Insights

Unrehearsed Readings: Roles and Responsibilities of the Creative Team

By Ciji Guerin

Participants collect their thoughts and take notes at an unrehearsed reading of a draft of the script Girl No. 102.

This is the second article in a two-part series about the importance of unrehearsed readings in new work.

Previously, we explored what an unrehearsed reading is, its dramaturgical purpose, different kinds of audiences, and ways to collect and control audience feedback. Now we’ll discuss the cast and creative team’s specific roles and responsibilities in preparing and performing an unrehearsed reading, the post-reading retrospective, and how an unrehearsed reading fits into a larger new works development strategy.

The Stage Manager’s Role

As with any theatre event, the stage manager organizes the running of the unrehearsed reading. The stage manager handles delivering the scripts to actors, often reads stage directions during the performance, times the reading, takes notes during the talkback, and performs any other organizational task the event might require.

The Actor’s Role

As outlined in our article, The Actor’s Role in New Play Development, regardless of the kind of reading or workshop taking place, the job of actors in new play development is to test the script.

In the context of an unrehearsed reading, the job of actors is to give the playwright and director a chance to hear the script as it’s written so they can test their own conception of the material, how well the script works as a starting point for the actor’s process, and whether it plays for the audience as expected.

Actors Jack Harvison and Andrea White use their scripts as document props within a scene.

Actors Jack Harvison and Andrea White portray journalists reviewing documents in Unmediated.

Depending on the strategy the director is taking with the reading, actors may perform the script cold. They may not see the script until the moment they are before the audience and reading it for the first time. This approach often makes the actor’s process relatively more visible; as actors read and make discoveries, it colors their interpretation of their role and causes them to adjust their performance midswing.

Or the director may give the script to the actors ahead of time and ask them to read it through once before the reading. This approach allows each actor to get a glimpse of their character’s arc in advance. In this context, the actor’s process is less visible. But having more time to consider the arc can strengthen their feedback on how clearly defined it is in the script, as well the characters and their relationships are communicated through the script.

Regardless of when the director chooses to give actors the script, it is crucial that actors play only what is written. Actors in production have the job to “make it work,” requiring them to make choices that create a character with relationships to the world and other characters—whether those relationships are in the script or not. This skill can create the illusion that the role is far more defined in the script than it actually is. Experienced actors often get to the point where they do this work intuitively, and it can be difficult at times for such actors to play only what is written. But it is vital in the early stages of new play development that that the actor set a goal to only play what is written so that the director and playwright can see what’s actually communicated by the script.

The Playwright’s Role

The playwright’s role in a new play development process is to provide the script, know what their intention is in writing that script, and participate openly in the developmental process.

The playwright has sole say over what gets cut, what gets rewritten, and how it will be done. So it is essential for the playwright to have an understanding of how the elements of a play create an intentional structure, how the characters support and amplify a play’s themes, how dialogue supports and amplifies the dramatic action, and how to communicate a clear, intentional vision and its meaning through an original voice. The less playwrights are practiced in working these aspects of a script, the more difficult it is for them to interpret and use feedback effectively. However, less practice can be compensated by adding a mentoring playwright or a dramaturg with the skills and tools to tablework these practices effectively. (See the Real World Example section at the bottom of our article, The Dramaturg’s Role In New Play Development.)

Playwright Nancy Campbell.

Unrehearsed readings are usually conducted early in the new play development process and tend to focus on finding, defining, or clarifying the playwright’s intention, and/or getting an objective view on how the playwright’s intention is implemented in the script.

Conversationally, the terms “playwright’s intention,” “playwright’s vision,” and “playwright’s voice” are often used interchangeably. Although deeply interrelated, they are distinctly different:

Playwright’s intention: what the playwright means to say; their purpose in writing the play. The themes the playwright is exploring.
Playwright’s vision: while intent is about the concept of the play, the vision is how the playwright sees their intent implemented.
Playwright’s voice: the playwright’s personality, point of view, and personal expression.

