readers theatre 17 and radio theatre

Readers Theatre and Radio Theatre17

LESSON 1 ◆ Readers Theatre331

LESSON 2 ◆ Radio Theatre 338

◆ adapting◆ audience focus◆ characterized◆ double-cast◆ focus◆ narrative bridge

◆ offstage focus◆ onstage focus◆ phrasing◆ radio theatre◆ readers theatre

■ CHAPTER 17: Readers Theatre and Radio Theatre ■ 329

his chapter explores two styles of theatre—readers theatre and radiotheatre. Participating in readers theatre and radio theatre combinesthe skills, techniques, and talents of all those who are willing to spendtime and energy to share the beauty of an author’s written word orally.

If you are a team player and believe in the power of imagination, thetime and energy you invest in these two arts will greatly benefit youacademically and personally. First of all, these two styles of theatre arechallenging and exciting to present. You and your classmates will havefun learning how to select, prepare, rehearse, and produce readerstheatre and radio theatre material to an audience.

Second, your listening, communication, and cooperative learningskills will all improve. As in other forms of theatre, you are an impor-tant member of a team. You must be understood, pronounce wordscorrectly, listen to others, use your voice effectively, have a positive atti-tude, and cooperate with the director and cast members.

Both of these theatre styles focus on an author’s written word. Thematerial you select for the scripts may be found in various forms—poems, plays, prose, cuttings from novels, and others. Participation inreaders theatre and radio theatre will give you many opportunities tostudy, analyze, and appreciate literature.

You will have the opportunity to utilize the skills you developed inprevious chapters (voice, personal resources, interpreting literature,and so on). The work you have done and the knowledge you havegained will all become intertwined as you actively participate in read-ers theater and radio theatre.

In both readers theatre and radio theatre, there is a special connec-tion between you, the performer, and the audience. This is where thepower of imagination plays a key role. It will be your responsibility as aperformer to help your audience visualize settings, characters, and ac-tions. Both the performer and the audience will exercise their imagi-nations to the fullest.

Readers theatre and radio theatre present special challenges in pro-duction. Both styles of theatre will provide the opportunity for yourgroup to explore people, objects, places, and situations together withyour classmates cooperatively. The skills you learn from these two artsand your experiences with them transfer to your other classes, athome, and in improving your life skills, giving you more poise, self-confidence, and an understanding of others and their ideas.

330 ■ Unit 4: Special Topics in Theatre ■

T

Ilike reading. It turns onpictures in your head.

Bil Keane

Readers TheatreLESSON OBJECTIVES

◆ Recognize and define readers theatre.◆ Select suitable materials for a readers theatre

script.◆ Develop a readers theatre script.◆ Rehearse and stage a readers theatre

presentation.

What Is Readers Theatre?

, a style of theatre in which two or more interpretersappear to be reading from a script, is not new although it has gained inpopularity in recent times. Throughout the years, similar styles of the-atre have been known by such titles as chamber theatre, platform the-atre, staged reading, interpreters theatre, and choral reading. Readerstheatre seems to be the most suitable title, since the participants inter-pret the literary selection by reading rather than acting out.

Today’s popular style of readers theatre has its origin in primitive rit-ual chants. These chants may be considered the first oral group perfor-mances. Other early examples of group reading, or readers theatre,were the chanting chorus from the Greek theatre and the recitation ofHomer’s poetry. Homer, the earliest known European poet, had hisstudents read his poems aloud as they memorized them in unison.Throughout the history of religion, we find other examples of groupreading. In many religious ceremonies today, we find the “call and re-sponse” as part of the worship service.

In the 1930s and 1940s, choral reading was a common activity inspeech and drama festivals and contests. This event in public speakingis thought to be the forerunner of readers theatre as we know it today.Because readers theatre teaches students to interpret literary selec-tions and read aloud with fluency, it is as popular in today’s classroomsas it is on the stage.

