Cold Reading

Is it freezing in here?  Nope, it's just a little cold! 

The world of cold reads can be a bit scary from time to time, it's not necessarily here by popular demand, but nevertheless, it's here to stay. 

The reader/actor should be able to bring out the intent, mood, characterization of a piece through appropriate articulation and body language ~ 

There needs to be a connection right away, in order to pull in and captivate your listeners. 

It's not easy reading a scene/script out loud, when you've had little or no rehearsal, practice or study in advance....

Cold read classes are necessary for understanding the dynamics of reading something for the first time and making the content come to fruition. 

Personal short story: 

Have you ever been called on to "read out loud" in class growing up?  You would think the teacher did it on purpose, to watch you suffer the embarrassment that you knew you would feel, if they called on you, but you read it anyway, because saying no was not the polite thing to do.  I thought butterflies were going to fly out of my queasy stomach in mid air, when I heard my name being called out to read - I could feel everyone's eyes on me (but little did I know at the time, that my little classmates felt the same way I did).  

At such a young age, I learned quickly what it felt like to have my nerves on edge, with feelings of total discomfort, it just didn't seem fair.  How could my teacher subject us all to such distress?!   Where was my one-on-one training for this process?  Nothing like being thrown in the cold deep water to sink or swim!  Let's just say, I learned how to swim quickly. 

Looking back, I realized that my teacher was only trying to help us all learn how to read, nothing more ... well maybe she had a little giggle here and there while watching a bunch of little 6 & 7 year olds try to pronounce and enunciate each word out loud, but who could blame her, little people are pretty adorable.  

My teacher gave me the skills necessary to read and articulate at a very young age, and for that, I am forever grateful....

Building confidence with one building block at a time, is the key to cold-read-success and freedom!

KeriAnne ~