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Reading Plays


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Although "hate" is a pretty strong word, my emotions approach that when I attempt to read a play.

 

I struggle with reading a script to the point where I usually just give up. I don't like trying to track stage directions, expressions on actor's faces, who is speaking while walking in what direction, etc., etc., etc. :roll:

 

For example, in spite of my interest in the New England witch hunts of the late 17th century, I have just abandoned Miller's, The Crucible for the second time. I know the play is an important part of my study on this subject, but I hate reading plays. There, I've said it.

 

I realize I'm isolating myself from a great deal of wonderful literature because of this, but I hate reading plays. There, I've said it again.

 

Does anyone really enjoy reading plays? If so, do you have any suggestions for reading them that I might try?

 

Thanks,

dan :blush:

Edited by purple95
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I do. I love reading Shakespeare, and I really enjoyed reading The Crucible and A Streetcar Named Desire. I hated reading Goethe's Faust though. Just hated it. :roll:

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One thing that I've done that has made play reading more interesting is to gather together a group of friends and read the play out loud together. My friends and I did this once in high school, and it was surprisingly fun. :roll: We assigned roles for the more prominent characters, and then took on the minor characters as they came. And the good thing about plays is that given the nature of the medium, they can all be read aloud in one evening!

 

Otherwise, you might try watching a production before or after reading the play, since that will help with imagining facial expressions and stage directions, etc.

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One thing that I've done that has made play reading more interesting is to gather together a group of friends and read the play out loud together. My friends and I did this once in high school, and it was surprisingly fun. :roll: We assigned roles for the more prominent characters, and then took on the minor characters as they came. And the good thing about plays is that given the nature of the medium, they can all be read aloud in one evening!

 

That sounds like a very fun way of doing it. Great idea!

 

I did a lot of acting in theater clubs when I was younger so read quite a few plays but I'll admit reading it really isnt the same as seeing it acted out and the stage directions can be frustrating.

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landevale,

 

I remember doing this in high school as well. I rather enjoyed it but it would certainly take the RIGHT collection of friends to pull it off now.

 

Mrs. purple95 and her siblings, intellectuals all, would be a good place to start but they all live in the frozen north.

 

As for MY friends, I don't know which of my balding, bespectacled, beer-bellied, buddies I would cast as Abigail. :roll:

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Cheers,

dan :blush:

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I hate reading plays. And plays, of course, aren't written to be read. So it's entirely reasonable to not bother reading them. Plays are written to be acted and played on the stage.

 

If I want to enjoy a play, I'll go and see a performance of it, in the medium for which it was designed. (Or possibly in film, as that carries a great deal of the same features).

 

The Crucible is brilliant, by the way. Well worth having a copy of the text to look at the details after you've seen a performance.

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And plays, of course, aren't written to be read. So it's entirely reasonable to not bother reading them.

 

I'm not so sure about that. For example, there is some debate about whether Shakespeare wrote King Lear to be performed or read, due both to its unusual length, as well as the stage effects it required which were nearly impossible to produce in the theatres of his time.

 

Regardless of Shakespeare's intentions, however, you should not dismiss reading any play because a play is written to be performed. Returning to King Lear, Bradley, the distinguished scholar of Shakespeare, called it Shakespeare's "greatest achievement" but "not his best play" (italics mine), implying that, for him, the reading experience was superior to the performance. And Keats was so moved by reading it that he wrote, "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again" (1818).

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I don't like reading plays that are set out with stage directions etc because I find it difficult to follow. I'm not a very visual person so struggle to imagine people acting the parts (Even though I can with books). I just feel uncomfortable reading plays unless I can read them aloud.

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Blood Brothers (i love singing the songs.).

 

Oh my gosh, I love that play, it's amazing!

 

The only time I've ever tried to read a play was for school and that was in preparation for acting a part so I read it from a different perspective. I wouldn't mind trying to read one but I think I would struggle tbh.

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I must say I find plays pretty unfulfilling as reads. I think they are somewhat one dimensional and require the theatre environment to bring them to life. They require the exaggerations live performances to come to life IMO.

 

I have actually read a few screenplays - of films I've seen. I find it fascinating to see how they come to life from the script...

 

Give me a book anytime though!:roll:

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For example, in spite of my interest in the New England witch hunts of the late 17th century, I have just abandoned Miller's, The Crucible for the second time. I know the play is an important part of my study on this subject, but I hate reading plays. There, I've said it.