Readers theatre is an exciting way to interpret literature. This the-atrical style combines the oral interpretation of literature with the performance of conventional theatre. One difference noticed imme-diately is that the performers appear to be reading from a script. An-other difference is that the actors do not have to dress in costume oract out the character. In readers theatre, the performers merely sug-gest the characters, settings, props, events, and actions while interpret-ing the selection for the audience.

Readers theatre becomes participatory theatre for the audience asthey actively listen and visualize their interpretation of the selection.

Selecting Material for Readers Theatre

Many commercially prepared scripts are available for readers the-atre, but your group might like to prepare your own material. Selec-

Readers theatre


1Read the following description

of readers theatre scripted inreaders theatre style:“What Is Readers Theatre?”Reader 1: Another way of

interpreting literature isthrough readerstheatre.

Reader 2: Readers theatre?Reader 3: What’s that?Reader 4: Readers theatre

is . . .Reader 5: A form of theatreReader 6: With two—Readers 1, 4: Or moreReader 5: Readers

appearing to bereading from theprinted page.

Reader 6: Readers theatre is interpretivetheatre.

Readers 2, 3: Interpretive theatre?

Reader 6: Bringing life towords

Reader 1: Conveying characters fromthe printed pageto the mind’s eyeof the listener.

Readers 2, 3: WOW!Readers 4, 5: Actors using

scripts!Reader 6: Actors painting

with words—Reader 1: Settings,

movements, andprops.

Reader 4: Readers theatre.Reader 5: READERS

THEATRE!Reader 6: A sharing of

literature.All: Participatory

theatre.Readers 2, 3: READERS

THEATRE!!!All: Readers theatre.

tions for readers theatre can come from almost any printed material.Plays, poetry, novels, and short stories are ideal sources. However,readers theatre material can also come from letters, diaries, journals,and even your history book.

Look for selections that will “turn on” the audience’s imagination,actively involving the listeners in the presentation. A selection shouldmove the audience to respond in some way. Another aspect to consid-er is characterization. Choose selections with interesting, easily identi-fiable characters. Conflict and action are also important. A selectionwith numerous conflicts offers more action for the actors and is moreinteresting to the audience.

Consider the language of the selection. You will want to choose a lit-erary selection filled with imagery. Listen to the words of the selection.Do you like the way they sound? Do they paint pictures in your mind?Do you smile or laugh at some of the phrases and become sad whenyou hear others? Do some of the thoughts linger in your mind afteryou have finished reading the selection? If you can answer yes to thosequestions, then your selection will pass the language test.

If you plan to perform published material outside of your class-room, you will need to secure permission from the publishing compa-ny. It is against the law to copy or perform material without the


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These students have developed aunique and pleasing arrangementfor their particular readers theatrepresentation. Be creative andexperiment with your group’spresentation.

a style of theatre in which twoor more interpreters appear tobe reading from a script.

readers theatre

permission of the copyright holder, usually the writer or publisher.Copyright is a writer’s protection against someone stealing or copyinghis or her original material. Some companies require a fee to performtheir materials. This fee is called a royalty. It is against the law to avoidpayment of a royalty. Your teacher will advise you of your school’s pro-cedure for paying a royalty.

Adapting the Material

Novels or short stories will have to be shortened to meet the time re-quirement for your assignment or presentation. Changing or cutting aselection is called the material. Read the material severaltimes before you decide on the parts or scenes to cut, or leave out. De-scriptions of characters, actions, and settings can be provided by oneor more narrators. This narration is often referred to as a

. Narrative bridges help the audience clarify the scene changesand connect the parts. (You will find additional information on cut-ting in Chapter 15.)

Your literary selection will need to be divided into parts for each read-er. Don’t worry about having more characters than participants. Readerscan easily play more than one character by changing vocal inflectionand shifting posture. A poetry selection should be , whichmeans divided into characters. Assign lines to individual characters, anduse narrators when needed.

