Last night I attended my very first ever play reading meeting. It took place at an actress's house. It was a blast and wonderful to do something for my creative side.
At Montclair State University, I took both Beginning and Intermediate Drama Workshops with Paul Caruso for two consecutive years in a row and at the end of each semester he would bring in his acting friends, one of them Deb Maclean, to come read and perform them for an audience. Deb hosted their 24th play reading group meeting at her new house. I reached out to Deb recently via Facebook about connecting and reading a play of mine and the rest was history.
Throughout the night we all sat around Deb's dining room table and the actors read various short plays and my first full-length/one act play. Another guy was supposed to have his original piece read too, but he couldn't make it the last minute, so mine was the main focus of the night.
I had written other plays and scenes before, of course, but this one is different because it just flowed for me and is one of the few pieces I have actually completed, so I feel accomplished for that reason in itself too. I had written it during the winter in three days and have been tweaking it since. I have been a little nervous about telling people about it and showing the script to others and such, but I had always wanted to hear what it sounds like performed and am extremely grateful to finally have had the chance! I really enjoyed the intimate setting.
Thank you to Deb for organizing the event and to the actors and actresses Gary, Valerie, Avery, Paul Caruso (yes, my former professor was also there, which made it cooler!), and Paul for performing it so well and giving me great feedback thereafter. It was amazing how well their performance matched my vision even though they first saw and learned about my script that night! A special thank you to my friends Dave, who acted in it, and Abby, who came to listen, for coming along for support.
When I got home later that night and read through my play AGAIN before bed with the night's critiques in mind, I thought about how I can improve my play. I am eager to do just that.
I absolutely loved the experience! :)
At Montclair State University, I took both Beginning and Intermediate Drama Workshops with Paul Caruso for two consecutive years in a row and at the end of each semester he would bring in his acting friends, one of them Deb Maclean, to come read and perform them for an audience. Deb hosted their 24th play reading group meeting at her new house. I reached out to Deb recently via Facebook about connecting and reading a play of mine and the rest was history.
Throughout the night we all sat around Deb's dining room table and the actors read various short plays and my first full-length/one act play. Another guy was supposed to have his original piece read too, but he couldn't make it the last minute, so mine was the main focus of the night.
I had written other plays and scenes before, of course, but this one is different because it just flowed for me and is one of the few pieces I have actually completed, so I feel accomplished for that reason in itself too. I had written it during the winter in three days and have been tweaking it since. I have been a little nervous about telling people about it and showing the script to others and such, but I had always wanted to hear what it sounds like performed and am extremely grateful to finally have had the chance! I really enjoyed the intimate setting.
Thank you to Deb for organizing the event and to the actors and actresses Gary, Valerie, Avery, Paul Caruso (yes, my former professor was also there, which made it cooler!), and Paul for performing it so well and giving me great feedback thereafter. It was amazing how well their performance matched my vision even though they first saw and learned about my script that night! A special thank you to my friends Dave, who acted in it, and Abby, who came to listen, for coming along for support.
When I got home later that night and read through my play AGAIN before bed with the night's critiques in mind, I thought about how I can improve my play. I am eager to do just that.
I absolutely loved the experience! :)