reading/performance

What captivates a listener? When planning a reading from my novel Isadora & Lucia I thought about my audience. I would be standing in front of them. They would see me, not my words. They would hear my words. Why not offer them something else than my voice reciting my own words? So I pictured myself doing something else. What if I were in a dance class doing improvisation. Some passages from my novel are set in a dance class and one in particular is a description of an improvisation class. I have participated in many such classes as a student. As a teacher I have led these classes for children and adults. I have some idea what makes these experiences work for the participants. Role playing works. So I decided to read from the passage in my novel where the teacher asks the characters who are students in her dance class to role play. To prompt this role-playing the teacher dons suitable attire. That is what I did. I got four hats and I plopped them on my head while reading. The audience found the experience enriching. From my reading/performance they could visualize the characters and what they were doing in the text. I taped my reading and uploaded it to Youtube. You can watch it on my channel.

2 thoughts on “reading/performance”

  1. Terrific reading – love the drama with the hats – esp. the fancy green one! Very clever. I will get the book

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