RICE by Michele lee

Education Resources for teachers

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Compiled by Heidi Irvine.

The activities and resources contained in this document are designed as the
starting point for educators in developing more comprehensive lessons for
this production. Heidi Irvine is Producer of Education and Youth programs
for Queensland Theatre. You can contact Heidi on
hirvine@queenslandtheatre.com.au

© Copyright protects this Education Resource.

Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act, reproduction by
whatever means is prohibited. However, limited photocopying for classroom
use only is permitted by educational institutions.

CONTENTS

1. At the theatre – Some basic etiquette Page 2

2. The fine print – Details about the production Page 3
3. In the circle – Practical classroom activities Page 5
4. Script Excerpts Page 13
5. Tasks – Ideas for Responding Page 16
6. Production Photography Page 23

AT THE THEATRE

We’d like to welcome you to the experience of attending a live performance

– while we know you get all the etiquette stuff, here’s a reminder of some
simple information you can pass on to your students.

1. We ask you to get involved in the performances by applauding and

laughing at appropriate moments. If you have a question – ask your
teacher at the interval/end of the show or one of the cast, if you have
a chance for a Question & Answer session.
2. Food or drink is not permitted in the theatre
3. Live theatre is different to TV – the actors on stage can hear and see
you and there are other members of the audience to think about. If
you need to leave the performance for any reason, please ensure this
is done quickly and quietly and at an appropriate break in the action
4. Switching your phone to silent isn’t the only thing to do. Please ensure
that you switch off your mobile phone and leave it in your bag before
the performance begins. The glow of the iPhone screen is obvious to
others and is very distracting!

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 THE FINE PRINT

CAST AND CREATIVES

Director: Lee Lewis

Designer: Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright
Composer/AV Designer: Wil Hughes
Associate Sound Designer: Tony Brumpton

Cast: Kristy Best, Hsiao-Ling Tang

The play contains frequent coarse language (50 f**ks, 30 sh*ts) and
contains high-level adult references to sex and sexual references. There are
also references to racism and race.

In regards to the references to sex, there is one encounter where the

character talks about a sexual moment/encounter with her boyfriend in a
car. The moment is spoken about but not enacted.

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Play Venue Term About the Play
Nisha, a young ambitious executive at a rice
corporation is eager to climb the corporate
Queensland Theatre, Bille Brown Studio
ladder. She finds herself in an unlikely
RICE BY MICHELE LEE
friendship with Yvette who cleans her office.
The women learn about the challenges in
each other’s lives. Nisha’s the right-hand
woman to the CEO of Australian rice
company, Golden Fields, who is poised to
3 seal a contract for rice distribution to the
Indian government. Yvette doesn’t do
humility but she’s working as a cleaner in the
Golden Fields office, cleaning up the food
scraps from Nisha’s table and bins.
A fluid two-hander play, where women
topple women, women rescue women. They
ultimately give each other a fresh perspective
on their lives and choices.
Curriculum Links and Drama Syllabus Links and
Suitability Further Reading
Category 1: Realism
Years 11 - 12
Students will love the sassy
 Drama
writing and timely interrogation
of multiculturalism, globalisation
Rice contains frequent,
and the politics of trade.
medium level coarse
language. There is a scene in
http://www.pwa.org.au/five-
the play where Nisha (the
questions-michele-lee-npf15/
lead character) has a sexual
interaction with another
https://dailyreview.com.au/mich
character. She talks about the
ele-lee-wins-queensland-
incident in some detail. It is
premiers-drama-award/45573/
not overtly graphic but she
does talk about having sex.
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=nYzYh1QXhbw
4
 IN THE CIRCLE – PRACTICAL CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

CONVENTIONS OF REALISM: FOURTH WALL

Interestingly, Rice, challenges our notion of the fourth wall and Realism.
Here are some activities which could be useful in analysing and contrasting
the performance.

Designate a stage space and be clear about its edges. Nominate a place
(e.g. “a beach at the Gold Coast,” “a fancy Italian restaurant,” “outside a One
Direction concert”) and ask students to one by one take a position in the
stage space, building a postcard image/tableaux of the scene. Use props
and costume as necessary.

When the image is complete, discuss how the scene feels, what can be
seen, etc. Ask students to release their position but mentally retain the image
created. Half the class then enters the space in character and improvises a
brief scenario. The other half is to observe whether the performers stay in
character.

