What is gained from reading a play?

[cathmom]

As opposed to seeing a movie of it or going to see a live performance? I seem to recall that SWB discussed reading plays in WEM, but it's been years since I read that and I don't have a copy.

 

I want to do A Raisin in the Sun with my dd, and I am trying to decide if we should take the time to read it out loud and then watch a DVD, or just watch the DVD.

 

Thoughts? TIA!

[Love2Smile]

I would read it first, it's an excellent book!

[alpidarkomama]

Have a play-reading party! We've done that many times, and it's a blast. Invite enough people for all the parts, and draw parts out of a hat. If the parts are uneven, toss all the names back in the hat after each act. I think you really get into the characters much more, and it will be 10x more memorable than watching a dvd.

[Faithr]

We read Raisin in the Sun last year. I was going to netflix the movie but I never got around to it. We loved reading it though. I do think some plays are harder to read than others because they depend so much on the acting and stage directions. But Raisin in the Sun reads like a short story.

 

I think one reason to do more than just watch this particular play is that it ties so much into Black history and ideas of freedom and how African American's respond to prejudice. How the whole legacy of slavery affected every aspect of life for them even in 1950s. The play is just so powerful! You don't want to miss anything.

[Pam in MA]

I know with Shakespeare's plays SWB recommends first watching the play, at least once. We've seen a live performance of Hamlet and watched two movie versions and now we're reading it. Same with Julius Caesar. Plays are meant to be seen!