Last night I was in the lobby of the Severance Building, greeting patrons at the Complete Works (Abridged).  The house hadn’t opened yet, so patrons were milling about and reading their programs.  I overheard a couple comment to each other how “interesting it is that they do a reading every month at a library.  What a good idea!”.  Another couple pointed out the Readings  to each other, and finally a mother and a teenaged boy (who was taking AP English Lit in school) came up to me and asked for more specifics on the Readings.

After the show, a group of older patrons who had attended our shows in the Park asked about the Readings.  “Is it new?  Did you just begin them?”

After one night of all of these questions, it became clear that the Readings need to be addressed more publicly!  They are one of our best, most consistent programs for the community, as well as our longest standing (WSF instituted the Readings with the Fresno County Library during its first year).

So, here’s the skinny:

Every third Tuesday of the month from October to April, Woodward Shakespeare Festival offers a Staged Reading of a play.  Most of the plays are Shakespeare, but this year we’re adding one non-Shakespearean classic play to the cycle.

The casts of the Readings are a combination of regular WSF company members and community volunteers.  The directors are often artists who want to develop their skills ‘in the room’ with actors and who truly enjoy working on classic texts.  The casts meet for only six to eight hours prior to the reading to rehearse and incorporate the most basic of blocking.  The emphasis of the Readings is to focus on the language of the scripts and appreciate the story in its own right– independent of formal theatrical staging, directorial concepts, or production values.

WSF maintains a list of volunteers who are interested in participating and we are committed to casting those volunteers at least once during our cycle.  They often get cast more than once, though.  The Readings have also been an open door for people who have wanted to try acting but don’t yet have the confidence to audition for a show or people interested in becoming involved with the Festival.

The Fresno County Library hosts the evening, usually in Woodward Park Regional Library’s Story Room where refreshments are served and the audience gets a chance to read along with the actors (copies of the scripts are available). It is all very informal and non-threatening.  If time permits after a reading, we often hold a 10 minute talk-back Q & A between the actors and the audience

And this year, as our offerings become stronger, the audience participation has grown.  Our first two readings welcomed between 30 and 40 patrons, many of whom stayed after to discuss the Readings with the actors and ask how they can become involved.

And, of course, in keeping with WSF’s mission to make the works of Shakespeare accessible to all, there is no admission charge for the Readings.  They are completely FREE.

OUR UPCOMING READINGS:
Our December Reading is right around the corner.  All’s Well that End’s Well will be presented this Tuesday evening, December 16th at 6:30 p.m. at the Woodward Park Library. A remarkably fresh and insightful comment on journeys, transformation, and female empowerment, the play is about a young woman’s quest to win her reluctant husband’s love, attention, and a very special ring. This Reading is directed by Erica Riggs Johnston and features previous WSF Company Members Gabriela Lawson (Macbeth, Twelfth Night), Jay Parks (Macbeth, Hamlet), and Miles Villanueva (Iago in Othello).

Our Spring, 2009 Readings include Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 comedy of manners The Rivals directed by Heather Parish, Julius Caesar directed by Yosef Mahmood (tentative), Charles West’s follow up to his successful 2008 reading “Sonnet-chanted Evening” entitled “Women of Will”, and then Cymbeline directed by Kristin Lyn Crase.

So come by and check out the Library Readings. They’re fun, informal, and a great way to become familiar with the classic plays of the Bard (and others) and with The Woodward Shakespeare Festival.

Heather Parish
Artistic Director, WSF