The Read-Around Group meets on the first Wednesday of every month.  All members are welcome at any time. If you’d prefer to listen rather than read, you’re more than welcome to attend the meeting.

We get together each month to read short stories, one-act plays, and non-fiction from different cultures, taking turns and enjoying hearing one another’s voices.

Our host for the ongoing activity is Ruth Giordano. Ruth’s background is in theatre arts and her experience with reading scripts aloud includes the concept of “lifting the words off the page.” Ruth was our host for the Dickens Read-Around, our Holiday event for 2020.  Click on the video below to get an idea of how a read-around works:

Reading out loud live was once a common pastime in 19th century parlors and sitting rooms. Parents of small children and professionals such as newscasters, teachers and ministers read out loud as part of their work. The rest of us might hardly give it a thought.

“We’ll breathe life into the text,” Ruth says. She has no intention to act as a director – as if we were preparing a presentation. Instead, Ruth will prepare the script and guide us. She will introduce the reading and make comments at the end of each session, giving us tips on “enunciation, honoring punctuation, adjusting volume, engaging the listeners, and more.” We’ll also have time to discuss what we’ve read and reflect on our experience.

The overall goal of the new interest group is to read one-act plays, short stories, and non-fiction—all while having fun and enjoying each other’s company!

Please join us on the first Wednesday of each month at 1 pm– either as a listener or as a reader. The Zoom link for ALL Read-Around sessions is bit.ly/AAUWBennRead,