Preparing for a dramatic reading is appreciably more demanding than for a straight-forward Reading of the Word in worship. It is more like a scripted play than a monologue. Both a solid familiarity with the text and a sense for communicating its meaning are required. With the dramatic reading, each reader must work their timing and rhythm with the other readers.
Ideally, the purpose of rehearsal is to get the readers to the point where they are comfortable and confident with the material. This will vary with the experience of the individuals involved.
Each reader should become acquainted with the text before the first rehearsal. This involves 1] going through the text to understand its meaning, and 2] considering the ways in which that meaning can best be communicated.
Rehearsal is the time to bring this work together and shape it into a cohesive whole. Effective presentation of the dramatic reading depends mostly on establishing the rhythm and pacing among the readers.
Recommendations
- Provide each reader with a copy of the text. A three-hole punched printout inside a black one-inch spin binder works well.
- Readers are not expected to memorize the text.
- For most readings, at least two rehearsal sessions [of at least an hour each] are a good idea. The first, to give each reader a sense of the whole reading together and how they fit into it; the second, a chance to tightly knit the readers into that whole.
- As in film and theatre, it is always preferable to have a director who is not one of the participants. It is always better to have someone who can view the process from the outside. It also makes for a simpler, smoother running rehearsal.
- The director should make choices as to the positioning of the readers in the worship space. Behind the pulpit may not be the most effective placement, depending on the nature of the text. Bear in mind that the greater the physical distance between the readers, the more difficult it is to maintain the timing [though experienced readers should be able to handle this]. There is also the very practical problem of voice amplification [microphones] depending on the acoustics of your worship space.