English 444
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London Theatre 2017: Final Assignment
Due Tuesday, at 10:00am—either in the classroom or in an email
(as you all chose to do for the midterm paper).
I want you to write a performance review either of a particular
but substantial scene of the play or of the entire production. I want
you to explain what you think the project of the target you’ve
chosen is, and then describe and explain what production choices the
company has made in order to enact that project. In doing this you will
be making an argument about what the production/scene you choose does
and why. Please write with the awareness that someone else could have
a very different understanding of how the scene/production you write
about functions, and you are thus doing your best in this 1000 word
paper to make a case for YOUR way of understanding it. Detail is important
for this, as is the explanation of how the choices you have noticed
support your claim. (Go back and reread the samples I gave you from
your midterm essays. I chose those because they each are rich in detail
and strong in explaining the writer’s theory of why the director
made those choices and how those choices are important to the production
as a whole.)
The syllabus for the course explains that this paper counts
100 points. It is a “high-stakes” paper, a place to show
that you have progressed towards successfully paying attention to and
reflecting on the kind of theatrical production that has been the central
work of this class.
You will write something quite similar to this for your
final paper, except it will focus on the whole play and not just one
scene.
The criteria I will apply will be: