1. Go see a play, opera, or musical. It must be a professional production and it must be performed before a live audience of which you are a part. It must be seen sometime during the semester of this class.
2. Save the ticket and the program.
3. Write a two or three page paper discussing some aspect of the play. THIS IS 750 WORDS. SEE THE SYLLABUS. Shorter papers will not be accepted.
4. Turn the paper in by the deadline on the syllabus, including the program and the ticket stapled to the paper. Specifications and format are the same as in the handout for the other essays. If you want to keep the program or ticket stub, make a note of that on the paper.
What to write about:
There are many possibilities. First, however, begin by writing a brief (BRIEF) synopsis of the play in two or three sentences. Include in the first paragraph the full name of the play, who wrote it, and where it was produced.
Then consider the experience you had at the theater AS IT RELATED TO THE PLAY.
Did the costuming impress you? The music? Did someone forget lines, or was one actor clearly better or worse than all the others? How did the audience react? Was the play very good? Try to identify what made it so good. "The Lion King" had amazing costumes. "West Ward" was performed in street clothes. Both had an effect on their audiences, but in different ways. Sometimes dialogue is terrible. "Ghost in the Shell" is a great read, but the lines were numbingly dull when spoken even by good actors. Sometimes dialogue is brilliant. Every play you see will provoke a different reaction both from you and from the audience. That's why there is no one set of directions to follow. Just try to note what impressed you about the play as soon as you leave the theater so you can use that later as a basis for your paper.
Do NOT include how long it took you to get to the theater, how hard it was to find, what color the carpet was, how much concessions were, what you wore, or anything not related to the play. The paper is about the play, not the reviewer.