Discuss the fourth wall and how their improvisation created (or broke) the
imaginary wall between performer and audience.

Repeat the activity, but this time ask students not to “become” the
character, but to describe who/what they are directly to the audience. Props
and costume can be used and also referred to, e.g. “this desk will represent
a kitchen bench.”

Discuss how breaking the fourth wall changes the audience’s response to
the scene. What purposes could each convention fulfil?

Provide students with a simple scenario. In groups, students workshop a

scene which both uses and breaks the fourth wall. Share and discuss the
challenges of managing the fourth wall in this way.

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CONVENTIONS OF REALISM: WELL-DEVELOPED CHARACTERS

Select two book/play/film/TV characters, and one real person, that students
are familiar with. As a class, complete the following table:

Character 1 Character 2 Real person

Backstory

Values / Attitude

Objectives

Flaws

Strengths

Action is
motivated?

They are affected

by their situation?

Evaluate how well-developed each character is, considering their

complexity and how realistic their choices and responses are.

Choose one of the characters to work with in a role circle. Invite one student
to stand in the centre of the circle and ask the group questions which will
build the picture of the character. Students responding must ensure they do
not contradict the existing picture, though they can add contrasting traits
which will build the character’s complexity.

Discuss what makes a character realistic, and how this affects an audience’s
response.

Optional performance activity: In pairs, one student enrols as the developed

character and the other begins an improvisation which places the character
in a new situation. This tests and strengthens an actor’s understanding of
their character.

 Ask students to sit or lie on the floor, close their eyes, and as they
imagine the following, allow the image to come through their body:
 You are made of organs and flesh. You have no bones or muscles.
You must use your weight to move around. Your limbs cannot
support you yet.

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  Your muscles grow and fill with energy. You are in constant
movement. Tiny fireworks are going off in your legs. Your eyes drink in
everything they can. Inside your head are constantly changing colours
and light.
 Your head is being slowly filled with sand. Your legs are hardening.
Your feet are sticky. You are being pressed in two directions at once.
Inside your chest is a slowly inflating balloon.
 Your skin is made of hard, dry, and wood. Inside, you are filled with
delicious warm chocolate. You try to hold it inside.
 Your knees and ankles are held together with twine. On your
shoulders you are carrying 1000 bricks, balanced on top of each
other. You try to suck in as much air as possible. It tastes sour and
sweet. Inside your head is a plaster house slowly cracking and
disintegrating.

Reflect on the activity, relating the experience to the experience of ageing.

Questions for discussion:
 What does being a child/teenager/adult/old person feel like,
physically?
 What kind of thoughts dominate the minds of each age group?
 In what ways is each age free?
 In what ways are they restricted?
 What are the different ways that ageing can affect people?
 What are the turning point moments or significant transitions?
 What causes jealousy or competition between the generations?
 What causes anger or resentment between the generations?
 What does each generation have to thank the others for?

As a post-show activity, explore the effects of age on Patricia Highsmith:

 Does the character wish they were older, younger, or are they content
with the moment?
 How do they respond to people of the older/younger generation?
 Do they seek change or tradition? Comfort or adventure?

ACTING, GENDER AND AGE

Ask students to enrol as a successful actor in his/her 30s. In role as a

producer, welcome all the actors to “the audition.” Inform them you are
looking for a romantic lead, a best friend, and a parent. Ask them to move to
a different corner of the room according to which role they want to audition
for.

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Tell all the actors who chose romantic lead or friend that they are too old for
that role as they would be starring alongside a 40-year old. Encourage them
to try for the parent role. To the group who selected parent, either allow
them to audition, or suggest other auditions instead, e.g. an ad for hair loss
treatments.

Debrief from the improvisation, asking students how it felt to be told they
were too old to play the love interest or friend of someone older than them.

IDENTIFYING KEY MOMENTS

Ask students to recall, in two minutes, all the moments that particularly stood
out to them. Either jot these down or tell to a partner. Descriptions should be
brief, just enough to jog the memory.

Invite responses to any of the following. Students are to present their

response by recreating the moment as accurately as possible. At any point,
observing students can make adjustments to the presentation to ensure that
the recreation is exact. It is important to be specific at this point, while the
memory is most fresh. Students should be recording the examples - you
may wish to nominate a scribe.