Creating the Script

After adapting your selection, divide the reader parts and preparethe script. (For example, see the Warm Up at the beginning of this les-son.) The left margin of the script should be at least 11⁄2 inches wide toallow room for binding and stage directions. Reader names or num-bers are placed on the inside of this margin. The other margins shouldbe about 1 inch wide. Typed scripts are easier to read than handwrit-ten ones. It’s also easier to read your manuscript if you have double-spaced the lines.

Here are some other helpful suggestions from students who haveparticipated in readers theatre:

1. Always number your pages.2. Use at least 12-point (pica) type so you can see it clearly.3. Avoid dividing a reader’s part from one page to the next.4. Type all stage directions in italics and place in parentheses.5. Make additional changes to stage directions in pencil. You might

have to change them again.6. Use a stiff manuscript cover or binder for your script. Black is the

traditional color for a readers theatre script cover.7. Underline or highlight your part. Only highlight the words that

will be spoken, so that you don’t read the stage directions aloudwhen you are nervous.

8. Each member of your group should use a different color to high-light his or her script in case the scripts get mixed up.

characterized

bridgenarrative

adapting


changing or cutting a literarypiece.

description of characters,actions, and settings providedby one or more narrators.

divided into characters forreaders theatre.

characterized

narrative bridge

adapting

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Using a computer is a good way tocreate a script, since changes areeasy to make.

9. To show scene changes in your script, center several symbols (* * * * ) where the change occurs.

10. Put your name on the inside of your script.

The final step in preparation is to write an introduction for the pre-sentation. An introduction always includes the title and author or play-wright. Background information or special vocabulary could also beincluded. The introduction is important in setting the stage for thereaders theatre presentation.

Rehearsing

Each performer should read the script several times before re-hearsals begin. During the first few rehearsals, readers should spendtime reading the script aloud, in parts or in round-robin style. Boththe text and the characters should be analyzed. These first rehearsalsoffer readers time to understand the material and prepare the script,making any necessary changes in dialogue or characterization. Oncethe parts are assigned, each reader should highlight or underline hisor her speaking lines.

Early rehearsals are also the time to mark the script for emphasisand phrasing. In each line or group of words, there will be some wordsyou will want to stress. Adverbs and verbs are usually more importantthan nouns and adjectives. Putting emphasis on these words helpsmake the meaning clearer for your audience. Your teacher may have aspecial way to mark scripts, or you may use the same marks you used inoral interpretation. Most readers mark or underline the words theywant to stress, using different colors to indicate the amount of stress.Thus, a word marked with two lines in red would be emphasized differ-ently from a word marked with one squiggly green line.


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In addition to becoming familiarwith a script during rehearsals, youlearn where to mark the script foremphasis and phrasing.

Phrasing is extremely important in readers theatre. meansgrouping words to create a specific meaning. Notice two different waysto phrase the following dialogue:

“Oh no! I forgot my lunch.” (phrased as if the person is upset at hav-ing forgotten his or her lunch)

“Oh! No, I forgot my lunch.” (phrased as if the person forgot his orher lunch but isn’t too concerned)

Which phrasing is correct? Well, it all depends on the meaning youare trying to get across to your audience. Phrasing should be plannedearly in rehearsal. Work with your director and group members to de-termine the best way to phrase all the lines.

Most readers mark their scripts with a “signpost” to signal a pause orbreak in reading. Use one post (/), or mark, for a short pause; twoposts (//) for a longer pause or complete stop. Your acting companyor group might create your own signals. Just be sure to remember whatthey mean.

Once you have a clear understanding of the script, the remainingrehearsals should be used for blocking and staging, developing charac-ters, and polishing the performance.

Staging

Readers theatre is simple to stage. Since the traditional stage, props,costumes, and sets are not required, readers theatre is an ideal style oftheatre for classroom presentation.

