Indent each new paragraph just like this one. Your essay should be typed, double-spaced and use 12 point Times New Roman font just like the example you’re reading right now. Number your pages just I have. The production review should between five sides long. Use spell check and good grammar throughout. Your essay needs emailed to the instructor’s email address in either PDF or a Word doc. ONLY.
In the first paragraph briefly outline what you saw, when, and who directed it.
Briefly outline the plot in a couple of sentences. For example, if I wanted to summarize Romeo and Juliet I could say: ‘Set in the Italian city of Verona it tells of a long-running hatred between two families, which results in the tragic death of the two young lovers, Romeo and Juliet.’
The strange thing is that although it’s called a ‘play review’ you should be reviewing a production of a play not the play itself, so don’t fall into the trap of explaining what happens in the story by exploring the plot, themes, or language of the drama. Those things are fixed and never change. Write instead about what the production did with the play. Talk about the acting, lighting, costume, set, music and any other element of the production and explain if they did a good or bad job. Feel free to share your opinion and make bold statements about what you’ve seen. For example, I could that ‘I thought the Romeo actor was terrible,’ BUT because a critical essay is about demonstrating your ability to build a strong argument, YOU NEED TO SUPPORT YOUR STATEMENT with a clear and well-argued explanation. For example, explain how and why the Romeo actor was so terrible and if you have any suggestions about how to fix this problem. For example, ‘I thought the Romeo actor was terrible because the character of Romeo is supposed to be torn apart by love. We didn’t see that in actor’s physicality because the Romeo actor in this production was too relaxed to make his performance believable. An example was in the scene where Romeo is banished and must leave the city forever. The character talks about wanting to commit suicide and he’s furious he’ll never see Juliet again, but the Romeo actor delivered the lines in a such a relaxed way that Romeo didn’t appear to care about his predicament. Also, the actor didn’t speak clearly or loudly enough and I missed much of what he was saying. A simple solution to this would have been to mic the actors or for the director to simply tell the actors to speak louder.’
Talking about specific moments like that will improve your essay and demonstrate that you engaged critically with the production. But don’t just make one point and spend the entire essay talking about it. Aim for ten clear points about the acting and other production elements. Consider how design and lighting helped or hindered the production. Did the costumes and set work well or not? How did all the separate parts of the production fit together? Did some parts work better than others?
When writing your essay tell us what you thought AND always back it up with a strong argument then move on to the next point. Do this again and again throughout your essay and you’ll maximize your grade. You might want to focus on the two or three most successful aspects of the production and then counter this with what you thought were the worst parts.
What is the main theme or idea of the play and did the production put that across well? You should also write about how the play is relevant to audiences today. Is the play relevant to your life? Explain why or why not.
Include some of the key terms from our book such as suspension of disbelief, fourth wall, climactic, episodic, Realism etc. That will also improve your grade.
Finish your essay by summing up your overall response to the production and remember, your essay needs to be 4 sides long. If your page count is slightly short or long (no more than half a page) your grade won’t be affected but 4 sides is your target so that is what you should aim to hand in. If your essay is more than half a page short or long, points will be deducted.
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