Visual Arts and Film Studies:
Dirtland – Joanna and The Agitators Present
Paragraph One:
BRIEFLY Recap the performance; Bring up the main plot points and characters. State your thesis: encourage or discourage your potential audience based on your reaction to the play. Note: any opinion is valid, but make sure to state in a clear and respectful way, and make sure you can back it up with examples. The question you should ask yourself is: Would I recommend this production to others; In the following paragraphs, you will provide specific examples of why you would or would not recommend this production.
Paragraph Two:
Pick two examples of design elements from the show and use them to support your thesis. Identify what the effect/design achieved and how it supported or detracted from the show. (Design elements include the areas of lighting, sound, scenery, costumes, or the use of video). If the play is a two act play, one example must be from the first act, the other from the second act. If the play is a three act play, one example must be from the first act, and one example must be from the third act.
Remember to tie this argument back to your thesis.
Pick two examples of performance/acting or directing elements from the show and use them to support your thesis. Remember that these examples should demonstrate both your understanding of the show and the fact that you paid close attention. Your examples should be SPECIFIC and DETAILED. If the play is a two act play, one example must be from the first act, the other from the second act. If the play is a three act play, one example must be from the first act, and one example must be from the third act.
Tie your argument back to your thesis.
Note on paragraphs Two and Three: When structuring your specific examples, think of a pattern. Say which element you’re talking about, give your specific example, and provide your critical insight. This pattern would happen twice in each paragraph.
Pick one question from the list below and address it in terms of the production you saw. You can pick each question only once during the semester. Make sure to restate the question in your paper in the form of a statement. This is the most heavily weighted section of the paper. It is graded on clarity and creativity of thought.
• How did the production combine realistic and unrealistic elements and what was the overall effect/result?
• How did the production (not the script) highlight race, gender, class, or sexuality and what was the overall effect/result/message?
• How do you think this play ties into and reflects current events, attitudes and/or values in our society?
• How does the production use elements standardized in the Ancient Greek and/or Elizabethan eras?
• What elements of the production were influenced by the cinema and how did they fit into the theatrical presentation?
• How would placing the production in alternate theatrical spaces alter the effectiveness (for better or worse) of the performance?
• How could the message of the production be translated into another style of performance, and what would be the advantages or disadvantages of doing so?
Being presented poorly means excessive misspellings, basic grammar mistakes, confusing sentence structure and disregard for the assigned structure. What would (perhaps unintentional) plagiarism be for this assignment?
• Make sure your plot summary, examples, or critical response doesn’t resemble the paper of your friend in the class, with whom you may have discussed the play.
• Make sure your paper is not similar to or the same as a paper turned in to another section of Intro. All of the different teachers have specifics in their assignments that will make it apparent.
• Make sure that your descriptions or critiques do not use or resemble writing from websites, books or study guides about the play, or the program distributed at the production.
Citations:
• Feel free to reference approximate lines in the play. You do not need to look up the exact lines, but can work off your notes and memory. As such, these lines will not be officially cited (meaning you won’t say what text you got them from). Note: This is NOT the academic convention for citation! Doing this in other papers for other classes/disciplines would be plagiarizing.