I recently had a reading of a play I’m working on, with a wonderful cast. As a playwright, I need to hear a play read many times, through many wildly different drafts. With a novel or an essay, I constantly reread and rewrite, and I value the opinions of my editors. But with a play, especially a comedy, I have no idea if the script is working until I hear it out loud.
Readings are essential and torturous. There’s usually a small audience, and of course I’m desperate for that audience’s laughter and approval. If a line or a scene continues to play well, over more than one reading, I tend to keep it. Everything else is up for grabs. Sometimes I’ll have fixed one character, which then makes me realize which other characters need work. I try to also get some overall sense of the play, to see if the story sags in places or is unclear. Beyond this sort of repair work, I try to determine whether the play works at all, and whether it’s worth pursuing.
I’ve had readings of plays where I knew immediately, after the first five minutes, that the script simply didn’t work and couldn’t be fixed, even with endless rewriting. These situations were both upsetting and an enormous relief.
Jeffrey went through at least a year of readings; the first cast included BD Wong and David Hyde Pierce. Many of these readings included the beyond-brilliant Harriet Harris. Harriet was the only actress in the play, taking on all the female roles. I was desperate to have Harriet continue with the play, so I kept adding more and more characters for her to play, to entice her. Nathan Lane was also in several of these readings and while he didn’t end up doing the play onstage, he’s in the movie version.
I’m always astounded by the generosity of actors. They’re paid little or nothing to participate in readings, and their contribution is invaluable. I also treasure my work with directors, especially Chris Ashley, who’s directed so many of my plays. After a reading, Chris and I will sit down and dissect everything. Then we will almost always keep walking, as we try out every possible new idea. Plays aren’t just written – they’re walked.
