Write a paper about the theatre "Dead Man Walking".
The following is intended to be a series of guidelines or questions to be considered in seeing the plays assigned. Please realize that the report is not to be simply a laundry list of answers to the material below, but a composition considering the various topics mentioned. All of the topics may not require equal attention, but all should be covered in paragraph/topic sentence format. To receive full credit all of the elements listed below need to be considered/covered. This is to be an academic paper observing MLA mechanics and grammar, "Slang," euphemisms; cliché etc. should not be used. When you state a specific opinion, you should provide some explanation as to what brought you to that particular conclusion. Required length is at least 1000 words.
What were your preconceptions about the play/production before going? What was the name of the show? What type of production was it (comedy, drama, musical)? Consider the actors, director, type of play, and expected quality of the production. Where did you get your information? Had you seen the play before in another production? Did you read the play before attending? Write all titles as such: ______ " "or italics.
What was the size of the audience at the performance attended? How did this compare to the capacity of the "house" (available seating)? What seemed to be the sociological makeup of the audience (age group, fiscal status, education level)? How did the audience respond? Did the audience as a whole seem to enjoy the play? Or not? What effect did this have on your own like or dislike of the production? Did the physical theatre (type of performance space not the set design) itself add to or detract from it? What were the problems or drawbacks, if any? Visual, audio, atmospheric?
Evaluate performances. "Actors on the stage - Characters on the page." It is not necessary to cover each and every one, but the principal characters/actors should be covered with special attention to particularly good or poor performances. Please include names of the actors. How well did the performers/actors work together?(Ensemble) Were they arranged and moved around the stage in an interesting manner or was the stage rather static or generally missing (Blocking)? Did the movement fit the style of the play? Could they be heard and understood? (Actors projection)Were any accents (a particular way of pronouncing a language, associated with a country or area. Example: Irish accent) used done well, or were they distracting?
Did the costumes (Costume Design) contribute to the actors' ability to form their characters or did the costumes seem out of place with the type of show being presented? Were there any particularly good or particularly poorly chosen costumes? Did the makeup contribute to the characterizations and the overall appeal of the show, or was it distracting?
Did the scenery (Set Design) provide a logical and suitable setting for the action of the play? Identify. Did the colors, style, and design work with the concept of the production? Or were there significant problems? How were the scenic changes (if any) handled? Did they seem to make sense in the overall production?
Was the lighting effective? (Lighting Design) Was there good visibility? Were there any exceptional effects? If there were any special effects (explosions, lightning, etc.), were they executed well?
How was the sound? Again, could the performers be heard? If microphones were used did they help or hinder the performances? Were sound effects well done? Reinforcement or Reproduction?
What was your overall impression of the production? Would you recommend that friends of your to see it, or should it be avoided and why? Would it be suitable for the different audience? If so, which audience?
Answer the three questions that are necessary for a critical response and evaluation to a play: What was the production attempting to do/say/mean? Did they succeed at what they attempted to do/say/mean? Was it worth doing?