Get Your Script Performed
Have Scenes from Your Script Read, Performed and Workshopped by Professional Actors and Directors
The Actors Table Read (ATR) Will Take Place over Zoom this year.
Get real and practical insight into how your words are interpreted and performed by actors, the very people who are trained to breath life into them.
Widely used in both feature films and TV in the US, this ‘Table Read’ process will enable you to better see the problems you simply cannot see on the page. This new and unique perspective will help you discover…
- Dialogue that may be unnecessary (helping you cut and tighten your script)
- Character dynamics that don’t work (helping you rewrite to improve and clarify)
- Experience improvisation (you will end up getting credit for their great ideas!)
- Experience the dynamic energy when your script is performed (unmissable and exciting)
- Understand better the reasons for rewrites (so you don’t send angry emails to the producer and regret it later)
This session will offer you the opportunity to take your writing up a notch, turning a good script into a GREAT script.
All Actors and Directors participating in ‘The Actors Table Read’ will be working professionals. A large proportion of successful projects are born out of ‘relationships’, and this experience should also be looked upon as an opportunity to forge strong connections with potential new creative collaborators. One exceptionally lucky delegate had his script workshopped by legendary Director, the late Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, Falling Down, Phone Booth) – the LSF is literally full of the stuff that dreams are made of!
Whether your script is a drama, comedy, horror or thriller, we guarantee that you will learn more about your writing and how to improve your script in this session, than from any amount of reader feedback.
How It Works
You must have purchased a ticket BEFORE submitting. When purchasing, you will be sent a link to submit, if submissions are still open. We wrote a blog about ‘Dos and Don’ts and Managing Expectations’ around the Actors Table Read HERE.
✅ Submit one sequence from your project, no more than 4 pages long. Note: We recommend that you submit a sequence that is character and dialogue led. We also remind you that LESS is MORE. Four pages is the maximum, we recommend you submit fewer pages than four.
✅ The sequence can include several scenes, but should be one narrative thrust or event, and feature the same characters.
✅ The sequence should feature no more than three principle characters aged 16 or over. Note: Incidental characters with minimal lines can be read by the director or the writer on the day.
✅ The script MUST be correctly formatted for film production. Please number scenes.
✅ The file submitted MUST be PDF. If you are a new writer, consider downloading and using the Final Draft demo as this should meet your needs.
✅ The PDF MUST be named with the convention script-title-by-my-name.pdf – for example edward-scissorhands-by-john-august.pdf
✅ A synopsis of your project – no more than approx 200 words (1,000 characters).
✅ Character / conflict history detailing what has happened to lead the characters to ‘this’ sequence / scene. Each character history should be no more than 100 words.
✅ Very short character description.
✅ You must supply your LSF ticket / transaction number as proof of purchase.
✅ You must sign the supplied waiver form that protects our staff, producers, directors and actors.
✅ Entry for ‘The Script Read’ will open Friday 8th January. Once you buy your pass to the festival, you will be sent a link.
✅ Deadline for submissions is Monday 22nd February.
✅ We will inform all selected applicants via email at least one month BEFORE the festival, probably sooner.
✅ Actors and directors will be assigned their projects by the LSF Script Read team.
✅ There will be no contact between actors/directors and the writers ahead of the session.
‘The ATR was probably the thing I was most nervous about during the whole festival – more than pitching – because this is where I would get to see whether my project worked off the page. I needn’t have been nervous. It was amazing to hear my characters’ voices and see them brought to life. It gave me a real sense of what makes the scene successful, and how a director and actors will interpret my work. The director and the actresses were hugely positive and any criticism was strictly constructive. The ATR was like a laboratory test of my script – where I could see what works and what doesn’t. It was a great learning experience, and a massive confidence boost. I would recommend it to any screenwriter’
Rachel Paterson, Screenwriter
Meet The Actors In The Actors Table Read
Stuart Portman // Actor
Stuart is an actor, director, and producer working across stage and screen, currently completing an MA at Guildford School of Acting after a period in TV production and publicity.
Annabel Rumble // Actor
Annabel is an actor, director and writer that works on both stage and screen. She has been acting since the age of 8 and has worked on multiple projects spanning a large range of genres.
Belinda Peters // Actor
Belinda Peters is an experienced actor with credits across television, film, and theatre, including EastEnders and the award-winning The Shadow Within, as well as ongoing voiceover and upcoming Netflix work.
Austin Staton // Actor
Austin is a versatile film and theatre actor, writer-director, and filmmaker known for his immersive performances and visually striking, character-driven storytelling.
