How to Write a Review And how NOT to!

MLA FORMAT Typed Double Spaced 1” margins Name, Teacher, Course and Date at LEFT MARGIN Title CENTERED, NOT UNDERLINED, NOT BOLDED, NOT BIGGER 12-point font THROUGHOUT essay Page #’s at top RIGHT, preceded by your last name (Smith 2)

Looks like this…

MORE RULES Use 3rd person (no “I”) Use PRESENT TENSE throughout, both for plot recap and description of the show Attach your ticket and a program (This is REQUIRED to prove it took place during the semester it was assigned)

Organize your thoughts, and craft your paragraphs carefully. SUPPORT YOUR OPINION! DON’T BE VAGUE USE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OR DETAILS TO HELP READER “SEE” YOUR POINT. and Don’t just list info! Organize your thoughts, and craft your paragraphs carefully.

5 paragraph format Introduction Evaluate script Evaluate performers Evaluate technical & production elements of performance Conclusion (include audience response)

Introduction For the performance you saw, identify: Title of the show Playwright (or Author) and Composer Theater group or school that performed Location and Date of performance Director BRIEF explanation of what show is about Thesis Statement about quality of show

Script Summarize PLOT Introduce main CHARACTERS and their traits Identify SETTING (where and when the story takes place) EVALUATE script and effectiveness of writing Consider… Plot Character development Dialogue Ending Overall clarity VAGUE BETTER BEST

Performance Consider the performance of the cast as a whole Discuss 2 to 4 performers specifically, at least one should be a main character Use actor names and character names Use specific examples or details to support your claims VAGUE BETTER BEST

Technical/ Production Elements What did you see (or hear)? AND What was the effect? Discuss 3 or more of these… Lighting Sound (taped music, sound effects, orchestra, amplification) Costumes and Make-Up Set Design and Scenery Props Special Effects Use technicians’ names and use specific examples or details for support VAGUE BETTER BEST

CONCLUSION General Impression, Overall Opinion Audience Response Why reader should see show…or not!

Acting Skills Voice Physicality Characterization Stage Presence Connection (“Chemistry”) Memorization Commitment Believability

It was really entertaining, and yes, I did like the actual script. SCRIPT, VAGUE It was really entertaining, and yes, I did like the actual script.

SCRIPT, BETTER The script itself is filled with vivid details and strong mental images, which allows the reader/audience member/actor to understand it better and relate it to their own life experiences.

SCRIPT, BEST The play is a imaginative plot about a writer who tells his side of the story from the beginning of the relationship and works his way forward while his wife tells it from the divorce and works her way to the start. Performance

ACTING, VAGUE They performed very well together. Their duet in the wedding scene was also very well performed.

ACTING, BETTER Each of the two did a great job with their gestures and body movement. They really showed a change in their relationship towards each other during their wedding and marriage. Especially articulate was Dante Belletti, who played the part of John Proctor. He also had impressive control of his emotions that contributed to exciting builds and bold character choices.

ACTING, BEST Schnepel tremendously conveyed the loss of Blanche’s sanity with her detached tone of voice, dream-like hand gestures, and frighteningly placid facial expressions. The ensemble managed to show the fear spreading through Salem as a contagious disease, and each character infected another. In a harrowing and perfectly timed scene the true power of fear is made known; the children repeat every line of their victim, Mary Warren (Kirsti Slockbower), the person they are pretending has them under a spell. Technical/ Production Elements 

SET, VAGUE The special effects were wonderful and made the experience so much more amazing and fun and very memorable! 

SET, BETTER The set only added even more to the volume of the show. When you first enter the theater, it is a simple setting, with a set of bleachers on each side, and a tall backdrop covered in different items, lights, and a ladder leading to a suspended chair.

SET, BEST The scene on the docks was very beautiful, how the grass was growing up the columns, and the dock was placed on wheels so was very efficient for moving on and off stage quickly. Notably memorable was the number “One Short Day” as Glinda and Elphaba roam through the Emerald City with awe-inspiring neon green lights embedded throughout the entire set as well as on the outside walls of the stage.  

I loved the lighting and the sound system they worked together nicely. LIGHTING, VAGUE I loved the lighting and the sound system they worked together nicely. 

LIGHTING, BETTER The lighting was absolutely breathtaking as it symbolically represented the mood from sad to happy. The lights on the backdrop created a mood of intensity and insanity when they brightly flashed and exploded in color in musical numbers.

LIGHTING, BEST The lights, [on the other hand], were excellent. As the mood of the songs changed, the lights captured the emotions and seemed to convey the words in a prominent color, such as when Jamie sings “Shiksa Goddess”, the lights turn yellow to match with the salsa-like tune. The lighting of the play seemed to want to be symbolic but did not always succeed. The reds of passion and blood were well used, but others were merely distracting.

SOUND, VAGUE The sound was also really good, it went really good with all of scenes. SOUND, BETTER The sound effects, though fitting to the play, at times upstaged the actors, and lines were lost to the sound of horses hooves or offstage dialogue.

COSTUMES, VAGUE The costumes and makeup were really good too, they went really good with the play. COSTUMES, BETTER I loved the costumes that the actors were wearing; they fit perfectly with the theme.  COSTUMES, BEST The costumes were simplistic- German school and headmaster uniforms distinguished who the characters were and they never changed from them. CONCLUSION