Performance Reports

PERFORMANCE REPORTS You must have a ticket stub or program for credit. Report is due within one week of seeing the production.

Answer all questions fully and in complete sentences. Papers MUST be typed and submitted to Canvas. Answer questions A through K for all performances, plus questions L and M for musicals. Please label each paragraph with the letter(s) it is covering.

A) In paragraph form, list the NAME of the play (or musical), the DATE attended, the AUTHOR(s), the VENUE. (Venue means the place where you saw the production), and the GENRE of the play (i.e. comedy, drama, farce, melodrama, satire, mystery, parody, romance, tragedy, history, musical, etc.) See back. B) What is the THEME of the play? (i.e. What is the main idea of the play that the writer wants the audience to remember?) This should be a complete sentence about an idea, NOT a statement of what happened (that would be PLOT). Ex. I believe the theme of Pinocchio is: Lying will always get you into trouble. Explain your answer and cite examples from the play. Ex. One example would be when Pinocchio lied to ______(person) and ______(something bad) happened. C) What is the MOOD of the play? (i.e. Define the play’s emotional feeling.) How is that reflected in the set, lights, costumes and makeup? Give examples from the play. See back. D) What is the general PLOT of the play? (Include the EXPOSITION, RISING ACTION, CLIMAX, FALLING ACTION, AND RESOLUTION.) Remember, the climax is usually very near the end of the play, and NEVER in the first act. E) Who are the main CHARACTERS of the play? You must choose at least four. Don’t just list, describe their personalities and a little bit of their appearance! F) What is their OBJECTIVE? (i.e. What does each individual want?) Each one should be different. G) What is their MOTIVATION? (i.e. Why does each individual want it?) Each one should be different. H) What OBSTACLE(s) stands in the way of each of the main character’s desires? This is the CONFLICT. Each one should be different. I) Which character would you like to play and why? (You MUST choose one!) Explain your answer completely. J) BLOCKING – Was the blocking of the play (the movement and placement of the actors) effective? Could you see what you needed to see? Did the director create interesting pictures on the stage with his/her placement of the actors? Give examples by describing one scene and how it was staged. K) AUDIENCE APPEAL – Discuss the audience reaction to the performance. Did they like it? Why or why not? Did YOU enjoy the performance? Give specific examples of what you liked or didn’t like about it. L) MUSIC – (For musicals) Give a summation of the overall performance, including your evaluation of both main and back-up singers, musicians, and/or band or orchestra. Explain if they added or detracted from the performance. Give specific examples by describing at least one song performance. M)CHOREOGRAPHY – (For musicals) Discuss the choreography and/or dance portion of the performance. Did it add or detract from the overall production? Give examples by describing at least one dance number.

NOTE: Performance reports are considered Long-Term Assignments and are due on their due date even if you are absent. Last dates are end of November 1st semester and end of April 2nd semester.

Reports are due within one week of seeing a production!

Genres Use this information to help answer part A. Sometimes the genre is listed on the front or title page of a program.

Comedy: a light and amusing play that typically has a happy ending. Farce: is a type of comedy with exaggerated characterizations, abundant physical or visual humor, and often an improbable plot. Satire and parody are also types of comedy.

Melodrama: a dramatic form popular in the 1800s, characterized by cliff-hanging plots, heart-tugging emotional appeals, the celebration of virtue, and a strongly moralistic tone.

Tragedy: a form of drama in which the main character suffers disaster.

Drama: a play dealing with serious subject matter, but that does not necessarily have a disastrous ending.

Musical theatre: a type of entertainment containing music, songs, and usually dance

Mystery: a form of drama in which the main characters must discover something hidden.

Mood Use this information to answer part C.  Some positive mood words: cheerful, determined, excited, hopeful, light-hearted, nostalgic, optimistic…  Some negative mood words: anxious, foreboding, gloomy, lonely, suspenseful, terrifying, violent…  There are many glorious words out there; find one that captures the mood of the play.

Revised 10/19/16