Dear Reader,
How do you know when a script is ready? Granted, the revision process often continues through filming. As the saying goes, the story is told first on the page, rewritten while filming, and rewritten again in the editing bay. But how do you know when a script is as good as you can make it and ready to start working on a budget, talking to talent, and courting potential financiers? The best way to get a story on its feet and test its readiness is a "table read”.
As I am many drafts deep into a feature film, the producers suggested we test drive the material with some talent. My first step: casting talent for each of the characters. Over the last few years of living in LA, I’ve been blessed with many actor friends. Additionally, taking classes at an acting school provides me with first-hand observation of actors’ work. One of the biggest lessons I’ve gained from acting class is this: casting is everything. Is the actor already the part in their essence?
Of course, craft and training matter, but each of us has an ‘essence’ that we can’t hide. If the director casts the role correctly, that’s most of their job done right there. A seasoned director knows that even if you're halfway through shooting the project, if the talent you hired for a role isn’t right, you MUST let the talent go, recast, and reshoot everything. Think I’m joking? Ever heard of “Back to the Future”? Remember Eric Stoltz, the original lead?… Exactly.
So, as I thought over each of the roles, certain actors jumped to mind. I reached out to them, inviting them over for wine and cheese and a table read, and received enthusiastic yeses. That’s the other advantage of working with professional actors: they cherish their craft, and if their schedule allows, they’ll jump at a chance just to spend an evening gathered around a script. That’s a professional who loves their work.
A few parts remained uncast and, as happenstance goes, in the week leading up to the reading, I ran into actor friends who happened to perfectly fit the parts I needed. Once again, they said yes immediately. Sure, LA is full of talent, but you have to understand how rare this is. Each of the actors I asked was perfect for the parts, exactly what I had envisioned, and they all happened to have the same evening free. Sometimes the stars align.
The producers graciously provided for the wine and cheese spread, and with that, talent arrived. Old friends and new acquaintances mingled and chatted over the charcuterie. We gathered around the large table, and as each actor introduced themselves and what role they were playing, you could feel the excitement in the air. That was new to me.
I am intimately familiar with the solitary caccoon of the writer’s process, spending months on end as the sole nurturer of a storyline, with intermittent feedback sessions. I know the (sometimes frantic) energy of set, everyone doing a billion physical tasks to take word and make it flesh. But this… the table read, was somewhere in between.
I realized that quiet spark inside me, that inner child who loves story so much she traveled all the way to LA to string pictures together for a living, was shared by the seven other people at the table. It was like we each held lightning bugs in small jars, and the warm glow from each of us, that quiet excitement for why we were at that table, collected to create a small circle of light.
One actor served as narrator, and though based on his previous work, I knew he could do it, I was frankly floored at the speed and ease with which he read all of my visuals and action lines. He kept the story engaging, matching the mood with his tone and delivery. Once again, that is the benefit of working with trained professionals.
While I was thrilled, and I could feel the excitement in my fellow artists, I sensed something else in the air. As each actor stepped into their roles, reading their lines, I felt them sizing each other up. Why? Because they were all so good! I had specifically asked people who I knew were not only right for the part, but excellent at their craft.
Like a breeze on my skin, I felt it as the actors recognized the level of skill gathered around that table, and how perfect each was for the role. And then I felt it as they quietly reflected on themselves. It is possible I imagined all of this, but I have so often experienced being an artist in a room of colleagues, be it as a visual artist, a writer, or a member of a production team, and I know this moment. When the talent in the group is high, we can’t help but ask ourselves, “Do I belong here?”
After the first few pages, I felt the mood shift as each realized that yes, indeed, they deserved a seat at that table. They relaxed and leaned into their pages with a laser focus. Group reading a story is an unusual experience, as everyone in the room at once ceases to be aware of each other, and at the same time are wholly in sync.
With the actor's permission, I recorded the table read for playback later, both video and audio. I watched actors as they delivered the lines, bringing comedy, drama, sadness, and action to these characters that have been living in my head for the last two and a half years. It was surreal, hearing their voices jump off the page. I had conversations with my leads prior to the table read to discuss who these characters were, their voice, their view on the world, and where they’re at emotionally in each scene. Needless to say, my leads delivered. One character, in particular, is a complicated voice, hard to pin down. Yet the actress playing her gave voice to exactly the nuance I was looking for. Casting is everything.
It took about two and a half hours to read through a 122-page script, and when we were done, they all looked up as if in a dream. Again, there was an energy in the room, restrained, as if each was waiting to see if they could jump into the sandbox again. When it became clear they wanted to talk about the story, with barely contained glee, I hit record again, and what followed was the most fascinating conversation.
Almost exclusively, my feedback comes from other writers, and occasionally producers. But looking around at the table full of actors, I realized: “Of course!” Actors devour stories. They study scripts. They meditate on lines. They dive into characters, finding out all the nooks and crannies of what makes a character tick. These are the artists who look at the story from the first-person POV of motivation, emotion, and arc.
Some of their feedback overlapped with notes I had received from writers and producers, and it’s helpful to know multiple eyes are bumping on the same story issues. But they also had a completely unique angle. Especially after two and a half hours reading the story together, they were invested in the characters, the world, and they had very clear insights on where the story could grow. They picked up on themes I had intentionally woven into the DNA of the story, but hadn’t stated explicitly, and gave thoughts on how to carry those concepts home.
Writing is rewriting, but the table read allowed me to hear the words out loud and be certain that, yes, this is a good story. Even if I hadn’t heard the feedback at the end, I knew it for certain with how utterly absorbed my actors were. They were excited, invested, and cared enough about the narrative that they wanted to improve it not just with their acting abilities, but with their finely honed storytelling senses.
In conclusion, the script is almost ready, and I know what to do next. Yet before the reading was halfway done, while everyone was still deep into the plot, I looked around the table and thought, “I HAVE to do this again.” Do I have any other feature scripts ready for a table read? No, I do not. Guess I’ll have to keep writing.
Adventure Awaits,
Cast left to right: Maleah Woodley, Paul Turbiak, Alan Lowrie, Jamal James, Jonathan Regier, Emily Scraggs, Robert Solomon, Shayla C. Durbois
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