwright (Becoming Bront�), who
is
literary manager for Capitol City Playhouse and guiding light for its
New
Voices reading series, agrees. “In terms of the pure form of drama,
play
readings really tune you in to that. You can create the perfect
production in
your mind.” No more distractions from slapdash sets or make-do outfits;
you
take care of all of that mentally. It’s just you and the words.
And in readings, the words seem to come through more clearly, more
crisply,
than in full productions. It’s much like when you tune out one sense,
and the
others sharpen to compensate for the loss. In the absence of a
production’s
visual elements, we focus on those things which come to us aurally, the
words
and the things that they form: images, metaphors, themes. It’s our
chance to
experience the play in its most naked form, a house without walls, the
structure apparent. As the house seen as raw beams helps you grasp its
basic
form, the play heard as raw words does the same.
That’s one reason readings are so vital for playwrights working on
new dramas.
They show the author whether a play’s structure is sound. “It’s a very
valuable
part of the process for the playwright to hear the play out loud,” says
Cicchini. Ciccolella is even firmer about readings: “My basic feeling
is that
the words always have to hit the air.”
This week, the words hit the air in four separate readings around
town, and
the four do a pretty good job of representing different steps of the
development process for new plays and the different constituencies for
whom
readings can be valuable.
Play Ground Zero, the group producing the reading of The Last
Best
Hope, represents the earliest part of the development process. “We
want
work that’s not finished,” says Colin Swanson of the company’s
interests. “What
we’re really about is being a catalyst for the final writing phase of
the
play.” Swanson and Nina LeNoir founded the company last year from a
desire to
assist theatre artists in the creation of new work. After meeting with
local
writers and directors, they decided to start reading new works as a way
to meet
their needs. Since August, the group has been reading one new play each
month,
first at Flipnotics Coffeehouse, and now at their current home, Hyde
Park.
Play Ground Zero works exclusively with Austin writers and invests
close to 20
hours in each project. “We spend between eight and 10 hours of
rehearsal before
each reading, and the directors spend additional time in preparation,”
says
Swanson. “Plus we spend a lot of time conversing with the playwright,
trying to
find out what he or she wants to get out of the reading. The process is
mostly
playwright-driven, and we aim to get out of it what the playwright
wants.”
The New Voices program generally aims to serve the playwright whose
new work
is closer to being ready for production. Part of the reason is that the
program’s sponsor, Capitol City Playhouse, uses New Voices to identify
works it
can produce in its season. It does, however, still involve the writer
in the
process and conducts post-reading discussions to give the playwright
feedback.
Cicchini notes that New Voices splits its focus between Austin writers
and
writers outside the city. Their reading this week of Sherry Kramer’s
And the
Law Makes Evening Fall is a real coup, the first public reading of
a new
drama by a playwright with a rising national profile – she just won a
$10,000
McKnight Fellowship from the Playwrights Center of Minneapolis – and
one which
could make a significant contribution to an important new stage
work.
The other readings are not affiliated with ongoing play development
programs
but they address other levels of the play development process. First
Stage
Productions’ reading of Marc Bockman’s Aunt Rose is being held
in
conjunction with auditions for the play’s July production, a move which
benefits the company and actors interested in auditioning for the full
production. Steven Phenix’s reading of his Texans and Their Guns follows
a full production of the play at the Electric Lounge in 1993. At that
time, the
play was a one-act; Phenix has since expanded the work to two acts. A
reading
can help a playwright who has made substantial revisions following a
full
production to gauge how the new material works.
In most instances, the playwright depends on an audience to give
him
or her a
sense of how sound the work is, what connects and what doesn’t. “In
terms of
what the audience can bring to the process, just being there as a
presence is
important,” insists Cicchini. “And when we get into talk-back and
response,
it’s helpful for the audience to provide their experience.” To
Ciccolella, the
responses of the playgoers are essential: “I really like the
give-and-take with
the audience. And I’m more sensitive to the audience response during
the
reading. What they say during the discussion afterward is not as
important to
me as the feel of the room while the play is being read. That becomes a
barometer for what works in the play.”
So far, attendance at local play readings has been modest. Both New
Voices and
Play Ground Zero report an average of 15-25 people at each reading. But
both
companies are actively building their programs and they see audience
interest
building, too. Cicchini believes the lure of the new will help bring
larger
audiences to play readings. She sees many playwrights now
“experimenting with
structure and form. New plays are really a place to be at the forefront
of a
literary form.” They also seem to be tapping the collective
unconscious,
revealing the latest about the state of modern society. If play
readings are
the place to catch our first peeks at who we are and where we’re going,
you can
bet it won’t be long before the audience is listening.
This article appears in May 5 • 1995 and May 5 • 1995 (Cover).