If a playwright hasn’t defined their intention, or isn’t constantly working towards defining their intention, or if they are indecisive about what their intention is while writing the script, it is rare for a new play development process to work.

Without a focus on intent, a playwright may, without realizing it, write a different yet similar play with every new draft. Or they may be influenced by well-intentioned feedback to do a rewrite detrimental to the work. They may end up “writing to please” and keeping only the content considered “good” by others. In the end, they often find themselves with a script that doesn’t add up or make any sense.

Once the playwright knows their intent—what they’re writing about and why—the real work can begin. Now the creative team can work with the playwright to discover the discrepancies between the playwright’s intent and what the playwright actually has written on the page. They can explore how the playwright’s intent is revealed in the dramatic action and dialogue, and facilitate in the playwright’s efforts to fine-tune it. They can investigate the play’s theatrical potential to aid the playwright in executing their intentional vision and developing their original voice.

Scott Stroot portrays a comedically devious character in a short script by Justine Hanlon.

The Director’s Role

As outlined in our article The Director’s Role In New Play Development, it is the director’s job to convey the playwright’s intent—to the creative team, to the audience, and, often, to consistently reflect it back to the playwright. This practice is to ensure everyone is consistently working towards the same vision.

The collaborative relationship between the playwright and director, when it works, is powerful. Both can end up doing their best work when collaborating with each other. But it’s a delicate relationship too.

Directors need to be mindful of the difference between imposing their own ideas and perspectives onto the script and guiding the playwright towards a stronger understanding of their own intent and a new draft of the script that more clearly conveys that intent in a way that enables the script to achieve its full theatrical potential. Meanwhile, the playwright needs to be mindful of the subjective perspective they usually have with their scripts in the early stages of development, seek out a more objective view, and learn to separate their own personal needs from that of the work.

Generally speaking, before engaging in any new work development process, the playwright and director reach a reasonable agreement on the state of the script and what they’re trying to achieve by any new play development strategies they are undertaking.

When a director and playwright choose to use an unrehearsed reading as part of their developmental process, the director usually embarks on the following process:

Conducts a dramaturgical analysis of the script
Works with the playwright to set the goal and chose which dramaturgical strategies will be used to tray and meet that goal
Works with the actors and the audience to execute that goal during the reading
Meets with the playwright after the reading to assess what worked and what didn’t and what’s next.

Dramaturgy

Sometimes a director meets with the playwright several times before an unrehearsed reading, executing an extensive tablework process to aid the playwright in a rewrite process, then presents the new draft at the reading.

Other times, a director will only do a preliminary round of dramaturgical work on the script and seek only a general sense of:

The playwright’s intention
How that intention is conveyed in the world of the play, its story and characters
How the characters serve their narrative function and whether they are present in their relationships and as distinct individuals
How the play communicates its thematic material in its world, patterns, and event chain.

The director may openly discuss their findings with the playwright, or just use conversations with the playwright to understand the playwright’s perspective on the status of the play in each of these areas.

Regardless of whether the director does an in-depth level of dramaturgical analysis or the minimum, and regardless of whether the director leads the playwright through a rewrite prior to the reading or moves ahead with the first draft received, communication is crucial. For an unrehearsed reading, the director usually works closely with the playwright to define the goal and develop a strategy to meet that goal, then works with the actors and audience to execute that strategy. Shortly after the reading, the director conducts a retrospective meeting with the playwright to asses what worked, what didn’t and what’s next.

Developing a Strategy

The purpose of an unrehearsed reading is to explore only what is written. Although an unrehearsed reading is simple and limited (as it can’t create for the audience the theatrical experience of a full production), it still leaves a lot of room for a director and playwright to set and achieve a variety of goals and strategies because of its inherent tools: actors and audience.

Depending on the goal for the reading, the director may choose to give the actors the script a day or two in advance so that they can begin to formulate the broad outlines of character and relationships. They will also bring to the reading a sense of what they have already discovered in the script.

This strategy is commonly used to test if the script is at a good starting point for the actors, or to determine if the director and the playwright agree about what script conveys to the actors for each of the roles and how the characters support and amplify a play’s themes.

