Playreading
About me
From an early age I loved anything theatrical and spent many years of my life studying drama and dance, performing on stage and singing in choirs. Amateur dramatics was a hobby and I met my husband when we both belonged to a Youth Theatre Group. For many years we both continued to act together and thoroughly enjoyed our hobby until our children came along and we no longer had the time!
Many years later when I was widowed I thought it may be possible to revisit Amateur Dramatics, until I realised that learning lines may be too challenging at my age! I joined Bishops Cleeve u3a as I was told that they were starting a Playreading Group and I found it so enjoyable to read a play with other members and not have to remember lines.
In 2018 the Group Leader retired and I took over leadership of the group, just adding a few ‘tweaks’ of my own but otherwise carrying on in the same tried and trusted way. Covid and lockdown were a challenge, but the group survived the hiatus and is currently thriving.
A Playreading Group offers so much more than simply reading a well chosen play – it gives the opportunity to discuss the plot and characters and possibly discover a play which you knew nothing about beforehand.
I advocate a tea break at ‘half time’ because whether you are learning or teaching a skill in a group setting socialising is an important aspect of any u3a.
I am more than happy to offer help and advice to anyone thinking of setting up and leading a Playreading Group. Please also contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of successfully running and sustaining a group. It can be tremendous fun and a learning process while enjoying yourself!
Vivien
SECOND CHANCE - A one act play in four scenes by Beverley Carpenter (u3a member) Second_Chance_One Act play.pdf ()
We welcome your feedback on the plays - drop me an email.
Some warm up exercises - provided by Sara Gray of Malmesbury & District u3a
Scripts by Brian Freeland - available from www.brianfreeland.co.uk at no cost (but postage would be appreciated).
Plays available for download - a folder of many plays, regularly updated with new material.
Scripts for Stage is a website to access some plays which can be purchased or read online. There are several plays on this site and many are murder mysteries.
NEW * Hardluck times By Margaret Fisher
Drama Association of Wales Collection -
What’s in the DAW collection?
The collection includes several thousand plays, with a focus on sets. "We have been gradually listing and organising the collection and have now added more than 2500 titles to our online catalogue."
Membership and hire charges
An annual membership subscription is payable by individuals and groups who wish to hire play texts from the DAW collection.
Full details of the current membership and hire charges are listed in the Membership scheme for DAW collection document.
Membership Scheme for Drama Association of Wales
Roger Stephens, member of the Islington u3a Play Reading group has kindly donated a large number of recordings to the British Library Sound Archive. The audio is a series of talks and seminars from visiting playwrights he recorded, while he was studying for his MA in Playwriting Studies at Birmingham University in 1991.
Please click here to access Roger Stephens recordings.
In the 'Simple Search’ field enter ‘Roger Stephens’ and press the Enter key or click the Search button.
The recordings will be listed, and the shelf-location of each cassette is displayed by clicking 'Details'.
The British Library Sound Archive will need to be contacted to make a listening appointment. Further details avaliable here.
The Gutenberg Project is an online library of free eBooks which features plays out of copyright to be downloaded, copied and edited for electronic distribution. Some publishers (e.g. Lazy Bee) will sell an electronic script with specific permission to duplicate and group read.
Examples of plays to download from the Gutenberg Project:
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde
The Playboy of the Western World bu JM Synge
School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The Country Wife by William Wycherley
The Inspector-General by Nicolay Gogol
Calling all Barnet Drama & Playreading groups
Any drama or play-reading group in Barnet can register to use their collection. The Barnet collection comprises approximately 1,000 playsets with new titles currently being added . For a fee of £25 per year, drama groups can borrow up to 6 playsets for 6 weeks.
Guide to playreading on Zoom