Dramatic Reading party?
 

I had the good fortune to be part of a recent gathering that involved a bit of round-robin reading. In the midst of enjoying hearing my friends read (and enjoying reading, myself) I realized that I'd forgotten an idea I've had for years - for a party, of sorts.

Would anyone be interested in participating in (or simply attending) a dramatic reading party? For instance, we'd select a play, and those who wanted to read would gather for an evening to choose parts and read it aloud, perhaps followed by a discussion of the play itself. I'd love to host something like this, but due to the nature of the activity, we'd want to select a work that was small (if there were only a few people interested, like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?") or large (if there were a bunch of us, like a Shakespeare play.) If it turned out to be fun and there was interest, I'd even host it semi-regularly.

Anyone think they might be interested?

I had an elective Shakespeare class in high school that was exactly this. We each got a part and read the plays aloud. It was the best way to learn them other than being able to see an actual production.

I'd love to participate.

Ahhh, memories of Theater. I'd be interested, but I don't cold read well any longer. A pre-reading would be best for all.

Surely we could pre-schedule the play and claim roles beforehand, and those who cold-read well could cold-read, and those who wanted to prepare could prepare!

Is there any way to Skype me in? I always enjoy a good play reading.

You knew I'd do it.
The only issue with me is days and times.

LMK

I keep reading the thread title as "Democratic Reading party?"

We have skype! If there were multiple unavailable people, I know we could do a multi-way call without video through skype, too.

Ooh, fun!

Puts me in mind of the great Alan Swann line from "My Favorite Year."

"I'm not an actor. I'm a movie star."

I guess I'd have to phone in my performance. I always did anyway.

I'm neither.

Well, if we do WAOVF, you can be Honey again.

Bunny funny!

I could skype in, too. Lousy reader (great propmaster, however) I'd be willing to join the fun!

Ooooh, I'm in.

In person.



But no autographs, please. :cool:




(Ok, Gemini Cricket, time to start a thread with your inspired party idea!)

I actually would like to participate as well: it sounds fun. I could probably cold read if needed.


Although the naughty side of me thinks it would be funny to do a dramatic reading from Penthouse Forum

In like Flint

Yes, I am there! I will use all my acting skills I learned as an Extra, which means I will find the place I'm supposed to be at around the time I'm supposed to be there.

We can read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Kevy can be the Octopussy.

I love reading out loud. Just not when other people can hear me (my high school Shakespeare class almost got me suspended for said reason and did temporarily get me put in counseling).

So when a date and time is announced I'll try to time something. But I tend towards non-fiction essays as being the best out loud material. Maybe at the appointed time I'll go out on the patio at home (so Lani can't hear me) and do a bit of reading from Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution (I am convinced that out loud is the only sensible way to read Burke).

Sounds fun. Can I be Emerson?

Umm, there's another side?

I'm of course in.

I am an old theater geek.

Let me know if you can fit me in...

I'm jealous and wish I was going to be down that way. Sounds like fun!

Lovely idea. "I'd love to listen. Count me in!" camp. No reading aloud for me, please.

What manner of going down sounds appealing to you?

If by some chance of fate I happen to be in town that weekend (which is a possibility sometime soon) I'm totally in for whatever.

How about "interpretive dance" night? :)

Oh, I'm always up to join in interpretive dance. But that'll have to have its own host and organizer!

So... I'm glad to see so many of you are interested! I was a little afraid I'd have to do a one-woman "Belle of Amherst."

What days are best for you guys? Saturdays? Sundays? We're all a bit spread out so I doubt we'd get a big weekday turnout.

I'm free on Saturday May 10 or Sunday May 18... anybody else?

What manner doesn't sound appealing to you?

May 10 is the downtown art walk that I was thinking about going to (but they happen every month and I keep missing them anyways.)

The 18th is possible so far.

I say yes.
I say let's read Shakespeare.
I say let's read "Midsummer Night's Dream" or "Much Ado" or "As You Like It".
:)

Oh yes, and I get to be Queen Elizabeth I.

:D

I'd love to join in, but will be cruising through the Panama just about that time period you mentioned. If this works though I'll be there for the next one!

Brad and I could do "The Women" sometime... and act out all the parts. ;)

As DP will be cruising both those weekends I am looking for things to do.

I love reading so I am up for anything. How about something American like 12 angry men if we have enough people, or Our Town. I realize that we don't have that many men but just talk with a low voice and you will be fine ;)

If not Shakespeare is always good maybe a history that most people haven't seen like Richard the III or Henry the IV

Oedipus Rex is always good for a few laughs.

