• Theatre 1:  Review Sheet for final “super quiz”

     

    Production styles:  You will be shown a series of 15 slides. For each of 12, you will need to identify the production style, and give at least one characteristic of the style that you see in the slide.  The names of the styles will be provided.

    These are the styles and their characteristics:

    a.  Classical:  outdoor theatre, semi-circular audience, circular orchestra, long rectangular stage, built into a hill.

    b.  Italian renaissance:  wing and drop set, proscenium arch, angle wings, perspective drawing, single vanishing point, checkerboard floor.

    c.  Elizabethan (Shakespearean):  thrust stage, three levels of seating, circular theatre building, open to sky in the center, flag pole for indicating performance days, balcony, roof over stage.

    d.  Realism:  box set; middle class interiors; windows, doors, and walls; furniture; interior decoration (rugs, pictures, knick-knacks, etc.).

    e.  Naturalism:  box set, lower class interiors, ceilings, sloppy environment

    f.  Symbolism:  dream-like setting, use of light and shadow, mysterious environment

    g.  Expressionism: distortion of line, color, or shape; nightmare environment

    h.  Formalism:  simple sets; few or no props; uses steps and levels

    i.  Constructivism:  industrial looking environment; exposed structures; ramps, swings, seesaws:  a “playground for demented adults.”

    j.  Selective realism:  uses only some details of reality, but may show several rooms at once, or eliminate walls to show exteriors and interiors at once, etc.

     

     

    2.  Stage areas and positions:  You will identify the nine stage areas and 8 stage positions, using a diagram.

    Stage areas:  UR, UC, UL, R, C, L, DR, DC, DL

    Stage positions:  FF, ¼ L, LP, ¾ L, FB, ¾ R, RP, ¼ R

     

     

    3.  Theatre terms:  You should be able to identify the following:

    proscenium arch           proscenium stage                      thrust stage                   arena stage

    wing                             drop                                         valence                        apron

    pin rail                          hand prop                                 monologue                    stylization

    design elements:  color, fabric, decoration, line

     

     

    4.  Drama terms:  You should also know:

    protagonist                   conflict             climax                           obligatory scene

    antagonist                     complication                 unraveling                     catastrophe

     

    5.  People and plays:  Be sure you can identify:

    Aristotle   Sophocles       Shakespeare      Ibsen
     
     
     
     
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    Theatre 1:  Semester play review

    KEEP THIS SHEET!  YOU WILL NEED IT ALL YEAR!

     

    Each quarter, your review is due within one week of the performance that you see.  Late reviews cannot be graded higher than 6 points out of 10.

    You MUST have a program to write a review, because you need the names of several individuals involved in the production.  Don’t go home without a program.

    Please attach your ticket stub (for a professional production) or the COVER of your program (for everything else) to the BACK of your review.

    Your review is worth 10% of your quarter grade.  In order to receive the full 10 points, you must follow the review format on this page, and your review must be well-written (proofread!) and word-processed.

     

    Paragraph 1:  Details of the production

    Include the name of the play, the name of the playwright (author), the date you saw it, and the theatre or place in which it was presented.  Give the name of the director.  If the play is a musical, there will be several authors, and you should also include the names of the choreographer and music director.  DO NOT include designers or producers in this paragraph.

     

    Paragraph 2:   The story

    Give a BRIEF summary of the story, including the names of the major characters, the problem or conflict, and how the story is resolved at the end.  DO NOT give too many details, and DO NOT make this the main or longest part of the review.  This paragraph should not be longer than one fifth of the review.

     

    Paragraph 3:  Production elements

    Describe and discuss the set, the costumes, the lighting, and the sound (that’s FOUR things!), and give specific examples of things you noticed.  Use the various designers’ names if your program lists them.

     

    Paragraph 4:  The acting

    Choose at least two performers, and discuss their individual work. Call them by their REAL names, but be sure to mention the names of the characters they play.  Say what they did well or what they did poorly.  Be specific about what you liked or didn’t like.

     

    Paragraph 5:  Your summary of the experience

    This should be a MAJOR paragraph, not just a sentence that ends the review!   Here are some of the things you can include:

    Give your overall impression of the production.  Tell if you learned anything new about the theatre.  Discuss the lessons about life that the play may have taught you or illustrated for you.  Talk about how the audience reacted.  Say whether you liked or didn’t like the experience, and why.  Tell whether the experience was what you expected, or if anything really surprised you.

    NOTE:  It’s OK not to like a performance, but you have to be able to say WHY!

     
Last Modified on May 27, 2011