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Play Critique/Production Essay Guidelines

The following are the plays and the guidelines for your play critique. 

Critique Guidelines 

In the paper you need to cover ALL the following areas: acting, directing, design (set, 

light, costume, sound, hair and makeup). With all of these areas, talk about what you found was 

effective and ineffective. Who stood out to you and why? What was effective or ineffective 

about them? What about the show was a whole? What was the message of the show? What 

themes did you find in the show? THIS IS NOT A PLOT SUMMARY. I do not need or want 

you to just talk about the plot or give me a play-by-play of the show. I saw the show as well. 

You can touch on the plot, but I am much more interested in your opinion of the show (and all its 

various aspects). Also, you cannot just refer to someone by their character name or their 

title (director, designer, etc.). You are expected to give credit to the actor, director or 

designer by using their name, which must be spelled correctly (or at least how it was 

spelled in the program). You will LOSE POINTS if you do not do so. You will also lose 

points if you do not talk about the acting, the design AND the direction!! 

PLEASE BE AWARE – The designers are listed at the TOP of the program, and 

will say something like “Light Designer … Matt Schleicher”, etc. Do NOT list the Design 

Advisor or Crew Members. These people did NOT design the show, and you will have 

points deducted from your paper for incorrectly listing this information. 

In your paper, don’t forget YOUR reaction and to the performance itself. THIS IS 

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! How do you react to this play? How does the message 

of the play affect you individually? Discuss directorial choices, design choices, acting choices 

… anything that you had a reaction to. Be as specific as you can be, and use specific examples 

from the performance to illustrate your point. You don’t have to love the play or even like it, but 

you need to be able to support your arguments. So just saying “I loved this play” or “I hated it” 

or “it was all right” won’t cut it – tell me WHY you are having the reactions you are having. 

Each paper will be 700-1200 words long, MAXIMUM of 1200 words. This paper is not 

a just plot summary or a book report. Plot is very important, but it is only one of the many 

areas you need to discuss. I want to hear YOUR reactions to this performance. 

If you do not give credit to the designers by name, you will automatically have TEN 

POINTS deducted from your grade. Mentioning only some of the designers but not all when 

then incur a partial deduction. If you do not give credit to the director by name, you will 

automatically have EIGHT POINTS deducted from your grade. If you do not give credit to the 

actors by name, you will automatically have FIFTEEN POINTS deducted from your grade. 

NOTE: This does NOT MEAN that you have to talk about EVERY SINGLE ACTOR in the show. Some of the shows have 30 actors – you do not need to talk about them all.

Each critique will be worth 50 points. NO late papers will be accepted.