Seriously, I had the most amazing AP English teacher, and because of her I still love Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and A Clockwork Orange.

I love to read aloud. It looks like there are plenty of readers though. Bummer that DP will be cruising, because it would be great to have it recorded for posterity.

I'm in, but with all these readers I think we might have to do a Tragedy just for the chorus. Maybe we need to add events for poetry readings or some such thing where everyone brings a scene or piece they'd like to do. Or heck seems like we should form a theater company and do a festival.

Oh, with this much interest I'm sure we'll do it more than once! Plus, there are plenty of plays with plenty of parts. Or we could split the larger parts. Which - whoa! I just realized, we could, at some point, read my unusual cubist Hamlet adaptation (which isn't my own words, mind you, but... well, you'll see later.)

Or short plays. We love all kinds of shorts here - in fact, one I have in mind that I think all of you would LOVE is a collection of short humorous plays by David Ives. Then there surely would be enough parts for everyone. (Ooh, i can't wait to do that one. Ooh, I can't wait to do all of them!)

And you bet your bottom we'll be sure to do one to include the cruisers, too. I'm just getting excited, is all.

How about a musical? (says the guy who can't sing)

I'd have to skype, and you'd have to pick a play with an Aussie in it, or suffer through my terrible valley girl accent. (My british is OK)

We should definitely do the dressing room scene between Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford, the manicure scene and the kitchen scene between the maid and the cook.
:D

Maybe we should do Equus.

Who's Brad?

You know..Doc.

I was going to suggest a concert opera, but a musical is probably more logical.

Do we know any 17 year olds?

So, i've been thinking of changing my screen name.



Can I have Gemini Cricket now that it's available??

no

Fine.


I'll just register as Gemini Cricket over at micechat. :evil:

Now, THAT would be funny.

I think the Lysistrata would be fun. After many shots of tequila and fuzzy water, of course.

Bring your own Dildo?

I'm simultaneously boggled and intrigued.

Dildos, hell! I'm bringing Gerard Butler. :D

I'm very shy, but I can read out loud if no one looks at me.

I've made a Google spreadsheet and invited all the people who expressed interest whose google contact info I have... please send me yours and I'll add you too!

Or you can view it (but, I think, not edit it) here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...wo0_Yxbg&hl=en

By the way, there are two sheets - one with a list of members, one with a list of potential things to read. Please feel free to add!

I'm pretty sure I'll be in S.B. the weekend of the 18th. Feck. I was hoping this would require more planning/organizing, and would be scheduled for June. Hopefully there will be another; it sounds like a lot of fun. I will look forward to the stories about the read aloud stories, etc.

Might I suggest a dramatic reading of "Prince Caspian" then?

:evil:

I am sooooo mean to my honey. :evil:

("Prince Caspian" is premiering on the cruise a day early. ;) )

I'm in, but I can't reply to the spreadsheet :(

I think we should do selected works of Marcel Marceau movie scripts.

You should be now - Katie too.

Thank you!

I keep reading the thread title and wondering; is this a party for a Dramatic Reading or is it a Reading Party that will have drama.

If you'd pay attention to capitalization, you would be able to ascertain that it is a (lower-case) party that includes (capitalized) Dramatic Reading!

Depends on who goes.

[derail]
Which reminds me of a spam email I got last week. The subject line had no punctuation and said "Large Penis Scar Free". I wondered what the market was for a large penis scar...
[/derail]

Speaking of theatre: here's a trivia question.

Who's the only actor known to have played the same character in different plays by different authors AND different characters having the same name in different plays by the same author?

Kevin Bacon.


(well, we ought to have Bacon somewhere in this thread....)

I followed a hunch to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead... but I think it's a Dead end.

A FEW GOOD MEN!!!!!!!!

Colin Firth

(actually, that's movies)

Oooh, Michael Crawford!

Oh damn, lost that on the second criteria.

Mothers Day weekend is a for sure no for me.
I'll have to check on the other weekend.

now you're talkin!...erm...or not..uh


wait...

crap. I just confused myself
:blush:

Better than: confuse, you just....

You're half right.

The answer, of course, is me.

In high school, I was Claudius in Shakespeare's Hamlet and in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

As a college freshman, I was Man B in Slawomir Mrozek's The Striptease.
As a college junior, I was Man B in Slawomir Mrozek's The Party. Both lead roles, but two entirely different Man Bs.

By the way, I would recommend The Striptease for your consideration, if only because both Man A and Man B wind up in their underwear, and that seems to be a specialty of the company.

