Will Virtual Play Readings evolve into new art forms that redefine Theatre’s parameters?
Will Readings and other online presentations co-exist with In-person theatre when venues reopen?
The answers are anybody’s guess. In the meantime, these new forms provide a valuable function: Theatre Artists can continue to collaborate, and to share their work with Audiences while theatres are closed. Within these hybrid genres, intimacy can be more easily achieved, isolation can be made vivid, and current issues can be addressed with immediacy. While certain Playwrights, Directors and Actors have little interest Virtual Play Readings, others are eager to embrace the opportunities they provide.
At some point, live theatre will return, and with it, the unique communion that exists between Artists and Audiences. Meanwhile, through Virtual Readings, New Play Development can continue to thrive until Theatre Artists and the Audiences they serve can gather in a shared space once again.