High school student doing some extra credit? You don't need to be a professional theater critic to insightfully critique a play.
How to Write a Play Review for Kids Rachel Kolar Updated June 13, Writing a play review for children involves seeing broader performances and using simpler vocabulary than writing one for adults but don't assume that means it's easier. Children dislike it when adults talk down to them and will not be forgiving if a review states that a sub-par play is good.
To write a review, you must pay attention to a variety of aspects of the performance and write in a way that appeals to children without patronising them. Read a script of the play before seeing the performance, if possible.
If you're familiar with the script ahead of time, you are more able to focus on the technical aspects of the performance rather than devoting all of your energy to following the plot.
Keep your playbill from the performance. This helps you remember the names of the actors and characters as well as the titles of any songs. Take notes on the performances of the actors. Do they underact or chew too much scenery?
Do they remember all of their lines? Do characters who are supposed to be funny make you laugh or do their jokes fall flat?
Do any actors seem to hog the spotlight? Note the technical aspects of the performance. Lights, sounds, make-up and costuming should be invisible unless you're watching a fantasy play you shouldn't notice that you're watching a play instead of real life. If the play is a fantasy, the costumes and make-up should realistically convey another world and should have a consistent theme if all the animal costumes are for woodland animals, a lion would be out of place.
Take notes on how this performance compares to your original view of the script. Of course, no director is going to follow exactly what you imagined while reading, but some directors cut characters or scenes, change the setting from one time or place to another or even adjust lines in ways that go against the original message of the play.
Go home and outline your review. Begin with a brief synopsis that describes the premise of the play without spoiling any plot twists. Move on to the acting and technical aspects. Conclude by stating whether you think this play is worth seeing and why.
Write this outline as soon after seeing the play as possible to make sure it's fresh in your mind. Write your rough draft. Use vocabulary based on the age of the children for whom you're writing. If this is a play for third-graders or younger, stay away from words of much more than two syllables and don't focus too much on the technical aspects that went well; very young children don't tend to care about lighting or make-up unless it's obviously bad.Jan 20, · How to Write a Play Review.
In this Article: Article Summary Sample Play Reviews Preparing to Write the Review Writing the Review Community Q&A The performance of a play is a live experience, so it can be an exciting but difficult task to review%(65).
How To Write a Theatre Review Theatre reviewing will help you develop your understanding of drama and the theatre. Review writing will help you be more responsive to what you see and more.
How to Critique a Play By braniac ; Updated September 15, How to Write a Movie Review for a Newspaper. How to Write a Good Theater Review. How to Write an Essay on a Play. Short Skit Ideas. How to Become an Actor or Actress. How to Direct a Play.
How to Write a Play Script. How to Write a Good Theater Review By Bridgette Redman ; Updated September 15, Theater reviews matter because they capture the transient art of theater and create a permanent record of it.
The review, written by theater critic Jeffrey Day, was published in The State newspaper on January 29, Write Your Own Review Pick one of the Artopia theater videos and watch it several times.
Write an introductory paragraph that lists the name of the movie and the director. Provide your thesis statement, which is a statement that reflects what the movie was about and how the director attempted to portray the theme.