Theatre History Overview - Part 60 - Readers Theatre

Readers Theatre became popular during World War II. It is also known as Chamber Theatre or Interpretive Theatre. The reason that Reader's Theatre became popular during World War II is that there was not enough money in many theatres to produce plays with sets and costumes.

There are four types of Readers Theatre. These are Readers Theatre, Free Readers Theatre, Chamber Theatre, and Contempory Readers Theatre. Each style has its own elements.

Readers Theatre uses only scripts and stools or chairs, although sometimes limited costuming is used. However, often actors (readers) wear all black to strip away character in order for more focus to be placed on vocal interpretation (although costuming can be used to convey a character as well). The scripts do not have to be memorized, but they usually are. The actors are also allowed to have the scripts and follow along with the lines to eliminate any type of performance anxiety. The types of things performed are narrative fiction, non-dramatic literature, plays, and poems.

Free Readers Theatre moves more towards traditional theatre. However, scripts are still allowed to be had on stage. Blocking and costuming also appear. Costuming is probably not much, but may entail more colorful elements such as hats and scarves. Characters are also allowed to interact more with each other such as looking at each other when speaking or moving closer and further apart. The same types of literature as Readers Theatre, except for plays, are performed.

Chamber Theatre performs only narrative fiction. Most of the time, actors have the script memorized, but the narrator might carry a script in order to show authority. It shows the characters' roles and relationships by using blocking and costuming. The costumes may be suggestive with just a few costume pieces or they may be full costumes.

Contempory Readers Theatre is what is mostly practiced today. It mixes elements from the above three type of Readers Theatre. Contemporary Readers Theatre is influenced by performance art techniques, so more theatrical elements are seen in it. However, while Contemporary Readers Theatre has performance in it, the emphasis is still on the text.

All types of Readers Theatre are performed today. While some playwrights write plays to be performed as Readers Theatre, as long as copyright rules are not being broken, any play can be performed in the style of Readers Theatre. Teachers who are teaching children to read use Readers Theater in a variety of ways to help their students learn. More about using Readers Theatre in the classroom can be found at Reading Rockets.

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