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)

USE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OR DETAILS

TO HELP READER “SEE” YOUR POINT.

SUPPORT YOUR OPINION!

DON’T BE VAGUE

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 technicians’ names and

use specificuse specific examplesexamples

or details for supportor details for supportVAGUE 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

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.  

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