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From Issue #16, Spring 2007

Editor's Notes

Think about Readers Theatre FOR television rather than Readers Theatre ON television

The difference is significant. Think about this as something other than a simple video recording of a basic Readers Theatre performance. Think about the video media versus the traditional experience of the audience-stage dynamic. This dynamic doesn't exist in video/film media. Instead, video substitutes a substantial and varied set of resources for the creative RT practitioner. Think about the use of lighting, camera angles, locations, music. Think about the potential in the editing process.

Above all, think about ways to create Readers Theatre FOR television without sacrificing the qualities that identify Readers Theatre.

Then What? It's possible that your local commercial TV broadcast station will find an occasion to air your video, but probably not, so ...

Think about sharing your RT video on one of the many free iVideo web sites, or upload it to your own web site (as we have done). Better yet, think about contacting your local Community Access Television station. Interesting and creative programs are in short supply in many communities, so you'll be welcomed with open arms, especially if you've put together a volunteer production 'company' to produce a new video every few weeks.

Let's keep the subject alive. If there's enough interest in Readers Theatre FOR television to justify the work of research and preparation, we'll keep the dialog going here in the RTDigest. But remember that the only way we can measure the interest level is by your e-mails on the subject.

In the meantime, we'll continue the experiment in video streaming by replacing the current video with new ones as they become available. You're invited to get in touch if you have a video of any RT activity.

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In the interest of uniformity and consistency, the Readers Theatre Digest has officially adopted the spelling style of "Readers Theatre" as always capitalized and spelled with a 'tre'. Not everyone will agree with this, but in the absence of a generally accepted standard it is a valid editorial option and we are exercising it.

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A Readers Theatre Conference doesn't appear to be in the books, at least for this year, due to lack of interest. However, we'll continue to maintain the special discussion list in hopes that some viable leadership will emerge from our readership. You can join the discussion list by sending a blank e-mail to ar_tee-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Please include a brief statement of your involvement in RT and your professional affiliations. It is expected that the discussion will focus on the topic of a major RT conference in 2008. The list will be moderated towards that end.

We'll also keep our eyes and ears open on the subject and report on significant progress here and in our every-so-often Readers Theatre Digest Newsletter.

Bob Demers

Editor-Publisher

Contact: editor@readerstheatredigest.com

 

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