Now that you have discussed the importance of seeing plays and writing critiques, the next order of business is to talk about theatre etiquette.  We are living in a time of cell phones and short attention spans, neither of which make good audience members. Watching a play requires the audience to listen and react, not talk, text, and/or eat. 

In the early 70's I decided, along with the administration, to have all of Sentinel’s students attend one play a year.  Not only did it introduce them to the wonderful world of theatre, but it taught them that behavior in a theatre was much different than that in a football stadium, a basketball court, or a pep assembly. Incidentally, it also helped finance the drama department.  See Chapter 2 Four ways to help defray cost of production on page 22 in The Drama Teacher’s Survival Guide.

Before the first play of the year I would discuss Being a Good Audience and give each student a handout based on the information that they were to keep in their notebooks.   

My Future Blogs

I have just been cast in the musical A Christmas Carol so my old bones will be trodding (or maybe I should say barely treading) the boards once again. I will try to get a blog out in November but don’t know how much time this new adventure in community theatre will take.  

Being a Good Audience

Power is a fascinating thing.  Attending a play gives you a great deal of power -- the power, as an audience, to help make a success or a failure of each production.  That is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

Every production represents a great deal of time, at least some money, and countless hours of hard work by actors, directors, and the crews. That effort deserves a respectful audience. (If the first show was one I produced I would go into great detail about this information.) Not every audience member sees a performance in the same way.  Some of us are fond of musical theatre, some like comedy, some drama.  Many prefer contemporary plays, others like the classical.  No matter what type of theatre is your favorite, each deserves your courteous and full attention.  If you're unfamiliar with a show you're going to see, ask about it. (Again, when I gave out the dates for specific productions, which they recorded in “Plays Around Missoula,” I would take time to discuss each one. Even if I felt the show was inappropriate for the students, I would talk about it with the caveat that they had to have their parent’s permission to see it.)  I also made clear that they did not have to like the production, but that the production deserved to have a respectful audience.  Their likes and dislikes could be covered in their critiques.  

 There are several things to keep in mind about the rules in a theatre:

- keep feet off the seats of the auditorium

- no eating, drinking, texting or smoking in the auditorium

- turn off your watch alarms, beepers, cell phones, etc.

- no photographs during performances

If you must leave the theatre during a show, leave during a blackout or a scene change, and leave quietly.  Talking in the audience or any other disruptive behavior is unforgivable.  Show your excitement with applause and respond to the actors, rather than discuss the show while it's in progress with your friends.  Please remember the time to discuss and evaluate the performance is after it's over. (On several occasions our student audiences were very unruly, once with a laser pointer and others with loud disruptions.  I did not tolerate that so I stopped the show, went on stage and told them to return to their respective classes, “The show was over!” It was a hard lesson for those who were a good audience member, but believe me, I got my message across.)  

Applause is the audience's way of giving back some of the energy that actors have given them, and it's important to let performers know when their good work is appreciated.  But applause can be overdone.  Not every funny line should be interrupted with a thunderous outburst of clapping.  Inappropriate applause can hinder a performance (especially a good one) as much as it can help it.

Standing ovations, the ultimate compliment of the show, should be reserved for the very best.  If you stand up for every show, how will you express your pleasure and respect when you see a piece of theatre that is really powerful and moving? A little restraint is in order here.

Looking for a funny Christmas play for your youth group? How about a script collection for use with the lighting of your Advent wreath candles? We’ve got some great options for you, as well as a book of Christmas scripts for all ages and all stages!

To aid you in your decision-making, Christian Plays and Musicals categorizes all our plays by type. From there, you may read individual play descriptions. Accessing a play’s production notes and cast list is just a click away. If you need further information to help you decide, you may purchase preview copies for $2.95 each. Happy Christmas play shopping!

This year we have an even larger array of children’s scripts than usual – so many approaches and ideas! Now is the time to shop online from the convenience of home and look for the right match of a Christmas script for your congregation’s littlest ones. Here are some new offerings and some of our most popular children’s plays, pageants, and musicals for the holiday season:

Critiques

In my last blog I mentioned that writing critiques was a part of my curriculum for drama classes. I felt it was very important that as we were talking, reading, and doing theatre my students needed to view plays as well. I always stipulated that if they did not have the money to attend I would be very happy to provide them with a ticket.  Not doing this part of their assignment because they didn’t have money was not an option.

It also became apparent that I needed to give credit to my students who were working crews and/or acting in productions, so I developed the backstage and acting critiques.  We also were a very diverse community, with children’s shows and dance concerts, which were certainly valid theatre experiences as the subjects for a critique. As my drama classes could be used for English credit, it was equally important that the critiques be well written.  Below is the format I required on all critiques.

