NOTE:
This temporary post pertains specifically to friends and fellows in my neck of the woods who’d like to read in person now and then.

If that’s not you, CLICK HERE
to visit the Home Page

So here’s the thing.

I’ve been reading plays at least once every week with anyone who’s had the time since the end of the last century, face to face in Charlotte until COVID shut us down four years ago and I retreated to Gastonia.

Since then I’ve continued reading from the comfort of my home–via Zoom–and extended invitations to the world at large. Several readers frequently tune in from coast to coast (friends far away and long ago).

Two separate groups now meet online, Monday nights and Wednesday mornings, respectively. New readers are always welcome. If we ever seem too many, there are other days and times, in other rooms.

But online reads can’t begin to compare to the pleasure of sitting in a circle with our phones or laptops, sharing the discovery of a literary world together, in one place, and I find myself wondering how many of my new (and old) found FUMC playmates would care to join me now and then for a couple or three hours of dramatic literature. And when? How frequently? And where? I’m available and willing almost any day or night, whenever any two or three to a dozen people can and want to spend a morning, afternoon, or evening reading and discussing plays for no one but ourselves (no audience).

I’d like the opportunity to pitch the idea to an audience of potential readers, a 3-hour demonstration workshop maybe, that answers questions like “Who picks the plays?” and “Who reads what parts?” and “What happens when time runs out before the end?” More to the point: “How much time is required?” (Come when you can.) “What does it cost?” (Nothing.) If there’s enough consensus, we’ll organize a group.

All the whys and how-tos of cold reading are presented in great detail in this comprehensive (redundant), rambling, work-in-progress weblog. What follows is the nutshell version. If it’s something you’d enjoy and appreciate, scroll down and leave a comment with your email address.

So What Exactly Are Cold Reads

Cold Reads International (CR/I)
is an unincorporated grassroots movement created to encourage people everywhere to read great plays with others.

Out loud (it’s good for the brain).
With no preparation (“cold”).
For no one but ourselves (no audience).

They’re FUN! A play is play.
They’re PUBLIC. Anyone who reads can join.
They’re FREE for anyone with a digital reader.
They’re OPTIONAL. Come only when you want to.

A cold read happens
when some cheeky person (anyone) selects a play, acquires a digital copy, invites kindred spirits, emails scripts to those who respond, who then show up on time to read. It’s that simple. See How It Happens for tips and guidelines.

NOTE. More often than not, allotted time runs out before the final curtain. Plan ahead and schedule a second time to  see how it ends.

The read begins
when the Host announces the title of the play, names the author, introduces the characters, and reads the opening (and subsequent) stage directions.

Then someone  else—
anyone, regardless of gender, age, or type—reads the first line of dialogue and assumes that role; another reads the second and does likewise, and so on, as other characters appear, doubling up for crowd scenes and occasionally swapping roles, so everybody reads the leads.

We don’t perform
(although we don’t discourage histrionics); there is no audience. Some readers are actors; most have never set foot on stage. The game is to discover the play as we speak the lines, like reading a novel.

Anyone can interrupt at any time
to question, clarify, share thoughts, and socialize.  Reading continues when the host (or anyone) picks up the dialogue. If time runs out, we set another time to finish (or see ow it ends on our own).

It’s like a book club,
only we explore a play together and discuss it as we go, not after the fact. After all, a play is dialogue—people talking to each other. Tailor-made for quality time with friends.

It’s a parlor game,
like charades or Pictionary, poker, bridge, Monopoly, storytelling, Truth or Consequences, Dungeons and Dragons—the list goes on.

Facebook Connections

The CR/I Facebook Page is the Facebook Face of CR/I, where anyone, anywhere, can share related thoughts and doings. There is no membership, but anyone who likes and follows (good), posts and comments (better), or hosts a read with friends (best by far) will be invited to join

Cold Reads on Line (CR/O), where members can sign up to read with others, locally in person and world-wide online, and invite friends to their own cold reads events.