One of the roles, communicated only through the body (e.g. gesture)
A moment when the relationship between two characters was clearly
communicated (present in pairs)
A moment that added depth to the communication of a character, or
showed a change in the character
A moment of conflict between two characters (present in pairs)
A moment of internal conflict
A symbol in the form of an object, gesture or single phrase
An example of rising tension (present in small groups)
An example of the effective management of mood (present in small groups)
A moment that clarified or emphasised the overall dramatic meaning
(present in small groups)
An effective use of realist conventions
A convention which broke/prevented suspension of disbelief
A moment of pathos
A moment of humour
Use of skills of performance to convincingly create reality
Any other examples appropriate to your class needs.

Students are to record a number of key moments in their books in as much

detail as possible, which can later be referred to/used as examples.

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COMMUNICATION OF THEME: EVALUATING DRAMATIC ACTION

For this activity, use either the theme boards/posters from the Theme
Exploration activity, or a theme mind-map.

As a class, identify the themes that feel most important to the work. For each
of these, select the symbol, image or phrase that most directly/concisely
expressed this theme. If your group needs scaffolding for this task, you
could start by making a list of memorable images and phrases from the play.

The class can then evaluate how particular themes were communicated
through the dramatic action, by identifying and analysing the scenes in
which the symbol, image or phrase appeared.

CONVENTIONS OF REALISM, CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT

Questions for discussion:

How is the fourth wall created/maintained? Consider the use of space and
the actors’ personal focus and attention.
Did the transitions between scenes feel natural?
Did the language and vocal delivery appear natural? Consider interruptions,
pauses, vocal skills and use of naturalistic language.
How was the contemporary context made clear? Consider language,
communication of place, and intertextuality.

HUMAN CONTEXT: RELATIONSHIPS

In pairs, students create frozen images to represent the following:

 two friends
 a couple
 parent and child
 teacher and student
 celebrity and fan
 artist and muse
 nurse and patient

Discuss the character pairs evident in Switzerland. Note that Realism

encourages complex characters and relationships, but archetypes can be a
useful starting point.
For each relationship, choose a scene to recreate, focussing on the blocking
and communication of the human context. (Recalling lines exactly is not
necessary.)

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Share and discuss:
 Who physically led each scene? Map the floor pattern of each
character and observe who moves, who is moved, and who follows.
 Who led the action or dialogue in each scene? Who speaks and who
is spoken to?
 Where was each character focussing? Consider the direction of their
feet, body, face, and eyes? Were they aligned?
 Which characters initiated touch and what was its quality? (E.g. timid,
forceful.)
 How did the characters respond to each others’ touch? (E.g.
comfortable, awkward.)
 Did any of the above change depending on the situation/relationship?
How/why?
 What does the above tell us about each of the relationship pairs?

Evaluate how effectively Switzerland communicated character, situation,

and relationship.

CHARACTERS’ COMFORT ZONES

Break class into groups, and assign each group a character. They are to
draw a simple outline of a person. Inside the body, students list all the
character’s internal characteristics such as values, feelings, worries, and
hopes. Outside the body, they list the character’s external characteristics,
such as behaviour, speech, how they treat others, and how they are
perceived. As students are completing this activity, you may wish to prompt
their considerations, e.g.:

 What are their sources of pain?

 What makes them happy?
 What makes them stressed?
 How do they relax?
 What do they like to do with friends?
 What do they want in life?

Ask students to consider (one at a time) where the character feels most at
home, a situation that places them on the edge of their comfort zone, and a
situation in which they are completely terrified or lost. Each group is to
create three short scenes which demonstrate these.

Share and discuss each group’s three scenes. Questions for discussion:
 Why did you decide on that situation?

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  What happened in the play that suggested that about the character?
 Where did the character exist most: in their comfort zone, on the
edge, or completely out of it?
 How did the character respond to these situations? What
performance choices communicated that response?
 How does placing characters outside their comfort zone create
tension and propel the narrative?

ANALYSING DRAMA

Below is a great worksheet for breaking down a production and getting to

the “nitty gritty” of the play.

