Play Report and/or Term Paper

Assignment guidelines

Play Report and/or Term Paper:

I am interested in YOUR opinion and reaction to the chosen
play. Analyze, don’t summarize.
For the play report: You are required to see a play of your choice either Broadway, off-Broadway, or Off-Off-Broadway and write a 2-page critique. Support your analysis and/or
criticism with as many examples from the play as possible. Choose one or two production
elements such as acting, directing, set, or light or costume design and talk about them in detail.
Do not attempt to write about all aspects of production in a short paper. This will result into a
very shallow and sketchy report.
For your term paper on one of the plays read in class, choose a topic discussed in class, of either
practical nature – acting, directing, design – or of a more theoretical nature suggested in the play
such as theme, characterization, structure, genre.
Both, the report and the paper are not intended to be research papers. Do not compare or
contrast them with pre-existing academic or theoretical materials. Instead, the papers should
reflect your own personal thinking and interest provoked by the production you saw or the play
you read in class.

2. Creative Project (in place of a term paper):
The purpose of this project is to give you a practical, “hands-on” approach to theatre and offer
a chance to put your creative ability to use. Areas for your creative project to choose from can
be:
a) Acting – a brief MEMORIZED scene or monologue using minimal props and suggestive
costumes. If you choose a scene, you must collaborate with a classmate.
b) Directing – a brief scene involving no more than two actors with a written outline of your
directorial concept and using minimal props and costumes. Again, you must use your
classmates as your actors.
c) Designing – come up with your own design concept (sets, lights, or costumes) and provide
photos, or drawings, or renderings, or fabric, or collage of the visual elements you want to see
on stage.

Be prepared to give a brief oral presentation in class and explain your design concept.

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