Readers Theatre by
Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Readers
Theatre is a good first step to train voice talent for the animated film
industry and for clear podcasts in addition to being a way to practice correct
pronunciation, acquire new vocabulary, and sustain voice for long periods of
time.
For
a workshop, a director might want to do the following tasks to prepare for a
performance:
-obtain
performance rights from book publishers for books to read their texts,
especially if you intend to charge admission fees even for non-profit purposes
-the
director should do a first read though to establish correct pronunciation of
words. Actors read along in their copy
of the book to see if they agree with the director’s pronunciation. There might be some debate about correct
pronunciation. The best time to resolve
issues is with the director before a performance.
-the
director will assign each actor a section of text to read, preferably from a
small book
-each
reader has a book to read from and one that the director uses to underline
mispronounced words during the actors’ first read through
-once
the actors receive their second book with mispronounced words, they can use
Google Dictionary’s microphone function to perfect pronunciation. English Language Learners (ELLs) can
especially benefit from this free service of Google’s to work independently.
-Once
actors have mastered English language pronunciation of the words, they can
develop their voices for the different characters and narrator (s) in their
books.
-Readers
Theatre performances have chairs set up before an audience. Actors read their parts without standing up,
but can convey different characters’ personalities with their voices.
You
can also use readers theatre to perform foreign language literature.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
