Live Theatre Review
1st and 2nd Term 2008
Mr. Meier

You are required to see and review two (2) live plays throughout the course of this class. Both papers are due in the second term.  One of the papers must be the fall play at MHS.  The other paper needs to be from a play outside of school. 

MHS show – The fall play is Twelfth Night.  Show dates are November 6, 7 & 8.  Curtain is at 7:00 PM each night.

Outside show - Any live production of a play or musical will work (not opera, ballet, improv, stand-up comedy, performance art or music concert). You can go to another high school (Libertyville, Stevenson), see a community theatre production (Kirk Players, P.M.& L), see a college show (CLC, Harper, DePaul) or see a professionally produced local show (Marriott, Goodman, Steppenwolf).  Seeing one of the Broadway touring shows downtown is fine also, but it can be expensive.  If finances are a consideration, see me in private and I will arrange something for you.  A copy of the show program or a ticket stub must accompany the paper when you turn it in.  If you have any doubt about the suitability of the show, check with me before you see it.  This will avoid the problem of you spending money on a show and not being able to use it for your review.

Twelfth Night Due Date – November 17, 2008
Outside Show Due Date - December 15, 2008

Papers are due by 11:59 PM on the due date.  That means you can e-mail your papers, but bear in mind that I will accept no excuses for papers not arriving on time.  If you wait until 11:50 PM to send it to me and the e-mail does not go through, that is the risk you run for waiting until the last minute.  My e-mail address is jmeier@mhs.k12.il.us.
Papers turned in late will be worth half credit. 

Requirements - Each paper should be at least three pages in length, double-spaced, typed, 12-point font.  Papers not typed will be worth half credit.  Each review is worth 25 points and should include the following:

• Tell me about the venue (where you saw the show).  Describe the theatre, its physical characteristics.  How well did the theatre work with the show? Was it a thrust, proscenium or arena?  Why did you select this particular show and this theatre?

• Describe the play.  Was it a comedy, serious drama, musical, etc.  Tell me about the plot.  Include some background of the play and the author (you will have to do a bit of research for this).  Describe the characters in the play.

• Give me your opinion of the show.  How was the acting?  The directing?  What worked and what didn’t work?  What might you have changed to make the show more successful?  Be specific.  “I really liked it, they were good” isn’t going to get you very far.  Was the production successful in getting across the theme of the play?

• Analyze the technical elements of the show.  Describe the sets, lights, costumes and make-up.  Were all cues executed smoothly?  Did the set and lights help set the mood and atmosphere?  Were the color choices consistent with the tone of the production?  Describe and analyze all technical elements, including the house staff.  Did the show start on time?  Was the theatre professionally managed?  Was everything clean and ready for an audience?

If you follow this outline you will do fine on the paper.  This is an opinion piece, so you will not be graded on what you think, only on how well you present your opinions.  Feel free to add anything that you think will help give me a complete picture of the show you saw.  Be sure your compliments and criticisms are specific and grounded in some kind of information that we are covering in class.  While it is not the priority of the paper, I expect these to be well written.  Make sure you use complete sentences and paragraphs with topic sentences.  Watch the grammar and the spelling.  I am an English teacher too, you know! The most important thing is to enjoy the show you are seeing.