Spotlight on: Reader’s Theater

By Jane Hill

According to Laurelle Walsh in the December 26, 2012, issue of the Methow Valley News, Reader's Theater productions became popular following the Second World War when resources were scarce. Building sets, making or finding costumes and props necessary for full productions, can be downsized or ignored for a Reader's Theater production. Add to that the much-shortened rehearsal schedule since actors rehearse and perform with their scripts, and you understand immediately the production appeal of Reader's Theater.

Heightened artistic appeal also adds to the popularity of Reader's Theater: Many patrons of The Merc Playhouse express their appreciation of the simpler, less busy production a Reader's Theater entails, encouraging concentration on language — the power and beauty of words alone and their ability to present scenes for your mind, as well as the meaning of universal ideas, existential concepts.

---

The 2021 production of Twelve Angry Women enabled us to have a much bigger ensemble than would have fit on our stage if everyone were moving around as in a traditional production.

Early Reader's Theater productions followed certain expectations: actors dressed in black and sat in chairs on stage; scripts in black binders rested on music stands. While stage lighting highlighted the actors, technical additions of light changes or of sound effects were not employed. Sometimes in a more complex play, an actor read scene changes or specific actions aloud, allowing the audience to follow these complexities.

Lifespan of a Fact, a 2023 Reader's Theater production at The Merc Playhouse was directed by Methow Valley News editor Don Nelson. The abbreviated production style is often a great fit for directors whose full-time obligations make a full play seem unmanageable.

Reader's Theater also allows us to try a new play before we commit to a full production. Also, since The Merc Playhouse's stage cannot physically accommodate all plays, a Reader's Theater production allows us to present the meaning, the heart of a beloved play through stringent oral rehearsals of the text alone.

​Reader's Theater productions provide an important flexibility of function to the Merc’s planning. Rehearsal time is shorter; more actors step forward to audition, drawn by the appealing time frame and the ease of rehearsing and performing with the script. Merc Board Member Phil Quevillon notes yet another advantage: “I was able to ease into directing plays here at the Merc Playhouse through the Reader's Theater program.”

---

Phill Quevillon directed a Reader's Theater production of The Book of Liz in 2023 on The Merc Playhouse's stage, using more stylistic blocking & costuming than a typical Reader's Theater to help patrons better understand the more physical points of the script.

In recent years at the Merc we have allowed — even encouraged — some additions to our Reader's Theaters. Actors have added movement to enhance the audience’s understanding of place. Occasionally important props are used (a moving cage for The Elephant Man). We’ve also added sound effects where appropriate (train whistle for The Girl on the Train), as well as some subtle lighting effects (underwater for a beach scene in The Half Life of Marie Curie). We hope these subtle additions enhance the enjoyment of our patrons.

---