Elmwood Playhouse's Reading Series

Looking for opportunities to act?

Want to hear a play out loud?

Interested in newer plays?

Sign-Up for one or both of Elmwood’s Reading Series!

Those interested in reading or viewing can sign up by emailing readings@elmwoodplayhouse.com. Everyone and anyone is invited to participate. Both series are FREE.

For more information on Cold Reading or Public Domain Players,
contact our Readings committee via our Contact form

21st Century Plays

Elmwood Playhouse started the Cold Reading Series in 2018, giving actors the opportunity to continue working on their craft and also allowing us all the chance to hear works published after the year 2000.

Over the last year, due to the global pandemic, readings switched from in-person readings at the Tarson Studio to Zoom. Elmwood Playhouse will now revert back to in-person readings while following CDC guidance.

The readings require no rehearsal, no auditioning. Just the desire to get on your feet and play. Casting is at the discretion of the reading coordinator but mostly first-come, first-cast.

**NEXT READING – The Minutes, Saturday, October 14, 2023, 11 AM**

The Minutes, a comedy about small-town politics and real-world power, from the author of August: Osage County, takes a hard look at the inner workings of a city council meeting and the hypocrisy, greed, and ambition that bubble to the surface when a newcomer to the small town of Big Cherry starts to ask the wrong questions. Why is someone on the council mysteriously missing? What happened to all those bicycles? Is there skullduggery afoot with the city’s finances? What’s the deal with the available parking space? What the F is going on with the Lincoln Smackdown? And why are the minutes from the last meeting being kept secret? Part Parks & Recreation, part Twilight Zone. this powerful, resonant, and funny portrayal of democracy in action proves that everything you know can change—it’s just a matter of minutes. After all, the smallest towns keep the biggest secrets.

The reading is FREE and everyone is welcome. Those interested in reading for future events are encouraged to attend. Readers include Nick Nappo, Derek Tarson, Tiffany M. Card, Steve Allen, Michael Edan, Steve Taylor, Paul Russo, Carol Napier, Catherine Banks, Arthur Chill, Aaron Newcome and Rachel Harris.

If you would like more information, contact readings@elmwoodplayhouse.com.

The series is curated by member Tiffany M. Card.

Public Domain Readings

Elmwood’s Public Domain Players conducts readings on a monthly or bi-monthly basis of plays in the public domain for which there is no longer copyright protection (generally meaning that they were written prior to the mid-1920s). The focus is on presenting plays that were probably well-known long ago, but are lesser-known today. Some plays are familiar (Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen and other great playwrights), Some plays have only familiar titles, and some are revivals of plays that are almost completely unknown. Reading these plays is not only fun, but is a reminder of how many classic yet still relevant plays are out there. Casting is at the discretion of the reading coordinator.
There may be a rehearsal or two for difficult material.

NEXT READING: July 29, 2023 – 3:00 PM,
Zoom Reading – Shakepeare’s Hamlet.

This famous play is being shortened by using much (but not all) of the text from the First Quarto of Hamlet, first published in 1603, rather than a combination of the Second Quarto and the First Folio, published in 1623, which is the version that is conventionally used (and is four hours long, if uncut). The First Quarto, as well as shortening the text, also introduces new connections between the characters, such as Gertrude and Hamlet working together against Claudius. So even if you think you know Hamlet, tune in for this version that will help you see the play through a new lens.