Perhaps you should devise an entire quiz where every single answer is you....though now that I posted that, we'd already know the answers.

I doubt NA will want to do a Mel Brooks piece

Alright ... Spamalot then.

just warn me in advance so i can make other plans.

So what play will it be?
I say LSPE picks.
:)

^

:) :) :) :) :)

Late to the theatre, as usual, but I do enjoy a good table read. Something witty by Oscar Wilde, or The Rivals would be fun. I could be Lady Bracknell, or Mrs. Malaprop.

I'm available on Saturdays, not Sundays. Sundays is cheese days.

Which makes Mondays constipation days.

Ooh, Oscar Wilde!

Lady Bracknell, yessssss!

Two votes for me as Lady Bracknell! Huzzah!

Hey, guys... due to schedules and activities, etc, we might have to change from the 18th. Could I maybe get your input on the Indy thread? (So we can keep the schedule discussion in one place?)

ETA: never mind. In the other thread I'd proposed a Memorial Day reading, but it's not actually possible due to a prior event. Which leaves us kind of without a potential date.

I suppose we could do it earlier on Memorial Day weekend... do the cruisers get back Sunday morning or evening? Or we could wait until June. What does everyone's schedule look like in June?

Alternately we could host it the same weekend as our Indy screening - to which all of you are invited, of course. But I don't know how much time you want to spend in Hollywood in the course of one weekend. I'm a little at a loss. Any thoughts?

Yes, my thoughts are Dramatic Reading and Indy don't go together. If your schedule for May is filling up rapidly (and, sheesh, who's isn't?), then let's do it in June.



(Indy has to be in May, d'uh.)

We're open to host on Saturday or Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend - or June after our anniversary/your camping. You all tell us what works for you and we'll try to pick something that accommodates.

I missed a weekend, actually... the weekend of May 31/June 1. Available then, too!

Ooooh, GRAB IT!

Apparently I am in an opera that weekend, but might be able to Skype depending on timing and casting needs.

Typically, cruises arrive in the morning, but by the time you disembark, etc., it is usually mid-day. Even then, I wouldn't propose trying to do something that evening if you want to include the cruisers.

Also, I will be out of town all Memorial Day weekend. If Susan does not go on the cruise (long story), she too will be out of town.

So... the weekend after Memorial, before camp? May 31/June 1? Any takers other than Tom, iSm, maybe-Prudence and myself?

And, cool, Pru - what opera??

My co-hort will be out of town the last weekend of May which means I may be potentially swamped. I've offered to be available but don't have a lot of weekend stuff on my schedule yet. But, I would guess I will be working.

Faust. (click on "upcoming".) I'm just in the chorus - but it's my first time in an opera.

Hey, that's mega cool! I love Faust, a very musical (filled with hit tunes) kind of opera. Good choruses.

I'm available that weekend (I think).


Oh, and I finally got around to voting :blush:

I will be available and in town on the 31st.

!!!

I might be able to swing something. Lemme think about it.

Hey, neat!

Since there's been more of a "yes, available" (with one not-sure) I'll change the spreadsheet. If those of you who are interested want to weigh in about availability for tentatively-5/31... and on the second "sheet," what plays you'd most enjoy reading... that'll help me decide!

I can't even see the spreadsheet, much less alter it. Is there something I need to do?

Give me your google ID and I'll invite you. (That goes for any of you!)

Um, I don't have a google ID. I don't even know what that is.



Invite me anyway! :iSm:

It's an ID on Google.

disneyphile

:)

What a surprise!

I'm full of 'em! ;)

Yes. Yes, you are.
:p

Well, whatever. I don't have an ID on google, and I don't really want one. (Uh, what does it get you?)

That's ok, 'cause I have no desire to participate in picking the material. I wanna cold read, real cold.

So just post when the party is, and I'd like to be there.

ID on google = gmail, gchat, google documents, google checkout and lots of other stuff. It's the end all of all "IDs".

library.vixensgalpal

Ah, we had so much initial interest... and it seems to be waining? We have a sum total of one person who's weighed in on the spreadsheet.

You can always weigh in here. May 31 availability? Currently there's some interest in reading Much Ado and Hamlet. I'd throw the short plays on the shortlist too.

Well, speaking as one who doesn't have access to the spreadsheet and doesn't care ... it's because I don't have a clue regarding what dramatic material we should dramatize.

It seems to me, and maybe to others, that the purpose of the spreadsheet is to choose material, not to indicate desire to attend (that's what this thread is for, n'est pas?)


