Readers

The journey that leads to the Fall Festival begins in December, when the Reading Committee convenes. The Committee’s more than 50 volunteer readers begin with organizational and training meetings and then read scripts (without the authorship being known) throughout the winter and spring. During that time, they meet periodically in discussion groups to debate the merits of the hundreds of plays submitted to ANPF each year.

About the process

You’ll join a group of about seven or eight other readers who will meet several times in person or over Zoom (as pandemic concerns and personal preference allow) to discuss the plays you’re reading.

To start, in December, there will be a large group training and an initial small group meeting where you'll get to know your fellow group members and your group leader.

The group leader hosts the meetings, answers questions, and can help guide the session so it's an engaging and fun discussion about the plays for all.

From January through the end of May, there will be two rounds of reading (with a break in between) where each reader will read and score between 50 and 60 plays, which is an average of 2 to 3 scripts a week. If you have a reading partner, the number of plays read by each person is half of this.

We offer the option to partner you with someone to split a script load in order to enable those with time constraints to take part. You can request this option in the application below, in your response to question six.

By June our readers will arrive at no more than 12 finalists, and our artistic director selects the four winning plays.

Who are the readers

The Reading Committee is the largest volunteer group within ANPF. Readers with a variety of backgrounds join or are recruited from the community at large and beyond. Some of our readers are former or current actors, playwrights, and directors. Others join out of general interest or because of their passion for new plays.

The thread that links us is a deep love of theatre and of discovering new stories.

Please note: Playwrights who submit work to the Festival cannot be a reader during the year their work is being read.

Final thoughts

Becoming a Reader is certainly a commitment – many hours will be spent reading and evaluating plays. But being a reader is also a great deal of fun! In fact, more than 75% of our readers return to the process year after year.

It's more than simply reading. It's bonding with other readers, falling in love with new stories, and seeing the creative process through to the Fall Festival, where four of the plays are presented in a series of compelling readings and we get to meet the playwrights.

If you’d like to join in this exciting venture, click the button below to fill out and submit the Reading Committee Questionnaire. For your responses, we prefer for you to elaborate at length rather than give abbreviated answers. This is our chance to get to know you!

The deadline for submitting reader applications is 10/15/2024

Have any questions? Email us at info@ashlandnewplays.org.