Reaction Paper

by

Humanities

Watch the play: The Children’s Hour

Criteria:

The paper should be a 1500 word essay focusing on your reaction to the play/production, and to the quality of the production (quality of work and talent, not quality of video). Make sure to back up statements of opinion or observations with descriptive examples drawn from the show to illustrate what lead you to your conclusions. The three main questions to consider are:

  1. What was the playwright trying to say about life?
    1. What universal questions are raised? (i.e. Who am I? Why are we here?)
    2. What is the central conflict? (i.e. illusion versus reality, Fate vs. Free-will)
    3. What is the main action? (What are the main characters trying to do?)
  2. What impact does the play have on you and your life?
    1. How does the play affect you emotionally? Intellectually? Philosophically?
    2. What does it make you experience that you might not have experienced?
    3. Did it reinforce the way you already think? Feel? Act? Behave? Believe? Conduct your life?
    4. Did it change the way you think? Feel? Act? Behave? Believe? Conduct your life?
  3. Did the playwright’s collaborative artists and craftspeople help you understand and enjoy the play or prevent you from doing so?
    1. Choose at least four actors. Include their full names and the names of the characters they played. Evaluate their work using the following questions based on your observations and opinions:
      1. Were the actors believable as the characters they were playing?
      2. Did you identify/empathize with one (or more) of the characters?
      3. Did they draw you into the play or were you aware they were “acting?”
    2. Was the production unified in its vision? Did it flow seamlessly from one point to the next?
    3. How did the design elements (Lights, sound, costumes, scenery) affect the production?

Remember these are not “yes/no” questions, but “why or why not” questions. Don’t waste space/words detailing the plot or the story. About one third of the paper should discuss Questions one and two. Two thirds of the paper should contain detailed, descriptive examples from the elements of the production that either helped you understand and enjoy the play or got in the way of your understanding and enjoyment and why or why not.