Amber Wright // Actor
Amber is a visually driven actor-director blending movement, music, and bold storytelling to reimagine powerful female-led work across stage and screen.
Justin McKenna // Actor
Justin is a London-based actor with a strong track record in fringe theatre in London and Edinburgh and some experience in writing and producing.
Neil Wetherall // Actor
Neil Weatherall is an actor, writer and filmmaker who has performed in theatre in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe, and has appeared in film and television as an extra and special action performer.
Simon Elvin // Screenwriter, Musician and Actor
Simon Elvin is a lifelong performer and storyteller, actor, musician, and screenwriter, who now writes and films full-time after completing a distinction-level Master’s in screenwriting.
Divian Ladwa // Actor
Born and raised in London, Divian Ladwa has worked across Film, TV, theatre and radio.
Daniel Subin // Actor
An American raised in Atlantic City, NJ, and with strong ties to California, Daniel has lived in London for 30 years. An actor, voiceover artist and improviser, Daniel took a slight creative pivot a decade ago after graduating from a career in finance at hedge funds and investment banks.
Lisa Ronaghan // Actor
Trained at Royal Holloway, University of London and The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, Lisa is an internationally working actor whose credits span film, theatre and television, including collaborations with Steve McQueen and appearances in Humans and Emmerdale.
Tigger Blaize // Actor
Tigger Blaize is an actor, originally from Guernsey, trained at Rose Bruford, working in Theatre, TV, Film and Audio.
Hersha Verity // Actor
As an actor I started training and working in 2020, booked leads in several award winning shorts inc a horror and drama.
Lisa Rose // Actor
North London actress, writer and drama coach Lisa Rose is a Brighton Fringe shortlisted performer whose Arts Council–funded play Too Small To Tell has played to packed houses following a career spanning film, theatre and audiobook work with RNIB.
Ore Sanderson // Actor
London-based actor Oré is a BUFF-screened lead and Ealing Film Festival runner-up, recently appearing in VR anti-terrorist training film and producing award-recognised shorts including Alleged and The Long Walk.
Constanza Ruff // Actor
Award-winning bilingual actress Constanza Ruff blends stage, screen and international circus performance into a fiercely physical storytelling style, from Olivier-winning theatre to leading film and voice roles.
Eliza Leonard // Actor
Eliza Leonard is an actress and filmmaker from London. She specialises in horror , thriller and comedy film, both as a writer & performer.
Lin Sagovsky // Actor
Lin Sagovsky is a classically trained actor and voice artist with a Master’s in Playwriting, who combines performance with scripting, coaching and interactive theatre to support businesses and emerging creatives alike.
Julia Vita // Actor
Julia is a multilingual actress, circus performer and theatre-maker with over a decade of experience spanning physical theatre, film and touring shows, known for blending comedy and drama with a distinctive off-beat edge.
Chloe Gilgallon // Actor
Chloe is an Essex-based actress and voiceover artist whose work spans everything from EastEnders to Battlefield 6 — and yes, she’s the literal Voice of God on Wheel of Fortune UK.
Agnieszka Wieclawska // Actor
Agnieszka is a bilingual actor and writer based in London, from Poland. Her training includes Meisner technique and Identity School of Acting; she also attended Mischief Theatre’s Improvisation Course in 2024, continuing her improv journey started at Blanche Improv.
Andrea Bellometti // Actor
My name is Andrea Bellometti. I have worked as an actress from the age of 15 years old.
Natalie Beran // Actor
Natalie is a voiceover artist, actor and international radio announcer/producer with a radio career spanning over fifteen years.
Lavinia Heilig // Actor
Lavinia studied acting at Cours Florent Paris and John Strasberg Studios New York.
Ida May // Actor
Ida May has spent a lifetime immersed in movement, building a dynamic career as both an actress and movement director.
Gigi Burgdorf // Actor
Gigi is a professional actress, born and raised in America and now based in London.
Simon Furness // Actor
I’m a 50-60 year-old SE London-based actor who can box, ride, swim, fence and speak Italian.
Suzie Houlihan // Actor
Suzie is a trained actor and acting coach in the Chubbuck technique.
Mufrida Hayes // Actor
Mufrida has worked for over 25 years as an actor, voice artist and improvisor and enjoys both drama and comedy.
Gareth Turkington // Actor
Gareth is a versatile character actor & voice artist with a proven track record in multi-rolling & developing new work.
