Reading is essential to the production and the education of theatre. Everybody involved with the play must read the play and learn the meanings of the words in the play. Not only must you read but you have to analyze the play, you have to know the context of the play you are working on. Teaching theatre requires students to read plays and to be able to interpret them. In order to properly study theatre you have to read a vast variety of plays in class.

One type of theatre that has reading in the title is reader’s theatre. It might sound like a stretch but reader’s theatre can be an important part in a student’s education. It can take the students desire to preform and the need they had to practice their oral reading skills. Reader’s Theater, students perform by reading scripts created from grade-level books or stories generally without benefit of costumes and props. The goal is to enhance reading skill and confidence through practice with a purpose. Reader’s Theater gives students a real reason to read aloud. This form of educational theater motivates reluctant readers and provides fluent readers with the opportunity to explore genre and characterization. Use multi-leveled scripts to engage diverse students in improving their comprehension and fluency. This is a wonderful resources for selecting and creating readers theatre scripts.[1] The more confidence a student has reading aloud the more they will read on their own. The end goal is to instill a love of reading into these students through this form of theatre. A love a reading can set the education course for the rest of the student’s life.

[1] “Reader’s Theater.” Administrators inspire a New Generation of Learners.              Benchmark Education, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.