DEFINITIONS FOR DRAMA ANALYSIS

Protagonist The main character who is trying to get somewhere or get
something done
Antagonist The character or force that is working against the
Protagonist
Setting Where the play takes place
Mood Is the play serious, funny, sad, etc.
Conflict All stories have some sort of struggle or conflict. What is the
conflict? Conflict
can be any of the following:
 people against
people/society/businesses/government
 People against something inside, like their
feelings/heart/brain
 People against nature
Character Look at what the characters say and what they do. Think of
Analysis/ how you would describe their emotions, their intelligence,
Descriptions their courage, their honesty, etc. Which ones are good?
Which ones are not good? If you met one of these
characters in real life, what type of things would you expect
them to say or to do? Imagine that the characters showed
up in your class. How would they behave? Characters can
be many things:
 honest, brave, intelligent, polite, kind
 dishonest, cowardly, unintelligent, rude, afraid
 funny, pretty, happy
 scary, ugly, sad
 big, loud, clumsy
 short, quiet, graceful

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 Predictions Can you tell what will happen?
What do you think happens after? Make predictions about
what will happen with the characters at points during the
play. What would happen to the characters if you met
them? How would you expect them to treat you?
Retell the Be able to summarize what happens in the play. Know how
Play the characters feel about each other. Be able to explain why
the characters do what they do.
Dialogue This is what the characters say. Find examples where the
characters say things that explain how they feel or how they
think. Things characters say are very important to
understand.
Action This is what the characters do. Character actions are
important to understand. Be ready to give examples of
character actions that show us what kind of person the
character really is.

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ABOUT THE CHARACTERS

Characters

Nisha, 28, female, second-generation Indian

Nisha is the Executive Officer of Golden Fields.

Yvette, 61, female, first-generation Chinese

Yvette is a cleaner in the building where the Golden Fields office is located.

Nisha also speaks the lines for characters in Yvette’s life including Valerie
(60s, Russian, supervisor), Sheree (early 20s, Yvette’s daughter), Johnny
Song (20s, Chinese-Aussie bogan, warehouse owner), David Egan Junior
(early 20s, Caucasian, son of CEO Coles) and also a widow (Indian, late
30s)

Yvette also speaks the lines for characters in Nisha’s life including Tom (early
40s, Caucasian, colleague), Avineet (Indian-Australian, late 20s, Nisha’s
boyfriend), Graeme (late 50s, Caucasian, boss), Gretel Patel (Indian, early
30s, chief advisor to the Indian Agricultural Minister)

Setting
The main setting is the Golden Fields building in Brisbane. Nisha and Yvette
also go to other places in Brisbane. Nisha also goes to India.

Time
Present time.

SCRIPT EXCERPT ONE

NISHA: Food.

YVETTE: What?

NISHA: Did you import food?

Food makes sense. You’re practical. I thought perhaps it might have been
dry goods. Not frozen foods. Because of the refrigeration premiums, which
you can never fully pass onto the retailer. So dry goods. Maybe sauces. But
not gluten-free. You bought a glut of gluten-rich sauces before the gluten-
free fad took you out of business.

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 YVETTE: Fashion.

NISHA: Pardon?

YVETTE: Not food. Shoes, bags. Fakes. [About her own bag.] Like this one.

NISHA: Prada?

YVETTE: Autumn/Winter collection.

NISHA: So. You’re not completely practical.

YVETTE: Not always.

NISHA: Fake is better?

YVETTE: People spend big on fake.

NISHA: So?

YVETTE: What?

NISHA: What happened?

YVETTE: What? Huh?

NISHA: Who undercut you and your fake Pradas, Yvette?

YVETTE: No one undercut me! I stupid! I undercut me! I hold out too long
for top price then no-one buy my thing. Me!

There is an echo as YVETTE yells.

NISHA: It’s this foyer. It echoes at this time of night.

YVETTE: [Yelling.] I undercut me. Me!

There is an echo again.

NISHA: [Trying it.] Me!

There is an echo.

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 YVETTE: All my bag, my shoe. Worth nothing. Keep in my nephew
warehouse. Now he chuck out. Tonight. Tell me go back there to pick up my
thing.

NISHA: Can you arrange a courier?

YVETTE: Expensive!

NISHA: You have goods to sell.

YVETTE: No customer to buy.

NISHA: There’s always a market.

YVETTE: Who wants this old stuff?

NISHA: Obviously you wouldn’t tell anyone that it’s old.

[Pause.] Sheree should drive you.

YVETTE: Huh?

NISHA: To get your Pradas tonight.

YVETTE: [Pause.] I come upstairs to Level 20. Now. Empty bin for you.

NISHA: It’s fine. I wanted to come downstairs. 7-11. Need a Coke Zero top-
up.

YVETTE: You should buy big bottle. Save money.

