Test Driving A Script

Few of us would buy a car without first driving it. Sure, we might like its lines, its horsepower or its price. But we wouldn’t think of signing up for payments without driving it.

No matter how good a script is, if you settle for only looking at it on paper, you won't get an accurate sense of its potential. Even the scripts for top Broadway musicals – such as Oklahoma or The Sound of Music – look pretty flat in print. So before you decide to perform a script, take it for a test drive. Grab a friend or two and read it out loud. Twice. Or even three times.

Your first time through will get you acquainted with the script. It may be slow and halting, but you'll get a sense of what's going on. But don't discard the script before you've had a chance to read through it again.

That would be like rejecting a car after only driving it in the dealership parking lot. It runs but not like it's supposed to.

Take it on the freeway. Get used to the lines. Don't memorize them, but at least give them two chances to get up and running. And while you're reading through the second or third time, ask the following questions.

1. What's the message? Usually this is the primary criteria for evaluating a script. Does the script have a significant message? Would the pastor agree? Does it make people think? Is it too teachy or too abstract? Is it a real-life issue? Does it fit the topic for the day? Would a good transition or introduction make it fit?
2. How many people does this script use? Do I have that many? Could I change any of the genders of the characters to fit my group? In short, do I have the raw talent to perform this?
3. What's the tone? Does it have natural humor? Is it too light or too morbid? Do I enjoy reading this?
4. Does its length work? Could I shorten it before it resolves? Would I have to cut other things out of the service?
5. Does the script require any impossible props, sound or lighting? Could I simplify it? Do I have enough room in the front of the church to stage it?

That should give you enough to make an intelligent decision. You don't have to figure out all the blocking, or where it would fit in a service, or who would play which parts. You don't have to worry about volume or articulation or what the actors should wear. All that can be worked out later.

The entire process should take no more than 15 minutes. But give it the full 15. Don’t stumble through one reading and jump to a conclusion