Performers should be grouped in a visually pleasing manner usingchairs, stools, ladders, step units, or cubes. Steps, ramps, and platformsadd levels and variety. Using different levels allows all cast members tobe visible to the audience. Try experimenting: Use rows, angles, evensemicircles to find the ideal grouping for a particular selection. Emptyspace can be used to show relationships between characters or be-tween the characters and the narrator.

Some time should be spent rehearsing the entrance if the group isto walk onstage or into the performance space. How your group entersdepends on the performance space as well as on the blocking. Oftenin readers theatre, the actors walk in, holding their scripts in their up-stage hands. The first or last person to enter, often the narrator, gives asilent signal, such as a slight nod, and all the readers raise their scriptsto reading level. Script folders or binders are supported by one handfrom underneath, freeing one hand for gesturing. When the free handis not in use, it rests on top of the script.

A character enters a scene by stepping forward to speak or by stand-ing. A scene exit is accomplished by stepping back or sitting down.Other exit methods are turning the back, lowering the head, and“freezing” in place. If available, spotlights can also be used to beginand end a scene or to highlight individual entrances and exits.

Focus in readers theatre is one way of achieving action and believ-ability. refers to where the actors look or to whom they addresstheir lines when speaking. Three basic types of focus are used in read-ers theatre. In , the characters focus on each other, as intraditional theatre. In , the characters focus on the au-dience. In , the characters do not look at each other butoffstage focus

audience focusonstage focus

Focus

Phrasing


grouping words to create aspecific meaning.

phrasing

in readers theatre, the place orpeople that the actors look atwhen they speak their lines.

a type of focus in readerstheatre in which the charactersfocus on each other, as intraditional theatre.

a type of focus in readerstheatre in which the charactersfocus on the audience.

a type of focus in readerstheatre in which the characterslook above the heads of theaudience, into an imaginarymirror, focusing on thereflected image of the personto whom they are speaking.

offstage focus

audience focus

onstage focus

focus


Bertolt Brecht, a German playwright, director, andwriter, had a major impact on contemporary the-

atre. His innovative plays, his outstanding theatrecompany, and his writings about theatre have all in-fluenced the way theatre is produced today.

His main goal was to make the audience thinkabout social issues and then act to change the socialand political ills dramatized in his plays. To do this,Brecht devised techniques to emotionally distancethe audience from the characters in the play. Brechtdidn’t want the audience to personally identify andbecome emotionally in-volved with the charac-ters, as most playwrightsdid. Instead, Brechtwanted to create a the-atrical world that madethe audience focus onthe social and politicalforces in the characters’lives, rather than thecharacters themselves.

To accomplish hisgoals, Brecht developedwhat he calledalienation. He believedin entertaining his audi-ence, but he also want-ed to keep the audiencemembers thinkingabout what they werewatching. To do so, he“alienated” the audi-ence from the events theywere watching by makingevents, actions, and char-acters seem “strange,” un-like what is experienced in daily life. Thisstrangeness, he believed, would create sufficientemotional distance between the audience and theplay so that the audience could watch objectivelyand critically.

Brecht’s plays constantly reminded the audience(unlike realistic theatre) that they were in a theatre,

not in reality, and that they were watching a reflec-tion of life, not life itself. One of his techniques wasto insert songs between each dramatic episode sothat the audience would be emotionally pulled awayfrom the action of the previous scene. This gavethem time to think about the dramatic event theyhad just witnessed. Conflict was seldom resolved sim-ply at the end of his plays. Instead, the ending usual-ly suggested that the audience members must findthe end, the solution, in their real lives after leavingthe theatre. All of these techniques worked toward

achieving Brecht’s goalof having the audiencemembers realize thatthey, as citizens, neededto work for socialchange.

