Writing

Task

Writing a review

Over the weekend, visit an opera or a theatre performance/play in your town.

Write a review of the performance/play you have seen.

Before You Attend the Production

Read the play before going to the production. (It is important to be prepared for the production you plan to attend; otherwise, you run the risk of having to see it several times.)

• In your mind, have a good sense of how a "standard" production might look, complete with a sense of what the characters might look like, the type of costuming that might be used, a suitable set design, and an appropriate rendering of the theme and tone of the work.

Attending the Production

Attend the play with an open mind, a willingness to accept the play as the director has presented it in production.

• Note any deviations from your concept of a "standard" production and try to find a good explanation for that deviation.

• You may want to consider some of the following:

  • Why the choice of costumes, and why the set design?

  • How did the actors deliver their lines (seriously, comically, realistically, formally)? Were there any significant actions or gestures that contributed to the play's meaning?

After the performance, jot down the details you recall and talk about the performance with friends. You'll need these details for your paper in order to substantiate your argument.

Evaluate the performance.

• Did the director miss any important opportunities to convey something you were able to see in your reading of the play?

• Would you have liked to have seen more attention paid to what you perceived as critical passages, passages the director seemed less interested in?

• Why would you have preferred this attention, and why do you think the director avoided giving the passage such attention?

Consider the following practical aspects:

• Are the actors professionals, amateurs, or students? What restrictions does this impose on the director? Are the actors capable of dealing with the script's requirements? (Be fair to the actors in your assessment of their talents and the level of their "craftsmanship.")

Unit 5: mass media and means of communication Communication area: socio-cultural

Mass Media as a social institution

1. L ook at these pictures. What does each picture show? What do they make you think about?

2. Each of the pictures above shows a ‘21st-century problem’. Work in groups. Choose two of the pictures and discuss the questions.

a. What are the people in the picture doing?

b. What problems can such behaviour cause?

c. Do you think the behaviour is healthy? Why / Why not?