As a side job, I go to plays and review them. The first time I did this was about 2 months ago. Through this process I’ve learned that to sit down and do a complete analysis of a play makes you put a lot of thought into it. Tips on writing a play review.
When you go to the play, you aren’t just sitting back and enjoying, but you are viewing the whole picture. How was the choreography, how were the actors performing, did they screw up any lines, or how to do they work through mistakes and mishaps that happen upon the stage. How are the characters performing, do they make the characters relatable where you can connect to them, and how was the direction of the play. Was their stage presence, and was something missing from the play entirely.
But, the more you do it, the more you truly begin to notice these things. Last night I went to a fantastic play and afterwards I talked with my boyfriend about the play. We discussed parts of the play, what was done well. But later on, I threw out a few questions, “did you notice when this character screwed up a line, or how some of the cast, in the background would whisper to one another? Or how they really did well in any mishaps of a play, like a knife that kept getting thrown around the stage, etc? And I found that he missed those things. I soon realized that damn, I really am becoming observant when I attend a play, like I should.
But still, the hardest part of a play review for me is coming up with that first line. For me, it is that first line that directs the rest of my review and where it is headed.
I love the challenge of reviewing plays. It makes you think, makes you question, and makes you appreciate the beauty of a play in it’s entirety.