The suggestion was made above, that LSPoorEeyorick select the material, and I heartily concur. Perhaps most other folks do as well.

Don't put too much credence into my suggestions - I'm actually pretty stupid on these things.

And I thought we had a working date of the 31st.

I concur

We DO have a working date of the 31ist. I figured that the spreadsheet would be good for figuring out how many people we have (and therefore what size of cast we'd need) - and once we'd picked, people could choose roles if they wanted, because I know some people don't want to cold read.

Kevy, I love Shakespeare too (screen name, duh!) but I know it can be a little intimidating the first time if you're not used to it - and I want the inaugural reading to be something that's inviting to the whole crowd.

If I had to pick at this moment, I'd probably pick David Ives' collection of short plays, because they're an ice breaker, and it won't matter if we have many or few readers (because we can double-cast across plays without the confusion of one person playing two characters in conversation.) But I love all of the stuff people suggested, so I'm open. Maybe if I could get a good gauge - do you guys feel like reading something classical or modern?

I don't want to read Shakespeare (though I can in a pinch). But other than that, it can be as classical as you like ... or as modern.


HAHAHAHA, You Pick, Heidi!!!

Don't listen to him, LSPE. You pick.
:D

If it weren't so short on characters, I'd suggest Waiting for Godot.

We can always swap actors as scenes progress, for things like Godot. That might be really fun.

Right now, in fact, I think I'd be tied between swappin'-Godot and the collection of short plays.

I think you're going to have better luck herding us cats if you start a new thread inviting people to the chosen date, getting RSVPs in the thread, and choosing the play yourself (as others have said). Is the date on the LoT calendar, which I never check?

OK. Will do!

I am SO guilty of not checking the calendar!

!!!

My copy of it is twitching on the bookshelf, waiting to be reopened...

We have a calendar?

A reading of The Women might be in order. Oh wait, so many of you know it by heart already...

I actually added several upcoming events (including Camp Swank, which was never added).

The calendar looks weird....Dramatic Reading is listed twice, Indy is listed twice...

Ooh. That would be fun.
I get to be Sylvia Fowler.
:D

Ok, get ready for GC to appeal to the authorities to have my Gay Card revoked ... but I couldn't even make it through The Women, and have yet to watch more than half of it.

It must have been fixed - I only see one entry.

I'm still seeing two of each. [hiccup]






Do they seralcohole here???

'Tis no surprise. Everyone knows your taste in movies suck.


:D :p

I get to be The Countess!

It's showing up once on the actual calendar page, twice on the calendar summary on the front page.

Reason being, they're both scheduled to start Saturday, but end 12:30AM Sunday. I'll fix that.

ETA: Whoa, that's a little weird. There seems to be a bug where the time that is shown on the calendar after an event is created is 1 hour later than the time selected when you create/edit it.

Of course.
:)

But I'm Dan-dee Gelatine!

I dug through the thread until I found the dern spreadsheet, and, unless I create a new ID on Google, it remains inaccessible. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my yahoo e-mail (gn2dlnd@), and I absolutely hate my hotmail acct (spring_river_farm@) because Adam made the address so friggin long, and it makes you log in every. single. time. So, tell me the date, time, place, and, if you'd like, what Heidi's picked (I trust her implicitly.) I'll be there with bells on.

That's odd: I set them to end at 11:30 p.m.

Read the rest of my post.

Oh :blush:

My details aren't in the spreadsheet :(

Just to reiterate: Will most likely be there at this stage, Yes, I will need skype [imagine that! :D ] and am willing to say 'ding', provide someone points their finger at the cam at the appropriate moments and screams "OK Lashbear, say it now" at me. Otherwise, Audience is fine.

Also future considerations I'd like to see listed are:
a) The Murder Room by Jack Sharkey (Murder comedy) - not the dalgleish mystery, but a very funny farce - review here. I was in a production of this myself, back when I was a Thespian.
b) Lettice & Lovage by Peter Schaffer (Funny, poignant, thought provoking)
c) "Is this where we came in?" by Mil Perrin - short 1 act 2-hander. I directed this years ago. Good filler.

Kevy got pwned.
:D

Hey: he added that after I posted :mad:

It was a joke...
:)

Haha, Brad got Pwned.

And I didn't even get dinner beforehand.
:D

"First I tried Foolin' Around,
then I started Screwin' Around, which is Foolin' Around without dinner"

I heard you were a cheap date.

Which is why I like you.

Since when I view as a guest the times are an hour off, I think the server never made it to daylight savings, though our personal settings did just fine