The Critic-
A play does not end its life onstage- in many ways this is just the beginning. It's final resting place is in the minds and memories of the audience.
The formalization of post-play thinking and conversation, whether in a published article or a school assignment, is called dramatic criticism. The book defines this as an "informed, articulate and communicative response to what is seen in the Theatre".
What makes a play successful and gives a production significance and impact? These five perspectives can be helpful in focusing a response to any theatrical event.
1- A Play's Relation to Society: Does the play address public issues, and does it bring the audience in touch with their own thoughts and feelings ON those issues.
2- A Play's Relation to the Individual: Do we see a reflection of our self in the material? Does it confront our own personal hopes, dreams, concerns, etc? Can it lead us to a discovery of ourselves?
3- A Play's Relation to Art: The Theatrical response is a composite of many individual reactions. It is subjective and personal. Yet all good Theatre stimulates this desire to develop aesthetic notions of "what the form should be".
4- A Play's Relation to Theatre: Each production, in some way, should make us reconsider the values and possibilities of Theatre itself. In what ways did the play accept, or reject, traditional Theatrical convention? Did it use the theatrical format to its’ best advantage?
5- A Play as Entertainment: Great theatre is "never less than pleasing". It is the immediacy of the art form that allows us to experience such strong emotions, and ultimately to share a communal experience with the other members of the audience (most of whom will be strangers to us).
A word on student criticism:
"One does not expect of beginning Theatre students a thoroughly comprehensive background in the subject". Yet, as we have discussed in class, everyone has an opinion and that opinion is valid. YOU know what you like, what appeals to you aesthetically and what doesn't. Explore that and articulate it clearly. That is all that can be asked of any critic.
A play does not end its life onstage- in many ways this is just the beginning. It's final resting place is in the minds and memories of the audience.
The formalization of post-play thinking and conversation, whether in a published article or a school assignment, is called dramatic criticism. The book defines this as an "informed, articulate and communicative response to what is seen in the Theatre".
What makes a play successful and gives a production significance and impact? These five perspectives can be helpful in focusing a response to any theatrical event.
1- A Play's Relation to Society: Does the play address public issues, and does it bring the audience in touch with their own thoughts and feelings ON those issues.
2- A Play's Relation to the Individual: Do we see a reflection of our self in the material? Does it confront our own personal hopes, dreams, concerns, etc? Can it lead us to a discovery of ourselves?
3- A Play's Relation to Art: The Theatrical response is a composite of many individual reactions. It is subjective and personal. Yet all good Theatre stimulates this desire to develop aesthetic notions of "what the form should be".
4- A Play's Relation to Theatre: Each production, in some way, should make us reconsider the values and possibilities of Theatre itself. In what ways did the play accept, or reject, traditional Theatrical convention? Did it use the theatrical format to its’ best advantage?
5- A Play as Entertainment: Great theatre is "never less than pleasing". It is the immediacy of the art form that allows us to experience such strong emotions, and ultimately to share a communal experience with the other members of the audience (most of whom will be strangers to us).
A word on student criticism:
"One does not expect of beginning Theatre students a thoroughly comprehensive background in the subject". Yet, as we have discussed in class, everyone has an opinion and that opinion is valid. YOU know what you like, what appeals to you aesthetically and what doesn't. Explore that and articulate it clearly. That is all that can be asked of any critic.
DISCUSSION- Discuss one element in all of your live
theatre viewings from this semester that stood out to you (in either a positive
or negative way!) Example- a really
strong performance, a really bad scenic or lighting design, an unruly crowd,
etc…
17 comments:
One thing that really stood out to me about all the live preformances I have seen thus far would have to be how good they were at changing the scences from one thing to the next! It was just very flowing and I found that awesome. I can only imagine how hard it is to keep the audience attention while trying to change out the props throughout each scene. One more thing that really drew my eye which I think I talked about in a previous post is how well the actors preformed and how into the play they got! It was awesome!
All of the plays that I've seen this semester, the acting was wonderful and the scenes were fitting and put together well. The one thing that really stood out to me was the first ply I saw. It was in a small room and the lights remained on bright in the room throughout the whole performance. I didn't think that was a good effect. Somehow it just wasn't as peaceful and relaxed as the other plays.
All of the plays that I have seen this semester thus far where all well put together. My favorite so far is The Laramie Project. That play was amazing and it really did touch my emotions and I am sure everyone else's in the audience as well. Everyone played their part great and it was almost like i was there in Laramie.