Brecht never tried tohide the mechanics ofthe stage, such as light-ing instruments orscene shifting. Nothingwas masked or hiddenfrom the eye of the au-dience the way it was inproductions created byrealists. Musicians werenot hidden in an or-chestra pit, but wereplaced on stage besidethe action. Scenery wasfragmentary, using oneor two pieces of furni-

ture to represent a wholeroom. These choiceswere all made in an ef-fort to keep the audience

thinking about the subject matter of his plays.Some of his best-known plays include The Three-

penny Opera (1928), Mother Courage and Her Children(1938), The Good Woman of Setzuan (1940), and TheCaucasian Chalk Circle (1944–45). ■

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956)

The person you see here is not a television commentator, buta character in the play Mother Courage and Her Children.After reading about Brecht, what do you think thischaracter’s purpose in the play might be?

look above the heads of the audience into an imaginary mirror, focus-ing on the reflected image of the person to whom they are speaking.

In traditional readers theatre, the performers most often use audi-ence or offstage focus. In more informal readers theatre, the charac-ters often use onstage focus, while the narrators use offstage oraudience focus. Work with your group, under your director’s guid-ance, to determine the appropriate type of focus for your selection.

When the performance concludes, all readers close their folders atthe same time and exit in a prearranged fashion. Remember to re-hearse your entrances and exits.

The Presentation

If you have used your rehearsal time wisely, you are ready to sharewith an audience. You have worked long and hard. You know your ma-terial. Now it’s time for the fun.

Remember to use all the good presentation techniques you havelearned:

• Use appropriate focus.• Speak out with confidence.• Follow your marked script.• Stand or sit tall to avoid slumping.• Refrain from crossing your legs.• Enjoy the pleasure that comes from a job well done.

1. Selecting Readers Theatre Material.a. Find a short play that can be adapted to readers theatre. Bring it to

class to share.


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b. Bring to class three short poems similar in theme to use in a readerstheatre performance.

c. Find two interesting literary characters. These might be found in anovel you are reading or in a short story that you read for languagearts class. Share these with your class.

2. Adapting Material. Adapt one or more of the following selections forreaders theatre:a. “Four Vain and Ancient Tortoises,” from Something Big Has Been

Here, by Jack Prelutskyb. “Eight Balloons,” from A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silversteinc. “The Camel Dances,” from Fables, by Arnold Lobel

3. Developing Material. Choose one of the following selections to de-velop for a readers theatre presentation:a. “Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great,” by Judy Blumeb. “The Fun They Had,” by Isaac Asimovc. “A Fable,” by Mark Twain

4. Readers Theatre Performance. Share your readers theatre perfor-mance with your class. Then evaluate your performance using the fol-lowing criteria:a. How well did the members of your group cooperate with each other

and the director?b. What evidence is there that the group maintained a good attitude

and took the assignment seriously?c. How effective were the voices in your production?d. What blocking was effective during the performance?e. Who maintained correct eye focus?f. Who handled the script well?g. What characters were well developed?h. What did you like best about the performance?i. What changes would you make in the next performance?

Radio TheatreLESSON OBJECTIVES

◆ Define radio theatre.◆ Select material for radio theatre.◆ Create scripts for radio theatre.◆ Rehearse and stage radio theatre.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, radio theatre was oneof the most inexpensive forms of entertainment in America. Theradio, often known as “the furniture that could talk,” became a friendto millions of people who did not have the money for any other type ofentertainment, including movies. (Remember, there was no televi-

2What impact has radio had

on your life? Write inyour journal the types of radioprograms that you listen to.Discuss with your family theradio programs that they listento, and compare their choiceswith yours.

sion!) Radio programming included many titles you will recognize,such as Superman and I Love Lucy, because many of the successful radioshows were later produced for television.

Many theatre personalities got their start on radio, and many televi-sion shows that your grandparents and parents watched—and that youcan still see in reruns—originated as radio theatre. Back then, radiohad the power to stir one’s imagination. It gave people hours of sus-pense, sorrow, laughter, and adventure. Listeners created vivid imagesto match the sounds that they heard from the radio. This lost art stillhas the magic to unleash your creative powers.

What Is Radio Theatre?

is the performance of a play or story on radio byreaders using a script that is not memorized. Radio theatre calls for lit-tle action. It mainly consists of readers’ voices, sound effects, and oftenmusic. This type of theatre is either broadcast live or taped for later use.

