How does watching a play differ from reading a play?

Answer 1

I guess the difference is that with movies you get a more in-depth, realistic, part of the action kind of feel, wheras when you're watching a play, you're just an observer, you can't see a close-up of the actor's tears or hear them whispering to one another. You can see and feel alot more in a film I think.

On the other hand, in a play the actors are aware of the audience and how they are reacting to the play. Stage actors change their performance depending on how the audience is reacting. When you're watching a movie, you're just an observer, but at a play you're a participant. Because of this, and because actors often make small mistakes on stage that must be compensated for, no two performances of the same play, even in the same production, are exactly the same. Each one is unique. Every time you watch a film, it is exactly the same. Plays are much more exciting than films I think.

Answer 2

In a book reading a play would have your imagination doing it. In real life You can actually see it.

The important thing to remember is that plays are meant to be seen and heard. That's the best experience of a play, when you have it live right in front of with the sound of the dialogue, the sight of the action, the use of music and lights, and the energy from the audience. There's no other experience like it, which is why theatre can be so thrilling at times. It's not the same when it's just you and the page.

Answer 3

It is of course better to watch plays, because that is how they are intended to be presented to you. Reading plays is like reading the score of a piece of music--much harder than listening and less satisfying.

However, there are some reasons why you would read a playscript:

1. You intend to put on the play and this is the best way to learn your lines. If the play is a new one, it is the onlyway to learn your lines.

2. You want to know what the play is about, but nobody is performing it nearby, so you read it and imagine what it would look like if performed.

3. You are doing a scholarly study on the script and need to see exactly how it was written down (since performances usually deviate from scripts)

4. You have watched the play but there are parts you didn't get and you want to understand them better. Maybe there were words or dialogue you didn't understand.

5. You are planning to watch the play but you anticipate that you will have trouble understanding it unless you read it first. Sometimes this backfires, and people get more confused by reading than they would by watching.

Answer 4

You must be much more creative when reading a play than you have to be wean watching it. This is because you have to come up with details like physical features on your own.

Answer 5

you have to read the book first like that you cand understand the movie

Answer 6

because you are seeing it happen rather than thinking about it