Working with Playwrights

Some playwrights don’t like doing readings of any kind. Many view readings as serving organizational purposes only, and don’t envision them as a useful part of the new play development process. For these reasons, it is important for the director to work with the playwright at the outset to ensure both agree on the following points:

The play needs development
An unrehearsed reading should be part of the development process
What they’re striving to achieve with the unrehearsed reading
What dramaturgical strategies will be used to try and achieve that goal

In order for the process to be worthwhile, it’s essential that the playwright and the director are on the same page about the play’s need for development.

Actors Lauren Hanson, Murren Kennedy, and Kathleen Barnebey review their scripts.

A playwright who believes their script is production-ready and is only participating in the development process because they believe it’s something they have to do to get a production, or is participating merely to build up their resume, isn’t going to gain any insights by any dramaturgical process. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and resources.

A director should also keep in mind that a playwright who agrees their script needs development is often in a vulnerable position because they’re exposing their work to scrutiny when it’s still in an incomplete and unrefined state. A director’s choice in actors, stage manager, and audience can create a supportive yet discerning environment—or the opposite. Directors can also set suitable expectations for the reading by reminding the actors and audience that the reading is an introductory exploration of a work-in-progress.

Defining the Goal

Even if the playwright and the director agree the play needs development, they may not be on the same page about why, or what kind of development the play needs. For that reason, a common goal for many unrehearsed readings is to test both the director’s and the playwright’s take on the script to help them reach agreement about what kind of development the play needs and why.

Other common goals for unrehearsed readings are to:

Test to see if the script plays to an audience as expected
Explore how the script works as a starting point for the actors to build a role
See where the actors are not able to find or understand their through-lines
Discover where the audience is not able to follow what’s happening, or loses interest because the action doesn’t seem to serve an intention
Test the believability of the script
Help the playwright discover and define their intention.

Alternatively, the director might choose for the actors to read the script cold. This strategy is usually employed when the director is striving to witness the actors’ moment-to-moment discoveries, where the script is easy for them to follow, where they stumble over the rhythm of the dialogue, or where they need to pause and adjust to be able to give a line a motivated reading.

The director could also choose to use inexperienced actors. The beauty of using inexperienced actors is to avoid the risk of highly skilled actors instantly interpreting and “fixing” a line or adding a motivation. Experienced actors are so practiced at making such adjustments, they may not realize they have added anything.

The director can also build strategies around the type of audience that will attend the reading and how feedback will be handled. (For more on types of audiences and different approaches to feedback, please see our first article in this series, The Unrehearsed Reading: Testing the Script).

Although the goal and strategies for the unrehearsed reading are developed in collaboration with the playwright, the demands of an unrehearsed reading can cause a playwright to lose sight of both. It is often useful for the director to restate the goal and strategies—and the why behind them—to the playwright. This practice helps to ground the playwright and keep them from losing focus throughout the process.

Common Practices: Working With Actors and Audiences

Preparing the Script

To prepare the script for the actors and the reader of stage directions, the director will need to decide which of the stage directions will be read and which will not, as well as what actions and parentheticals the actors will perform.

New plays often have more stage directions than necessary to hear during a reading. Usually, directors limit stage directions to those describing actions and production elements needed to understand the story.

Also typically removed are the parentheticals and any other acting instructions that an actor can play.

Since an unrehearsed reading is never rehearsed by definition, directors often communicate what they want to happen by crossing out stage directions in the script they don’t want read aloud, and underlining the actions and parentheticals they want the actors to perform.

Arranging the Actors for the Reading

Usually, for the reading’s performance, actors are arranged in a manner that enables every character to be visible to the audience and characters who interact the most placed where they can make eye contact with each other.

In most unrehearsed readings, the main characters are placed in the center and the person reading the stage directions off to the side, separate from the actors.

