Dramatic Reading

Dramatic reading used to be a very popular pastime and form of entertainment. Whenever families or groups of neighbors got together, part of the evening's entertainment was sure to be a Dramatic reading by someone. The Dramatic reading might be a long epic poem. The Dramatic reading might have been a scene from a play. Or the Dramatic reading might have been a passage from a book. Whatever the Dramatic reading was, it was sure to please. The subject of a Dramatic reading was not always the best literature, though sometimes it was.

The subject of the Dramatic reading was up to the reader, mostly. The Dramatic reading might be a favorite piece of Dramatic reading to the reader or it just might have been a very dramatic piece that the reader could really get into. Dramatic readings were part literature, part acting performance. There would usually be no props or costumes and little movement by the reader, but the drama would be there, in the voice or voices. A Dramatic reading was more like a one person radio show, usually.

A practiced and polished Dramatic reading could really fire up the imaginations of the listeners. Because the Dramatic reading was still part literature , the audiences' imagination was stimulated and they filled in the gaps for themselves. This was one of the many great things about Dramatic reading. Dramatic reading required the audience to participate on whatever level they wanted, but Dramatic readings definitely left big spaces for the audience to exercise their imaginations. If you really wanted to enjoy a Dramatic reading, you couldn't be a lazy listener. Sure, you had to work at it a little, but the Dramatic reading could spark your imagination.

If Dramatic reading was good, you would be swept away by it. You could get caught up in the Dramatic reading and just carried along by the story, the voice, the words, the ideas. Dramatic reading were often maudlin, even mawkish, but the more melodramatic, the better. A good tear jerker was always a hit as a Dramatic reading. Dramatic readings about sad-eyed little girls and boys who met tragic ends were always sure to please the audience. Depending upon the group, the Dramatic reading might change. A Dramatic reading of wars, battles, and heroic actions for the men and boys would go over very well with that group. While a sad, romantic Dramatic reading would have the ladies sniffing into their handkerchiefs.

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