How much do you need to know the work?

[tgeller]

Would too much advance information possibly lead a narrator to give something away that the reader isn't even supposed to know yet?

A fair concern! That's why Creator/Producer Larry Gelbart didn't tell the cast of M*A*S*H (except Alan Alda) that they were killing off Colonel Blake until just before they acted it, distributing the last page only after everything else had been shot. Hear him tell it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Rh2EkQWhw .

(Oh, yeah, spoiler alert... for a show that aired 43 years ago. )

The counterargument: A performer who knows what's coming up can temper their pacing -- put the high and low points in the right places. I'm glad I read my Monte Cristo part ahead of time, but probably I'll try it the other way eventually.

[tgeller]

I've now done a couple of dramatic readings and thought I'd report back.

I've found that I need to read the text *around* my own lines -- that is, a little before, and the bits between lines if two of mine are fairly close. Doing so has given me insight that's changed the performance.

In The Count of Monte Cristo, for example, my character was saying something publicly that he and his friend knew to be false. I therefore was able to put in certain aspects -- discomfort, bluster, fear -- that could emphasize his duplicity to the reader.

But the whole thing? Nah -- unless I take a bigger part. For a character that runs throughout the work, a full read would be necessary for me. But I think I'll stick with small parts for now.

[mightyfelix]

Thanks for the update! I'm sure it will be helpful to other readers who have the same question.