A Quick Guide to Readers Theatre

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A Quick Guide to Readers Theatre
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Goal Turn a piece of fiction (i.e. outside
reading or lit group reading) into drama
Goal Create a script that can be enjoyed and
understood by the audience when it is read. It
will not be acted out only read aloud.
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Highlight or mark the dialogue in your passage
leave the descriptions alone
The parts that are highlighted or marked become
the lines to your play
The parts you left alone become description for
the narrator
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You must create a narrator character. He will
help describe the action and other stuff
important to the story. If your book is a
first-person narrative, the narrator and the main
character can be the same person (dont have to
be).
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Format your script like you did the one-act play
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You can edit, delete, or add to your script to
make it better, make it move faster, or make it
easier to understand.
Feel free to use your imagination, but keep the
basics of the story intact.
Think of it like this when you see a movie
based on a book, there are always changes made
that the screenwriter and director feel are
necessary. You may do the same with your script.

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Check out the plethora of examples from previous
classes everywhere from freshman Reading Class
to Creative Writing classes from the past.
Plethora (noun) plethora pléth?r? Large or
excessive amount or number A very large amount of
something or number of things, especially an
excessive amount
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Have fun be creative leave an impression on
the audience.
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And in case youre wondering about the process
you should follow

• Highlight your script
• Write a rough draft (by hand or word-processed)
• Edit for time and content
• Write an effective introduction
• Write a final draft (must be word-processed)

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Oooops. I forgot to put the bird on the last
slide, so heres two to make up for it