How Dramatic Readings Helped My Writing Evolve

There is a mountain of writer advice consuming the shelves at any bookstore.  I’ve read my share to glean the best advice to advance my work, but the most meaningful counsel has been to read my work aloud.  Up until two weeks ago the audience for my work was limited to my family and myself. With my work in progress set to wrap up Spring 2019, I knew my circle wasn’t wide enough. I lacked the confidence, the process and the experience to present my writing to groups.

The first week of June I attend an AWP writer’s conference at Indiana University.  Each evening various published authors and professors presented their work at the Bloomington Players Theatre.  The venue was a quaint playhouse in downtown Bloomington that sat about fifty people. The rows of seats pitched to the rafters and the soft stage lighting gave the venue a soft, bohemian vibe. Each dramatic reading sizzled with zest and heat. Mesmerized by the intense performances, the audience listened diligently until the post-performance wine was passed.

On the closing night of the IU conference, attendees were given the option to present a page or poem of their own work. Late in the afternoon, I nabbed one of the last spots. In my hotel room, I prepped. I read to myself, eliminated tongue twisters, shortened sentences, cut out sections and added inflection.  I labored to slow my delivery, to hit the crescendos with aplomb, and to draw out the climax of the piece. As I practiced, I read with the audience in my mind. When the time came to join the microphone on stage, my revision and repetition provided the confidence I craved.

Several weeks ago, I learned that Lamprophonic had selected the first chapter of my memoir for their Emerging Writer’s Series (read about my experience and watch the recording here). Along with five other authors I was invited to read on June 9th as part of AmpLitFest and Summer on the Hudson in NYC. With my audience in the cross hairs, I revised, read, cut, re-wrote then reread to the mirror in a different hotel room. The tools I’d employed at the IU reading had become invaluable and indispensable.

Now, when I sit down to edit a piece the first line of attack is reading aloud.  I slow my delivery, inject inflection, rework and revise until the wording slips easily off my tongue.  Dramatic readings are the number one tool in my writer toolbox this summer. Thanks IU and Lamprophonic for helping my writing evolve by offering me the chance to read at your events.