"The play's the thing" -Hamlet, William Shakespeare Play reading groups have a long tradition. In Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway," the character Peter Walsh describes reading Shakespeare out loud with some companions. In E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View," the character of Mr. Beebe remarks on the pleasure of reading plays out loud. And in his book, "Caravans," James A. Michener talks about how—in the mid-1940s—foreign embassy personnel in Kabul, Afghanistan gathered in the evenings and read plays out loud as a form of entertainment. More recently, during the COVID lock downs, online play reading group activity soared. Here at WICE we thought this would be a very nice addition to our Literature program, and a recent survey of WICE members indicated that there's a real interest in it. |
Here at WICE we thought this would be a very nice addition to our literature program, and a survey of WICE members indicated that there's a real interest in it. WICE's Living Room Players group currently meets once a month. Once registered, participants are emailed a copy of the play, which they bring (either in paper or electronic form). Parts are assigned randomly, members take on roles and read the play out loud and then discusses it afterwards. The group looks for plays to read with the following qualities:
Among other plays, the group has read the following to date:
Participation in this group is free for WICE Members, although registration is required. Note: There are two reserved spots for new WICE members in each play reading. If you would like more information or if you have questions, please email: play-reading@wice-paris.org Return to Literature |
