From Cold Reads to Creative Breakthroughs: Lessons from Directing 10 Actors Table Reads at LondonSWF by Gabriel Oliver

If you want to run better table reads and unlock stronger performances from your actors, it starts with how you direct the room. After leading 10+ actor table reads ahead of LSWF 2026, here are the key lessons every director and screenwriter should know.

Cold Reads First:

Screenwriters might be interested in giving additional context before the session gets going, but a huge part of these table reads is to show the screenwriter you and the actors own interpretations of just the text, so I recommend doing a cold read where the actors go of off their own instincts, and then come in with your own interpretation, do two or three off these cold reads before bringing the screenwriter in, the hour long sessions go slower then you’d think, so the screenwriter will always have the opportunity to give any and all off their thoughts.

Interpret:

As the session goes on, you can end up becoming a sort of co-director with the screenwriter, as the screenwriter suggests differences in tone, delivery, or even wants to provide additional motivation. It’s important for you as the director to make sure that direction is clear, describe the screenwriters’ notes on a more textural level that is easier for actors to understand. Never stand back and let the screenwriter completely take charge, or else the performances can lose their focus without your guidance. That’s the whole reason you’re there after all.

Leave Room for Feedback:

If you feel like you’ve explored everything that can be explored in the session, the last five to ten minutes is a great time for you and the actors to give thoughts or feedback on the script to help the screenwriter know what to improve or change, or just a moment to give them a lot of well deserved compliments. Maybe you liked a specific shift in the conversation or think that if the screenwriter liked a certain performance more than others, how can they change the screenplay to emphasize that performance and to avoid it being misinterpreted. Give the actors plenty of space to give their own feedback as well, as that feedback is just as important and insightful as yours.

Try To Make Room for Fun:

Sometimes you’ll spend the entire session trying to perfect one specific interpretation, and those sessions are great, especially for the more multi-layered, extremely textual scripts that require more context from the screenwriter and harder more dynamic performances from the actors. But sometimes the screenwriter will be happy after the first few performances. The best way to use the remaining time is to experiment, maybe when you read the script you thought of some different ways these dynamics could be explored, or one of your actors wants to try it with a different cadence, or to play with different motivation at the front of their performance. There’re no bad ideas at this stage and it can never be overstated how sometimes experimenting can show a new, brilliant part of the story.

Focus on the Dialogue:

Some scripts will come in with a lot of action, over Zoom, this doesn’t really work. Reading the most important action lines can help, but what this really means is that you need to focus on the performance more, and really bring them as forward as possible, which will be harder, but it’s much better for the script than trying to make your actors mime out the movements.

Be Patient with Zoom:

The table reads being over zoom gets in the way off some things. Overlapping dialogue is basically impossible, softly spoken lines might not be picked up by a microphone, and sometimes someone’s internet will die for a brief moment. Staying adaptable

Be Adaptable:

These Table Reads can be a variety of energies, maybe everyone works in harmony immediately, your natural vibe is what everyone wants to work with and that works great. But it’s important to play it by ear and be adaptable for what everyone needs, some actors may respond better to short, direct notes compared to longer more elaborate ones, some screenwriters may want to do some directing themselves or completely sit back and give you the reins. Some scripts might require you to read the actions, others might not. There may also be technical issues with Zoom you need to work around, like a softly spoken line not being picked up by the microphone, or the fact that overlapping dialogue is almost impossible with Zoom’s delay. In almost every one of these table reads, you will be the driving force, so making sure that you’re a considerate force, paying attention to what works and giving everyone the right amount of space makes for the best environment and the best table reads.

Other than that, remember to have fun! Almost all the table reads I did were an absolute joy, it’s an incredible time working with brilliant actors and passionate screenwriters. I can’t recommend the experience enough from a director’s perspective.