Why Read Plays?

Nothing is as pleasurable to the individual than his or her own imagination. When I read a novel I like to imagine the characters and setting in my own mind. When a novel is made into a movie, such as Harry Potter every individual who ever read the story and imagined it will be satisfied. Maybe Harry is more attractive than you thought. Maybe he is too short. Maybe too serious. Someone, somewhere in the world is going to be disappointed by the director’s interpretation. Although I am an amateur play reader, I imagine it is the same way.  You imagine the props, costume, characters, and lighting in a certain way. If you don’t like what you’re reading maybe it’s a bit less bland. The more you like it, the more extravagant and detailed the setting becomes.

I think that this is what Albee was getting at when he brought up the point that a good play could be ruined in performance, and a bad play could be enhanced by performance. A good story can be ruined by the director’s interpretation, whether they cut out important scenes, or it just differs from how the reader imagined it. Any bad story can be enhanced with interesting props, costumes, and special effects. This “beefing up” of the story takes the audience’s mind away from what they are hearing, and more on what they are seeing. A good actor can compel an audience and convey a character without telling a quality story.