The radio play requires actors who are skilled in oral interpretationbecause the imagination of the listener is the key to radio theatre’s suc-cess. The audience must create images in their minds as they hear thewords interpreted by the radio players. To convey the drama of thestory, the readers must rely entirely on the energy, emotional range,emphasis, flexibility, clarity, and expressiveness of their voices. Oftenthe readers must develop contrast in their voices to create more thanone character as well as sound different from the other readers. This isdefinitely a challenging role for any young theatre student—as well asfor any experienced actor.

Selecting Material for Radio Theatre

You have several choices in selecting a script for a radio play. Yourfirst choice is a published radio play. These plays can be found in yourschool library, your teacher’s personal collection of radio plays, or apublic library.

Your second choice is a published play that you want to adapt(change) into a radio play. If you choose to adapt a play, pick one thatyou think will make thrilling listening for an audience. Also, pick onethat you think will be fun to produce with special sound effects andmusic. (Review the information in Lesson 1 on securing performancerights from a publishing company if you plan to present a publishedplay outside the classroom.)

Your third choice is to write your own radio play. This is perhaps yourbest choice and the most fun for you and your classmates. You will useall the group skills you learned in Chapter 2 and the techniques of play-writing in Chapter 13 to help you develop and write a play for radio.

Preparing the Material

After choosing or writing the script for your radio play, you must se-lect a cast for the play. The cast size depends on the number of charac-

Radio theatre


Faster than a speedingbullet, more powerful than

a locomotive, impervious tobullets.Up in the sky, look! It’s a giantbird! It’s a plane! It’sSuperman!

From the first radiobroadcast in 1940 of TheAdventures of Superman

the performance of a play orstory on radio by readers usinga script that is not memorized.This type of theatre is eitherbroadcast live or taped for later use.

radio theatre


The Federal Theatre Project, the government-runtheatre of the 1930s, was designed to create jobs

for out-of-work theatre artists. Among its most im-portant contributions to theatre was the creation ofAfrican American theatre companies.

One of these companies, the Negro People’s The-atre, was housed in Harlem in the Lafayette Theatre.It was there, in 1935–36, that John Houseman stagedan extremely successful all-black version of Macbethwith the help of actor/director Orson Welles.

The 1960s was a time for major changes in Amer-ican culture. An important cultural change was theappearance of new African American theatre com-panies, one of the most important of which was theBlack Arts Repertoire Theatre, founded in 1964 byLeRoi Jones. This company produced plays with fi-nancial support from the federal Office of Econom-ic Opportunity. By the time its funding ended in1968, there were many other African American com-panies producing plays all around the nation. Al-though these were more numerous than before,they represented a small percentage of the totalnumber of theatre companies in the United States atthe time.

Other important early groups include BlackArts/West in San Francisco, Concept East in Detroit,and the New Lafayette Theatre in New York. Perhapsthe most influential of the African American compa-nies has been the Negro Ensemble Company of NewYork, which was established in 1968 with financialsupport from the Ford Foundation. This theatre notonly employed a permanent company of actors butalso developed a training program for black actors,playwrights, and directors.

By the beginning of the second half of this centu-ry, African American playwrights were beginning tobe recognized for their powerful and well-writtenplays, which addressed the needs and issues of blackAmericans. One of the most important of these earlyblack playwrights was Lorraine Hansberry, whowrote A Raisin in the Sun (1959), a warm, movingplay that deals with the dreams and setbacks of anAfrican American family in Chicago. This award-

winning play was the first play to be presented onBroadway by an African American woman. Other im-portant early black playwrights are Ed Bullins, Dou-glas Turner Ward, and Ossie Davis.

