Responding to a Performance
A large percentage of the papers you write in the Theater Department will be responding to a performance. In these cases, your response should focus on responding to the aspects of theater you are learning about in your class.
For example, if you’re in an Acting class, you will want to focus on the actors’/actresses’ work to portray a character. This is an opportunity for you to show your professor that you can apply or recognize the skills they are teaching you.
Overview
What a response is
- An organized exploration of a performance
- A formal piece of writing, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion
- An essay that answers a prompt
What it is not
- An informal list of observations
- A dumping ground for your immediate reactions
Before the Performance
Do your Prep Work
In most cases, you will have read the script beforehand, or at least been provided with a copy of it. If you have the opportunity, read the script.
- If you know the play already, you will be able to pick up on foreshadowing and details you may have missed the first time
- You can compare the performance you watched to how you imagined the play in your head while reading
- You can watch for what isn’t on the page, such as the effect of staging and design on the impact of the show.
Bring a Notebook
- You will likely have at least a week to write your response. It’s fine to wait, but you don’t want to forget important details
- Bring a notebook, and write your thoughts down as soon as you can. Leave them for a day or two, and come back to read them again.
After the Performance
Compare Notes
- If you can, find a classmate to talk to about the play. Compare your reactions, or use the opportunity to develop your thoughts further.
Incorporating Emotions
It’s perfectly valid to discuss your emotional response to a performance: good theater is an emotional experience. But you will need to think critically about why and how you felt the way you did.
- For example, “The ending made me sad,” doesn’t mean much. What, specifically, made you sad? Was there a change in the lighting? Was it the words of the script? Was it something the actor/actress did?
- When writing about an emotional response, ask yourself “Why?” and “So what?”
- If a play made you feel something, but you don’t know the word for it, say that the moment was “moving.” It’ll do the trick without sounding too informal.