Public Readings are the presentation of a late draft of a play to an audience. Prior to the reading, the playwright, actors, dramaturg and/or director rehearse the script for four to six days. The actors and dramaturg provide input and the playwright makes revisions and creates new drafts of the script based on their feedback. Depending upon the specifications of the script, other artists, such as musicians, may also be part of the process.

The text is presented as a staged reading for an audience - either an invited audience or the general public. An informal discussion with the dramaturg and playwright always follows the reading, and critical feedback is sometimes solicited in a directed question-and-answer period.

This process is generally considered one of the last stages of a script’s development, informing the creation of a final production draft.