Assignment:
Theater Review: GPAC's Fall 2017 Production of Waiting for Godot
Attend one of Givens Performing Arts Center's performances of our student production of Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and write a review of it. There are three aspects of this writing assignment: description, response, and critique. Generally speaking, you should describe the experience and explain your reactions thoroughly, linking then directly to aspects of the performance.
Base your review on your knowledge of the text of the play, any other performances or versions of Waiting for Godot that you are familiar with, and your honest critical response: what stood out to you about it, what you liked about it, and what you didn't like. You should discuss at least one scene, conversation, or speech by means of direct quotation of the play; don't quote the whole thing, but just the part you want to discuss.
You should plan to take notes during the performance and take a small notebook or clipboard, etc., but please be respectful to other audience members and keep your note-taking unobtrusive. Please keep and attach to your review a ticket stub or program as proof of your attendance and documentation of which performance you attended. Please attach your notes or a representative sample of them (2 or 3 pages).
Performance/Direction
Describe anything memorable or unusual about the experience, particularly things you liked or didn't like. You do not need to discuss all of the following categories (nor limit your analysis to these), but here are some aspects that might focus your attention:
Staging
Scenery
Costuming
Props
Choreography
Actors/Casting
Acting/Delivery
Individual performances
Ensemble "chemistry"
Lighting
Makeup
Sound
Music
Special effects
Length/Pacing
Atmosphere/Tone
Audience engagement
Seating and "Fourth Wall"
Important characters
Your review should comment on the handling of each of the play's roles (portrayals, impressions, casting, notable details, etc.). Do this briefly (in a sentence) if there is nothing notable to mention, but more expansively (e.g., multiple sentences or a paragraph) if there are significant departures from what you expected which should be detailed for readers:
Vladimir
Estragon
Pozzo
Lucky
Boy
Discuss as many of these topics as are significant to you as a reviewer, and use your conception of the role of a reviewer to decide how much to elaborate.
Notable abridgements
Scenes cut from performance
Expansions
Act/Scene transitions
Scene rearrangements
Important speeches
Dialogue/exchanges
Character condensation
Body language
Sections without dialogue
Thematic emphasis
Tone of tragic elements
Your reader(s) will be more inclined to appreciate the validity of your response if it is clearly described and adequately supported with detailed descriptions and an articulate rationale for your response. Consult Wilhoit, Chapter 5, for his discussion of the trigger-response-explanation model for effective responsive writing. In a slightly different vein, that of constructive critic, if you have suggestions regarding aspects of the GPAC production, you may include them, with the same caveat: to be persuasive, you must explain your rationale. You may also discuss other productions or performances of the play-especially the one we viewed in class--if you find them helpful to make a point--but only if you can cite them.
Length: Your review must be four double-spaced pages, minimum, can go over four, but should not exceed nine pages. Include relevant Works Cited entries at the bottom of the last page if there is sufficient space or on a separate last page