Overview

A cold read happens whenever a small group of people gets together to read a play—just for the fun of it. Without rehearsal (“cold”), for no one but themselves (no audience).

Play Reading Groups

The best way to experience a cold read is to join an existing group. Unfortunately, so far, such groups are few and far between. Google “play reading groups” on the off chance there’s one near you, and check out likely local sources (libraries, theaters, bookstores, colleges, newspapers, community centers, et alii). If you come up short, you’re always welcome to sit in on virtual sessions scheduled in the Online Lineup. Otherwise—and in the long run—you’ll start a group of your own.

Cold Reading

Not all play reading groups do cold reads. Readers’ Theatre groups, for instance, pre-cast plays according to type, rehearse a time or three, and present formal readings for the public. Cold reads are by definition unrehearsed: the only time required is the time it takes to read the play. Readers assume characters regardless of gender, color, age, or type, and swap off now and then, so everybody reads. There is never an audience.

Cold reading isn’t acting, although it’s fun to play with words. It’s more like reading a novel, only we read aloud, with others, discovering plot and character and meaning as we read. It’s like a parlor game; or storytelling, line by line, rolling dice or playing cards, moving tokens on a gameboard; like a treasure hunt, a puzzle, with beginning, middle, end.

Ad Lib Commentary

Some Cold Reads groups prefer to read through the play non-stop, restricting commentary to act breaks (intermissions) and aftermath discussion. More liberal reads encourage off the cuff ad libs whenever they come to mind. Some plays take more thought than others.

Cold Reads/Online

If no groups turn up in your area,

Hosting a Read

A group is any gathering of three or four to a dozen people whose purpose is to read a play. A group that gathers frequently may formalize a cold reads club

Step by Step

All it takes to make a cold read happen is for someone—YOU, the Host—to decide on a play, acquire a copy, collar a few friends, and read. The following links elaborate on these simple steps:

1. Choose a Play
   Any well-known play is well worth reading. This step narrows down the options to plays best suited to your group.  If you already know which ones you want to read, skip to step two..
2. Acquire a Script
   Thousands of scripts are available online, including all the classics and most other published plays in the public domain. Modern works are copyright protected, and harder to come by. We can help.
3. Schedule a Read
   Who gets invited to come where and when, and how? Planning a read is akin to planning an informal party.
4. Play by the Rules
   Everybody reads, assuming roles regardless of gender, color, age, or type, swapping off the major roles and doubling up for crowd scenes. Anyone can stop and talk; someone gets us back on track. If time runs out, we meet again or finish on our own.

If you read with your friends, one or more of them may read with other friends, those friends with theirs, until, in time, it’s all the rage, and people everywhere are reading plays. That’s grass at its very roots.

Give it a go, and give us some Feedback. If you have fun, do it again. If it gets to be a habit, we encourage you to Start a Cold Reads group and Join the Movement.

Questions? Thoughts? Comment (below).