In more recent years, African American drama-tists have continued to make major contributions toAmerican theatre. One of these playwrights is August Wilson, who was born in 1945. Wilson’s firstmajor success, produced in 1984, was Ma Rainey’sBlack Bottom. This play tells the story of vastly talent-ed black musicians who are forced to work for abu-sive whites during the 1920s in Chicago. Another ofWilson’s plays, Fences, which was produced in 1985,was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Wilson’s plays tendto explore African American characters who aresearching for identity, dignity, and fulfillment—issues still valid today. ■

African American Theatre

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun examines a proudAfrican American family and the relationships betweenits members as they deal with issues such as racism andintegration.

ters called for in the script. If you do not have enough readers, you willneed to the actors, requiring each to play more than onecharacter.

You will not need to rehearse this play as often as you would one forthe stage, but you must be careful to follow guidelines for the best pos-sible production. You will need enough scripts for the director andevery member of the cast. You will also need scripts for the crew mem-bers (who will help with sound effects and music), narrators, stagemanager, and any announcers.

Mark your scripts as you would in any oral interpretation presenta-tion. Take great care to mark pronunciations, sound effects, words thatneed special emphasis, places where music is inserted, and placeswhere pauses are needed. Everyone needs to read through the scriptbefore rehearsing the play to become familiar with the program and tocheck the length of the play. Readers should mark their cues to getready during the last line of the actor who reads before them.

Let’s review the vocal techniques discussed in Chapter 5. Volume isimportant because the voice must be loud enough to be heard overthe microphone, but not so loud that it is distorted. Your rate is ex-tremely important in radio theatre. A common mistake that manytheatre arts students make is reading too fast. Remember, the perfor-mance will probably be the first time that the audience is hearing theproduction. People read too fast when they are excited or nervous.Mark your script to help pace yourself and try to focus on reading toone listener. This should help with your “mike fright.”

As you know, flexibility is the ability to change your pitch and createinterest in your voice. You will need flexibility to develop the charac-ters you are portraying in the radio play. Clarity means reading clearlyand pronouncing all the words correctly and distinctly. Expression isessential for all interpreters. To hold the interest of your listeners and

double-castassign an actor to play tworoles.

double-cast


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Ask your grandparents if theyremember listening to the comedyroutines of Jerry Colonna on theradio.

create images for them, your voice must be expressive, filled with feel-ing. By reading with energy, you let the listener know that you are gladto be performing and that you want to do the best job that you can.

Now you are ready to get in front of the microphone. Practice withthe microphones two or three times before the live or taped perfor-mance. The number of microphones depends on the size of the cast.One microphone is needed for the sound effects and music. You canpurchase sound effect records or tapes or be creative and design yourown effects with items that you have at school or at home.

Presenting the Material

After two or three rehearsals of the radio play, you will present theplay for a live or taped broadcast. As you saw in rehearsal, it takes coop-eration from every member of the group to present a radio play. If youare sharing microphones, you need to be ready to move closer to themicrophone when it is your turn. You must watch what’s going on, lis-ten closely, and be on time for every cue. Avoid unnecessary noise,which the microphone will amplify. Any heavy breathing, sneezing, orcoughing will be picked up by the microphone. Have your script inorder and in a notebook—or at least not clipped or stapled. Turn thepages without making any noise.

It would be helpful to be familiar with a few radio signals. An indexfinger pointing to a particular person means “you are on.” An indexfinger that is turning quickly means “speed up.” Both hands pullingaway from each other means “slow down.” A raised hand, palm up,means “talk louder.” The opposite move means “talk softer.” An indexfinger pulled across the neck means “cut” or “stop.” A thumb andindex finger forming an O means “okay.”

Evaluating the Material

The radio play is as much a team effort as a play presented for livetheatre. Perhaps it is even more challenging than live theatre becausethe finished product consists only of what the audience hears. Sincethere is no blocking or movement for the production team to focuson, they should concentrate on selecting the script, casting the play,preparing the play, rehearsing the play, and evaluating the play. Usethe following evaluation questions for assessing your radio play.