 

Why don't you listen to it?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Miller-Audio-Collection/dp/0060501782/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231263616&sr=8-4

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Oh wow, that's a great idea! Sometimes what I like to do is play an audiobook and read the book on paper at the same time. It forces me to keep going that way--very useful for difficult reads. (I used to do that a lot for things written in Middle English!)

 

I think this print/audio combination would work really well with plays. I'll have to try that sometime.

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First, thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

 

Second, I decided to cowboy up, be a man, and read the darn play.

 

I enjoyed the story and subject. As I mentioned, I have an interest in the Salem witch hunt story, so that aspect was enjoyable for me. I already knew the ultimate fate of the Proctors, et al, so Miller's take on the story was the only thing of interest for me.

 

I still dislike reading the stage directions, etc., but found if I deliberately REDUCE my reading speed, I am able to keep track of the speakers a little better. Go figure......

 

I may or may not read many more plays, but at least this was a start.

 

Thanks,

dan :D

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First, thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

 

Second, I decided to cowboy up, be a man, and read the darn play.

 

I enjoyed the story and subject. As I mentioned, I have an interest in the Salem witch hunt story, so that aspect was enjoyable for me. I already knew the ultimate fate of the Proctors, et al, so Miller's take on the story was the only thing of interest for me.

 

I still dislike reading the stage directions, etc., but found if I deliberately REDUCE my reading speed, I am able to keep track of the speakers a little better. Go figure......

 

I may or may not read many more plays, but at least this was a start.

 

Thanks,

dan :D

 

Although of course it isn't really about Salem witch hunts at all.

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Although of course it isn't really about Salem witch hunts at all.

 

 

Eddie,

 

Indeed!!!

 

I didn't mentioned that in the earlier post as to not provide a spoiler for anyone not familiar with the play.

 

Just leave it at that I'm very glad I finally decided to struggle through the read. I would have missed out completely.

 

Thanks,

dan :D

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  • 3 months later...

I enjoy reading plays. I recently read Hedda Gabler by Ibsen. I loved how the whole plot tangled up all the characters. I went to see A Doll's House not so long ago in the theatre as well, so that will be the next play I want to read! :D

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I do. I love reading Shakespeare, and I really enjoyed reading The Crucible and A Streetcar Named Desire. I hated reading Goethe's Faust though. Just hated it. :D

That would be Goethe's fault - tedious man that he is. I reccommend reading Marlowe's original Faust: it's shorter, snappier, and actually includes some pretty good writing.

 

I don't mind reading older plays (such as Marlowe or my beloved Shakespeare) as there's hardly any stage directions to track down, just entrances and exists - I find that it's not much different from reading a novel which has a lot (!!) of dialogue :D.

 

Most modern plays I'm not *that* keen of but again that's a problem of not finding the subject matter engaging, not of the basic unreadability of plays.

 

That said, I loved Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, but then that's unavoidable if you're a Shakespeare fan in any way. Admittedly it made my head spin as I could hardly distinguish between the two, but as that's the whole point I didn't feel so bad about it :).

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  • 2 months later...

My favourite play is Pygmalion (aka. My Fair Lady) by George Bernard Shaw. I studied linguistics so I always wanted to be 'Enry 'Iggins with his 'hear' for 'haccents'!

Having obviously seen the film though, reading that is such a different experience to reading Shakespeare, Marlowe, even Hobson's Choice, as I never saw any of those acted out so the imagery is purely in my head... (compl with all singing, all dancing embellishments... haha, I kid) :lol:

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I've read and enjoyed Shakespeare's Hamlet very much. The only modern play I've read and enjoyed was 'night Mother. Usually I will not pick one up for the heck of it. Someone really has to talk it up like they did with 'night Mother for me to even consider it.

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I could read Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet' & 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' all day long. I can't imagine anyone not loving reading these plays. Reading language like that is different from seeing it & hearing it being performed. It's luxury.

 

& to whoever mentioned 'An Inspector Calls' - I remember studying that play at school & absolutely adored it.

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  • 1 month later...

I like reading plays, but only when I find characters to identify with or when the subject is especially interesting to me. For example, when I read "A Streetcar Named Desire" I absolutely loved it. The characters all had eerily attractive personalities...sort of like you didn't want to like them, but a part of you did.

 

I still dislike reading the stage directions, etc., but found if I deliberately REDUCE my reading speed, I am able to keep track of the speakers a little better. Go figure......

 

I think you are completely right on this point! I am a fairly slow reader, and I think that this helps me to understand the plot better and imagine the script in my mind as if it were on stage...i.e. the rooms all being visible from my perspective, the animated acting, etc. It gets pretty fun!

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