The last play I saw I didn't like all too well but it was greatly performed and the actors really got into the scenes and the play itself. King Lear was just not my type of play. There where somethings that bothered me like the "rain" scene it was hard to understand what people where saying because of how loud the "real rain" was hitting the floor. Also there where a few lighting problems to with the plexus glass reflecting everywhere. But over all a well scripted play with just a few minor stage problems.
One thing that stood out to me in both performances I have seen so far this semester is that in both plays there were situations where there was an issue with hearing the actors. It wasn't necessarily the actor's fault in all the situations, but it did make it difficult to follow the plot.
There were definitely more positives than negatives about the plays I've seen thus far, but one negative that stood out to me was the confusion I had during Zombie Town. When I watched this play, I had a hard time understanding the story line and a hard time understanding what was going on at certain points in the performance. I think the director should have done something to help the audience keep up with the story and be sure that everyone would know exactly what was happening at each point in the performance. It's definitely not a good sign when your audience doesn't comprehend the story line. It defeats the purpose of the performance because once your audience gets confused, they start to get aggravated and lose interest.
One thing that has stood out to me thus far is the meaning behind some of the plays. I found myself being very interested in the storyline. I think if you make connections with a character in the play then that makes a play better. I was able to place myself in the shoes of some the characters and relate to them.
The thing that stands out to me is how the scenery is changed without disruptions. There isn't a lot of noise being made to indicate this is happening. The transition from one scene to another appeared to be smooth. I am always amazed at how the actors can portray their roles with a live audience being so close. I would think at times it could be a little intimidating but the actors never show this.
A couple things stood out to me in the plays that I have seen this semester so far and they were the lighting and the changes in scenery with props. I was amazed at how quick these plays could take you from being outside in cold weather to inside a warm cozy home in a matter of seconds! i also loved the lighting in the plays i viewed. The lighting really helped bring your focus onto certain characters or certain areas of the stage and I felt like this really made the play more enjoyable!
One thing that stood out to me was how fast the back stage crew changed the props and how quietly the actors entered and exited the stage. I was also amazed at how well the actors stayed in character and made the play look flawless,
One o stand out to me was how thing that really seem the acting. This semester made the first for me getting involved in Theatre and seeing live performances. I really enjoyed seeing actors becoming another person and making the performance believable. I hope to continue to see more and be able to watch a diversity of plays.
One element that stood out was the acting in the Two character play. Even though it was the smallest production i saw it was the most well rounded which really made me have a strong appreciation for true passionate actors they can really make or break a whole production in my opinion. If you were to have the best lighting, great lines, an amazing set with an emaculant theater and the best seats and great directors, and technicians with all real props. If the acting is severely lacking it could take away from the performance severely Zombietown which was a bigger production.
One element that stood out was the acting in the Two character play. Even though it was the smallest production i saw it was the most well rounded which really made me have a strong appreciation for true passionate actors they can really make or break a whole production in my opinion. If you were to have the best lighting, great lines, an amazing set with an emaculant theater and the best seats and great directors, and technicians with all real props. If the acting is severely lacking it could take away from the performance severely. The Two character play in my opinion was way more immersing than Zombietown which was clearly a bigger production.
The main thing that I noticed in the plays that I have seen this semester, in which were both musicals by the same company, was the loss of organization and characterization during the songs throughout the play. They seemed to be so "in their heads" trying to remember each note and move that they compleltely disconnected from the audience and from eachother as a cast.
In the plays that I have seen. I have found very interesting is how fast the actors can change their clothing and the set around to make a different scene. It felt like it was 30 seconds from the time the actors went to change to when they went to when they were back on stage again. That was really surprising to me how fast they were with switching. I know that they might layer clothing and such but it really did look like they just had normal clothing on. I thought that all of the plays that I have seen have done a very good job with that.
One element that stood out in my mind from a play I’ve seen this semester was performance. In the play The Girl Project, the presentation was wonderful while getting the strong message across to the audience. At times the scenes could be quite intense while others were light and hysterical. Remembering the entire cast were high school girls, I found myself impressed my their acting abilities.
Lighting and sound are important elements to me for a live production. It gives the audience a better view and feel of the scenes and the characters as well.
The thing that most stood out to me with all of the live performances I have watched would have to be how organized and put together everything and everyone was. The change of scenes and costumes seemed to flow so well and quickly. I can remember being in a pageant once in high school (kind of like a play) and changing clothes and stage props was the most stressful thing. All the actors seemed to fly through this with no problem at all.
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