Sometimes, with larger casts, actors are arranged in clusters depending on their relationships to each other. In an unrehearsed reading of Romeo and Juliet, for example, the Montagues might be arranged on stage left and the Capulets clustered on stage right, with Romeo and Juliet in the center.

If there are significant changes in the character’s relationships or the script’s focus on their roles in the course of the script, actors may change their position between scenes or acts.

Director Asae Dean.

Shaping Exits and Entrances

There are three typical ways to handle exits and entrances in unrehearsed readings:

Exits and entrances are read by the person reading stage directions;
Actors physically leave or enter the performance space;
Actors lean or step forward (whether sitting or standing) and catch the eyes of the other actors in the scene for entrances; actors lean or step back and lower their eyes to their laps or the floor or exits, or when they are not in a scene.

Because unrehearsed readings are often used to test a script as a starting point for actors, a director may not give many instructions to actors other than to emphasize interest in what the script reveals about their characters and to ask actors to make note of any questions or strong impressions.

Receiving Feedback From Actors

As with other feedback, it’s important for the director and playwright to listen and take notes—and not to explain to the actors what they missed.

Often actors are asked for feedback along these lines:

How well did the script work as a starting point to understand and create a character?
Was your character believable?
Did your character’s choices and actions make sense beat-to-beat?
Were you able to see your character arc in the script?
Did your character have relationships with each of the other characters?
Did your character have a distinct place in the world of the play?
Did your character’s relationships and their position in the world make sense?

Working With the Audience

How a director works with an audience depends on what type of audience attends and what approach to feedback has been selected.

At the start of the reading, directors typically offer a welcoming speech to the audience and state the title and author of the play, the time, and setting(s). They director introduces the actors by their character names and the person reading the stage directions by their actual name. The director then reminds all listeners that the unrehearsed reading is a presentation of a work in progress, and outlines their expectations of the audience.

During the reading, directors usually take notes and document their observations and reactions in their copy of the script. These notes and documentations are useful for the director to compare with their own previous observations as well reactions expressed by the actors and the audiences.

Receiving Feedback From the Audience

As stated in our previous article in this series, no matter what type of audience attends or how feedback is handled, director, playwright, and actors should resist the temptation to defend the script and their collaborators. This defensive stance derails the discussion into an explanation to the audience about what they missed.

To maintain a fruitful discussion, it is important for everyone on the creative team (whenever possible) to not answer questions posed by the audience. They should instead simply listen and occupy themselves by taking notes. Otherwise, the audience won’t be able to serve its purpose in the process.

Director-Playwright Retrospective

After the reading, the playwright and director usually take some time to process their own experience of the reading, then meet to discuss what they learned, what they didn’t, and what should happen next.

It’s a good idea to set aside two or three hours so a full comparison of observations and discoveries and other items of relevancy can be discussed at length.

Topics often weighed prior to and discussed during the director-playwright retrospective include:

Whether the reading changed either participant’s perspective on the play;
What the reading validated about the script and what new issues it revealed for both playwright and director;
What the actors revealed about the characters and of the world of the play;
What the audience’s reactions and feedback revealed.

Playwright Jonathan Hernandez consults with Producing Artistic Director Ciji Guerin.

Jonathan Hernandez consults with Ciji Guerin.

A director should take advantage of the opportunity to discuss, from their perspective, what aspects of the script were missed at the reading but might be better revealed during rehearsals and performances.

The retrospective usually ends with a conversation about what needs to be done next. At this point, the director needs to decide whether or not further development is appropriate.

Playwrights usually make a number of discoveries and get a slew of ideas from hearing their plays read. Sometimes they want to continue the project. Sometimes they decide the play is not worth any further work.

When the playwright and the director both want to continue the project, it’s time to decide what to do next. Discussing what changes the playwright is considering for the next draft is a good start. Common next steps are further dramaturgy at the table, or workshops with actors and other creative team members. With all that can be learned, the unrehearsed reading can be a significant step in advancing the work.

What’s Next

In additional articles connected to this series, a playwright and a director share their experiences working on an unrehearsed reading as part of their process with Northwest Theatre Workshop.