Marshall W. Mason on Directing a Reading of Your Own Play

This is a photo of 2009's cast for the reading of Strange Attractors in Valdez, AK.


Here is a small portion of what I learned in Alaska the first time I went (2007). I have a lot more, and I will post it at intervals throughout the next months. The schedule I set up in my previous note is not going to work yet because I can't seem to locate my handwritten notes (they have to be somewhere in my house or apartment, and I will find them and finish typing them). However, I have other important notes that I did type, and so I will post those first.

Marshall W. Mason is a recipient of six Obie awards. I met him at the conference in Valdez, Alaska, where he gave the following address.

Marshall W. Mason: Directing a reading of your own play

The best way to communicate with an audience ahead of a production is a staged reading. You need to get the maximum effect without the elements of production. The purpose is clarity. What you want is for the reading to come across as clearly as you wrote it. The goal is to let the play speak for itself. This way the audience will be able to receive the play and give you the response of how it affected them.

Playwrights should not direct their own plays. The playwright speaks a different language than the actor. There are occasionally actors who write plays, but is an exception to the rule most of the time. Harold Pinter is one exception. The main reason you wouldn’t direct your own work is that depth is a product of stereoscopic vision. You need two different perspectives in order to see depth. If a playwright directs his production you get less because a second perspective is needed.

If you do have to direct your own play, here is how you can get the audience to hear it: Do not direct the actors. Let them make their own contribution. Others also have their own contributions. Mason gave an example of Sam Shepard arguing with the designer at the O’Neill conference: the designer argued that a designer does not have to obey the stage directions and he was pretty much correct: a designer has his own vision. The designer said that if Shepard wanted to be the only artist, he should have been a novelist. “I didn’t choose to be a playwright; it was a neurotic accident,” said Shepard.

Script Preparation
Decide ahead of time which stage directions don’t need to be read aloud.
The stage directions are for the reader at home. Minimize them. Stage directions interrupt the action. Cut all acting stage directions, for example “he nods” or “she laughs” or “pause.” “They kiss” may be necessary. Trim the remaining directions to as few words as possible (could so this for writing as well). Eliminate all poetic stage directions. Concentrate as much as possible on the dialogue. Usually a play that reads well produces well. Visual plays, however, are harder to read onstage. Imagine reading Samuel Beckett’s Act without Words. Words alone sometimes do not convey everything that needs to be said. Sometimes there is no comparison between what you see and what you hear in a reading. In example, profound violence is more effective seen than read. Fight scenes, et cetera. K2 by Patrick Meyers is an example. Know all of this before the reading so that there are ways to work with it. Include the description of the characters only if the actors reading it are markably different (eg a thin actor reading the role of an obese person or a man reading a woman) or if their appearance is essential to the plot.


Make complete copies of the script. Bind in loose-leaf binders, preferably black. Make sure the pages turn easily. If possible, enlarge the fonts to at least 24 (helps actor not to miss lines, makes them more comfortable). All of this is to help the play be clearer. If possible, pre-mark the stage directions to save time in rehearsal. Highlight the different roles in yellow.


Have the script in the hands of the actors at least 24 hours before the reading. What the actors do comes from their inner psyche, so them getting it sooner will help them have a much richer performance than if they had it last minute. Don’t give it to them much sooner than 24 hours either (we don’t want their full performance either).

Find actors who are as close to the characters as possible in terms of sex, race, body types, etc. Casting against type helps in the outside world, but in readings you want to give the audience a mental image, a visible connection between actor and character. They also need to be able to do the accent if the character has one. They need to be clear, and be able to project clearly. Someone needs to read the stage directions with a strong clear voice and without hesitation. This person has to be someone other than you and other than the actors of the characters. A good reader can help a lot. Another way to exiting actors is to have them turn their backs to the audience when they are offstage.

Spend your time wisely. You’ll need at least an hour more than the time the play takes.

Go over the stage direction cuts with the cast.

Describe the world of the play to the cast. The actors work from imagining the circumstances. They need to know when and where the play takes place. These factors influence their imaginations. Sometimes a genre helps describe it (eg “It’s a farce”). What is not said is just as important as what is said.
Give the cast an idea of what is most important about the tempo of the reading. This is most important thing to tell the cast. 90% of failed readings happen because it’s too slow. They need to be able to pick up their cues and be as quick as possible in responding to each other.