Critique Format

- The critique is due the first Monday after the last performance, at the beginning of the period. If the last performance is on Sunday, the critique is due first thing on Tuesday.

- Must have rough draft stapled to the back, which shows evidence of changes from the final draft — I am not interested in a rough draft that is a carbon copy of the final draft!   Also include the ticket stub stapled to the front of the final draft. If a ticket is not issued, explain why in the first paragraph. Insert stapled critique into the program.

- Remember this is a five-paragraph theme, so check spelling, run-on sentences, punctuation, and capitalization. Do not label each paragraph.  Write or print legibly in ink, skipping every other line, on one side of your paper only. If using a computer, double-space, indenting paragraphs five spaces. As this is a personal opinion paper, do not use “I,” “ I Feel,” or “I Think” — Do Not Use I, OK? Or words such as: a lot, good, or great to describe the performance — they are too general. I want specifics. 

You must consider that the reader has not seen the production. Consequently, you need to write this paper so the reader can visualize what you saw.

ACTING CRITIQUE FORM

First Paragraph: Who is your character and what does he/she do in the play?  What motivates him/her to do what they do in the play?

Second Paragraph: What did you as an actor/actress do to create your role? Why did you make those choices and what influenced you to make them?

Third Paragraph: What were your best and worst performances and why?

Fourth Paragraph: Discuss how everyone made the performance successful.

Fifth Paragraph: What did you learn from this performance?

BASIC CRITIQUE FORM

First Paragraph: Write a two-sentence summary of the play. If there is a sub-plot, write a two-sentence summary of it. Start your sentence: The (Title of Play) is about ...

Second paragraph: State the theme of the play. This is the author's purpose and/or message. Relate this theme to the characters and action of the play.  Don't just say, "Crime doesn't pay."  Tell me how in this production it didn't pay. Site specific things that will prove your point.

Third paragraph: This paragraph discusses two areas of technical theatre. Pick one: the set, costumes, or lights and pick one: program, tickets, or poster.  Tell how each related to the play. Remember the points in the Technical Theatre Packet.  Use details from the play to support your discussion.

Fourth paragraph: Take one lead character and analyze how the actor/actress made you believe in that character. What personality traits, voice, and action did he/she use?  Did you believe him/her or not? Why or why not? Give details. This is NOT an analysis of the character, but the actor's portrayal of the character.

Fifth paragraph: Give your opinion or feeling of the play.  Explain, using examples from the play.  Be specific!

CHILDREN'S THEATRE CRITIQUE

First Paragraph: Write a two-sentence summary of the play. If there is a sub-plot, write a two-sentence summary of it.

Second Paragraph: What was the moral of the play? Be sure to relate it to the characters and action of the play. Be specific

Third & Fourth Paragraphs: The ingredients for children's theatre are as follows:  music, dance, action, color, and interesting but not too scary characters. Pick two of them, one for each paragraph, explaining why each is important and if this production made both work. Again, give details.

Fifth Paragraph: Pick one of the characters you liked most and why. What did the actor/actress do to create their role? What choices did they make to create this believable character?  

 CREW CRITIQUE

First Paragraph: Discuss your job and the hours involved with this technical activity.

Second Paragraph: Discuss your process of developing your crew work: how this changed or stayed the same, what you had to do to get the job done, etc.

Third Paragraph: Discuss how your involvement with the show enhanced the production.

Fourth Paragraph: Discuss how everyone in the production (acting, too) made the production successful.

Fifth Paragraph: What one thing have you learned from this production that will enhance your next production? 

DANCE CRITIQUE

First Paragraph: Pick one of the dance numbers. Could the audience relate the title of the dance to the actual performance?  Example: If the name of a particular dance number is "Angry Sea," could you, as a member of the audience, actually tell that the dancers were portraying an angry sea?

Second Paragraph: Select several other dances. What effect did costuming have on the different dances?  Were the dances and costumes related?

Third Paragraph: Select several more dances. What part did music and lighting play in the various dance numbers?  How effective were they?

Fourth Paragraph: Choreography is defined as "the art of composing dances," while directing is "putting the important pieces of a play (people, words, action, etc.) together in front of an audience."  What aspects of theatre must the choreographer of a dance and the director of a play be aware of and have in common?

Fifth Paragraph: Sets and props are an important part of theatre. What roles do they play on a dance stage?  Are they necessary?  Why or why not?