NISHA: I should do a lot of things. I should arrange a face-to-face meeting
with the Indian Agricultural Minister because I told the CEO and the whole
Board of Golden Fields that it was already arranged and they’re all expecting
me to go to India and cinch a multi-billion dollar distribution buy-out.

YVETTE: Ok.

NISHA: Ok what?

YVETTE: Make the meeting.

NISHA: It’s not as easy as that.

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 SCRIPT EXCERPT TWO

NISHA: This is the part of the story where I tell you about an Indian princess.
Not the one who drinks green smoothies for breakfast. In India, once upon a
time, a beautiful West Bengali princess lost her husband. She was a widow.
Diduma was poor, she had her husband’s name but she had nothing without
him by her side. She scrimped and saved, and she fought her way to her
own Level 20. And when she couldn’t punch any higher, she made the
phone call that she had told herself she could never make because her Hindi
was so rubbish. A Minister. She picked up the phone. Spoke her best Hindi.
Bluffed. Put on her deeper voice. Made the case for why he should support
her application to leave West Bengal and come here, Australia.
The other day I came home and I gave her $50, so she can have her own
money, buy her own things. She went walking down the street the next day
and gave it all away to school kids. I yelled at my sisters, my parents. Let’s
get our fucking act together and keep her safe. And don’t tell me not to yell,
don’t blame me for not being here. I’m pumping money into this fucking
household. I am busy, I am strategic, I am the EO.
For breakfast, green smoothies. For lunch, salad. Fuck it. I cold-call the
Indian Agricultural Minister. Bluff. Speak my best international agricultural
talk. Put on my deeper voice. And… it works. Diduma would be proud. I’m
going to India.

TASKS – IDEAS FOR RESPONDING

If you are responding to the performance, here are some resources that will
help students to get writing. Both of these resources can easily be
reproduced as handouts for your students.

HOW CAN I USE THE ELEMENTS OF DRAMA?

The Elements of Drama can enhance a student’s understanding of a
production and its effectiveness.

The Elements of Drama include:

 Focus
 Space
 Role
 Relationships
 Time/Place/Situation
 Tension
 Structure
 Language/Sound
 Movement/Timing/Rhythm

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  Atmosphere/Mood/Symbol/Moment
 Audience Engagement/Dramatic Meaning

Here are some activities which can enhance your students understanding of
some of the elements.

Character: Character exercises are vital and you may want to start with
exercises that focus on awareness of facial expression, tone of voice, body
language and movement. You could incorporate improvisations here or
choose excerpts from scripts. Some concepts you might also like to explore
here are making offers, accepting offers, accepting and committing to the
fiction, conviction/belief, status, and action/reaction.

Time/Place/Situation/Tension: Improvisation is key here. Play around with

scenes that allow students to explore not only some typical situations but
some unusual ones as well e.g. underneath a rock, at the bottom of the
ocean etc. Really focus on the concept of conflict here.

Language/Sound: Voice workshops are a brilliant starting point. Have

students become aware of their breath, throat and diaphragm. Consider
doing an accent workshop. Have them work with scripts to explore clarity,
volume, pitch, pace, inflection, emphasis and pause. Consider how
atmosphere can be created using soundscapes and body percussion.
Explore scenes that use no sound or language.

Atmosphere/Mood/Symbol: Watch some film excerpts that use music to

guide the audience’s feelings in a scene. Consider the use of colour and set
in costumes and what they mean to the audience.

Audience Engagement/Dramatic Meaning: At the conclusion of every

exercise always ask the class what it was about the element of drama that
made the audience feel engaged in the action on stage and what they
understood was happening on stage because of that element. In adding this
in to your classroom discussion you are helping your students become
critical thinkers and theatre appreciators.

Writing a Review – Where do I start?

After watching a performance, you will have quite a strong sense of whether
or not it was effective. This is usually reinforced through your feelings of
whether or not you were engaged, moved, excited or disinterested in the
performance. The following categories and questions may assist students in
writing a review.

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Introduction
Include the name of the play you are reviewing, the name of the playwright,
the theatre where the performance was held and the date of the
performance; if you choose, you may also indicate your overall impression
of the play.

Plot
This is the actual action that happens on stage. Try to reduce the whole
story into a brief paragraph that includes all the main events.

Discuss themes and issues

Outline the themes and issues that you feel were important in the play. The
themes and issues carry the message of the play and are important in
helping the audience gain meaning from the performance. You should also
discuss your impression of the directorial concept in your review. Comment
on the director’s interpretation of the play, and how the choice of dramatic
form and performance style helps to communicate the play’s themes and
issues.

