Writing Virgin-ia: Part Three (The Reading)

Having a read-through of your script is one of the most wonderful and terrifying things you can do as a writer. It’s wonderful because you get to hear other people’s perspectives on your piece. You get feedback from people who are hearing it for the first time and haven’t been living with it for months. They can come in and give you a fresh take on things that work and things that may need to change, and if you are lucky, you get people who give you even better ideas than the ones you already had. On the other hand, it can be terrifying. A room full of people is there to analyse your work and tell you if it is any good. It’s the first time you are hearing it outside of your head and you start to hear for yourself things that don’t work.

The read-through for Virgin-ia was exactly that. It really helped me in a time when I felt stuck with the story, but it also made me self-conscious about the way I would act it. I definitely should have read it aloud by myself before doing it for an audience.

The main takeaways from the reading that I implemented were:

- Don’t over-explain everything. Let the audience fill in the blanks.

-Have more moments of silence. You don’t need to rush.

-She may be upset with her family, but wouldn’t she still be respectful or too scared to say what she means flat out?

-Make it more about her and less about attacking the family and church.

-Punch the “Cherry on top” joke.

The reading helped me realise what the final draft should be by cutting off the bits I didn't need and expanding on the things that mattered most to audience members. Also, having people tell you they relate to your show and that it is an important story to tell gives you a boost you didn't know you needed.