Radio Play Critique1. In choosing your play for a radio production, what criteria did you

use? What gives the play literary merit?2. What part did you have in selecting the play?3. Did you have auditions, or were parts assigned? Which process is

better for casting?4. How cooperative was your group in the process of selecting, cast-

ing, preparing, rehearsing, and presenting the radio play?5. What effective vocal techniques were used to develop your charac-

ters? Discuss the volume, rate, flexibility, clarity, expression, andenergy in each voice.


6. How effective was the group in its timing and in picking up allcues?

7. How effective were the sound effects?8. How effective was the music?9. What directions were given to keep the play running smoothly?

10. How were the scripts used?11. How effective were the radio signals from the director?12. What was the length of the production? Was the radio play within

the time limit?13. What did you like about producing the radio play? Why?14. What was the most difficult aspect of the production? Why?15. What would you do differently in the next production?

1. Presenting a Radio Play. With the help of your teacher, select aradio play, or adapt another work, and present it.

2. Radio Survey. After presenting your radio play, prepare a survey sheetfor your listeners. Ask your listeners to answer questions that will benefityour radio production staff in the next presentation.

3. Coping with Life. As a class, write an original radio play dealing withproblems that young people face today. After the preparation and re-hearsal of your radio play, present it over the school’s public-addresssystem. If the school does not have a public-address system, record theplay and share the tape with other classes.

4. Radio Commercials. Listen to ten modern radio commercials. Which of the effective radio theatre techniques you learned were used in thecommercials?

5. Listening Skills. Listen to several radio shows or plays from the 1930s.(Your public library should have a good selection.) Select an outstandingradio actor from each show or play and report on why you found thatperson outstanding.



■ ■ SPOTLIGHT ON TERMS ■ ■

An important part of theatre is understanding theterminology, or vocabulary, used. Add the newterms and definitions to the vocabulary section ofyour theatre notebook or folder.

■ ■ FOCUS ON FACTS ■ ■

1. Why is readers theatre a suitable name for this in-terpretive skill?

2. List three sources for readers theatre scripts.3. Give five helpful suggestions in creating a read-

ers theatre script.4. Discuss the three basic focuses used in readers

theatre.5. Why is the listener’s imagination important in

radio plays?6. What is the focus in a radio play?7. Why are oral interpretation skills necessary for

radio theatre?8. Which type of selection do you think is best for

radio plays? Why?9. Why must cast members be careful around the

microphone during the play?10. Discuss three radio signals your director may

give you during a radio theatre production.

■ ■ REFLECTIONS ■ ■

Discuss the following questions with your class oranswer them on paper as instructed by your teacher.

1. Readers theatre and similar styles of theatre havebeen used for many years. Where have you seenthis type of theatre?

2. What is the advantage of using readers theatreinstead of conventional theatre?

3. Radio programming and radio theatre were pow-erful influences during the golden years of radio,1930–1960. Since people today are fascinatedwith the past, why is this type of theatre not aspopular today?

4. Discuss three changes in today’s technology thatdiminished radio theatre.

5. How has the decline of radio theatre affectedpeople’s imagination skills?

■ ■ THEATRE IN YOUR LIFE ■ ■

1. Compile a class list of favorite poems, short sto-ries, novels, and plays to be considered as read-ers theatre material.

2. Choose excerpts from literary selections of yourchoice.

3. Write your own radio play and produce it for an-other class or to be broadcast over the public-address system at school or by your local radiostation.

■ ■ ENCORE ■ ■

1. Select a novel, short story, play, or poem, and cutand adapt the piece for readers theatre. Workingwith your group or acting company, prepare theselection for a classroom performance.

2. Attend an academic contest that includes read-ers theatre as one of its events.

3. Attend a festival that includes readers theatre asan event.

4. As a class, write and rehearse your own radioplay. (Cooperate in choosing a subject or themefor the play.) Secure permission from the localradio station to broadcast the radio play at thestudio.

CHAPTER 17 REVIEW

readers theatre 17 and radio theatre

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