Give the cast a chance to ask specific questions about their characters, relationships, and history. Know all of this—how they met, where they are from, how they feel about each other, what they did in the past, etc. Talley’s Folley came out of an actor’s question of what her dead husband (Matt) in 5th of July was like.

If you give the actors any notes before the reading, be sure they are specific and clear. Try not, above all, to indulge in intellectual analysis about interpretation, motivation, et cetera. Don’t waste your time with abstract elements in the rehearsal.

Staging the reading
There are many effective ways to do this. One is to arrange the chairs at the center of the space to represent the onstage presence of the characters. The actors that are onstage the most together are center stage. Side chairs mean the actors are offstage. Side chairs are perpendicular to the other chairs. Stage everything to that exits go to the side chairs. Maximum number of people when offstage=minimum of chairs offstage. Use this to indicate clearly to the audience what is happening. The center chairs have to have a slight arc to that the actors can address each other. Be sure to arrange the chairs onstage as they were arranged in rehearsal. Make sure there is adequate lighting coming from behind the actors so they can read and that there is adequate front light so the audience can see the actors. Most actors like stools better than chairs. Actors can stand or sit. Let them decide what is comfortable. Make them as happy as possible to be there.

Make sure the temperature of the room is as comfortable as possible. Be aware of the presence of ambient noise, air conditioner, the outside street sounds, et cetera, and point it out to the actors so they can compensate with the noise. Provide a bottle of water for each actor. Put some small tables onstage so they can easily reach the water. This helps them be more comfortable. You count on their voices to deliver the play.

Arrange for the actors to have a backstage gathering place to they can relax and get ready to perform. They can be quiet together here and can focus. Don’t throw in something at the last minute (eg props). Make sure the actors can see over the podiums/music stands. Keep their comfort in mind. Make sure they can use their hands. One thing is the stands hide the length of your play and don’t distract the audience (they sometimes look to see how much is left). Put the reader of the stage directions separated from the actors so it is clear he is not an actor. Put him forward of the action also, a little more downstage.

If music is to be used, record the cues in advance on the CD. Don’t use a tape (this causes rewind/fast-forward problems). Adjust volume beforehand. Make sure the person using the machine knows how to use it and what tracks to use. Do not plan to operate the music yourself. You are listening to the reading.

Introducing the reading Actors come in as a group and take their places onstage. The actor should introduce themselves and the characters they are reading (eg. “My name is Todd and I’m playing Owen Watt.” “My name is Cynthia and I am playing Becky, Watt’s ex-girlfriend.” My name is Christopher Villareal and I am playing Marty, Becky’s boyfriend”).

If there is a talkback session
The playwright sits at back of room to see how audience is responding and so that they can’t see you. Be as quiet as possible and listen as much as possible. You shouldn’t have to say anything. If they ask “what is your play about again?” ask them “well, what did you think it was about?” You are speaking through the play. Have thecast stay (they are supporting you). Have another director take care of the talkback session and manage questions. Do not be defensive! Listen as much as you can. Hear them, despite of being nervous. Forget who is speaking and listen to what they are saying. Take notes is possible. 80% of comments won’t be helpful. However, every comment is a valid comment. People react differently to different things; there are as many reactions are there are people. There are as many experiences as there are people. No one has the same experience. The fault may be theirs. Lots of things can influence an experience—but listen without prejudice to everything said, shake off everything unhelpful. Dawson Moore said “you are the god of your play”—its different with plays than it is with films. The reading is for the playwright’s benefit to see how to improve his play and technique. Don’t blame the actors or anybody else; there’s either something wrong with the play or there’s something wrong with the audience.

Volume is of utmost importance for the reading. Even if nothing else is rehearsed, the volume must be tested. They need to know tempo and volume, the two most important factors guiding us toward clarity.

A Note on Exposition Lanford Wilson likes to bury his exposition. It’s cleverly hidden. Don’t hide it so carefully that the audience can’t understand the play and who people are (the complex relationships, especially—boyfriend/girlfriend instead of brother/sister, etc.). Sometimes you need to modify lines in order to establish relationships. Example: 5th of July by Lanford Wilson.

Questions by the playwright Sometimes you are permitted to ask questions you feel are crucial. Still don’t defend your work, just listen.

Note: A book I have in my collection is Creating Life Onstage: A Director's Approach to Working with Actors by Marshall W. Mason. I recommend it.