Analyse character objective and motivation

Describe and analyse the characters. To find the character’s objective, ask
yourself the question: What does the character want to achieve by the end
of the play? To find the character’s motivation, ask yourself the question:
Why does the character want to achieve their goal?

Evaluate the performer

(Give examples wherever possible!)
 How well did the actors use body language to express their
character?
 Were their movements and gestures appropriate for their character?
 How well did they use their voice to express character and deliver
lines?
 How focused did they seem during their performance?
 How convincing did the performer seem in their portrayal of their
character?

Comment on the use of the elements of production

Discuss how effective you think the use of sound, lighting, set and costume
were in the performance
Were the costumes suitable for the characters? How did the choice of
colours and designs suit the overall look of the performance?

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Was the set an effective use of space? Was the set easy for the actors to
manoeuvre around? In terms of colour and layout, did its design enhance
the performance?
How did the elements of production support the directorial concept?
Did the signs and symbols used within the production enhance meaning?
Was special lighting used at any time for a particular effect?
Did the use of live or recorded sound enhance or detract from the
performance?
How did lighting and sound establish location and create atmosphere?

Conclusion
Sum up the overall success of the play.

Attached below is a Responding to Live Theatre Worksheet. It is a way to

get students thinking about their live theatre experience and is broken down
into sections so they can plot out their ideas easily and simplistically. It can
be the beginnings of a review, an essay response or even a short response
exam.

Sample Questions Starters…

 Have students deconstruct the characters and the effectiveness of the

actors portrayal performance as an ensemble;

 Does the play explore isolation authentically? How does the set and
the overall design of the play support/detract from this? Think about
sound, lighting and set;

 Explore the themes of mood, role, time and movement and the way
they were portrayed through the use of set, music and design.

SAMPLE REVIEWS

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JEp69LJ6O
GgJ:www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/stage/michele-lees-rice-is-a-
humorous-take-on-the-human-condition/news-
story/17c0cca18400276c9629e0a61f5548ed+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=
au

https://www.absolutetheatre.com.au/single-post/2017/07/05/Review-
%E2%80%93-Rice-fast-paced-and-engaging

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EXAMPLE RESPONDING TASK

CONTEXT
… And from there it’s showtime. Lee’s often very funny script is filled with
crisp one-liners, terrific dialogue and a Brechtian awareness that this is
theatrical story‐telling, right down to a breath‐taking moment when the
audience is reassured that nothing, at that point, is happening. And the
moving bit? The fact that it doesn’t resolve the problems of the world but
encapsulates them in human terms.
Martin Buzacott, The Australian, July 3 2017.

TASK
In reviewing and responding to the play, we ask – did the risk pay off? Is
Rice an engaging piece of theatre or does it suffer for its own artistic
dreams?

As a writer, you will employ your detailed and specific knowledge and
understanding of drama to analyse and evaluate how effectively the
performance employed the dramatic languages to communicate dramatic
meaning to the audience.

 Your essay should address the following:

 What are the dominant themes, questions, or messages in the play?
 How has the story been reframed or updated to place it in a
contemporary context?
 What styles and conventions were used? Were they effective?
 Were the characters well-developed and engaging?
 Were mood, tension, and/or dramatic focus effectively managed to
engage the audience?
 How were symbol and/or contrast manipulated to communicate
dramatic meaning?
 Overall, was the play engaging and relevant for a contemporary
audience?

You need to clearly articulate your argument, ensuring that you justify your
evaluation with specific examples from the performance.

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 RESPONDING TO LIVE THEATRE WORKSHEET

NAME OF PLAY:

WRITTEN BY:

DIRECTED BY:

ACTORS:

Recommendation:
Why would you recommend this play? Why would it appeal to your target
audience?

Narrative:
(Briefly outline the plot in 75 words or less and then evaluate how effectively
the play will entertain the audience)
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Themes and Issues:

What themes and issues are illuminated in the play? Explain how. What
questions are raised for the audience?
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Characters:
Why are the characters so engaging? You can elaborate on one character
more however you need to address at least 2 of the characters in the play.
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Dramatic Tension:
Identify the major tensions in the play that entertain the audience/elaborate
on one of the major themes. Analyse two specific examples.
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 PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HENRY

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