Today we had a visiter from the other school doing diploma, Porchester. She is the leader of that school. Firstly we were discussing what we have been up to and the things we have dine so far in the module. After this we looked at out Quadrophenia critiques and started to re-drat them. i re-drafted mine twice after having feedback from Mr Coulson and our visiter. This really helped me improve my work and hopefully get a better mark for the critique.(RL5)
Firstly I wrote down ideas of the good aspects of the show and what I liked and then put things that were bad and could have been improved.
After doing this I then created a draft of the critique. I wrote a brief description of the show and then analyzed it, giving my opinions on the show and things I would have improved. Finally, I then gave it a star rating on how good I thought the show was.
After doing this I then re-read this draft and made notes on the sections that could be improved on. I needed to consider the different aspects involved in creating this show more and assess the lighting and sound more for example.
Finally, I wrote the final draft, setting it out professionally and included a picture into the text. I then took into consideration the feedback I got from some of my group who also read my draft and the notes I made. This improved my critique.
This is the draft of my critique:
Venue: Mayflower Theatre
Place: Southampton
Review Date: October 12th 2009
Rating:
Pete Townshend’s 1973‘s album, Quadrophenia has been adapted to be a Rock Opera and it is now on tour and at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. With an energetic cast and a rocking live orchestra in the background, this theatre experience is memorable and a must see show!
As The Who was before my time I wondered what the show would entail, furthermore as this show is classed as a rock opera I was expecting it to be a classical musical score with a rock twist portraying a story for two and a half hours. It was much, much more!
The story follows the life of a young man Jimmy, a London Mod (fashion and music obsessed, working class yobs), trying to find himself. This is portrayed by four actors showing the different aspects of Jimmy’s personalities, the romantic, the lunatic, the hard man and the hypocrite. In some songs throughout the story it is often hard to understand which one of the split personalities is being portrayed and some of the action and suspense is lost.
The story continues by following Jimmy, his friends and arch rivals The Rockers ( wear black leather and listen to classic Rock ’n’ Roll) to brighton. With a continuous series of powerful and moving songs portraying the continuous battle between the two gangs. Additionally after Jimmy looses the girl he has lusted over for so long he returns home and his life falls apart. The way the songs are staged by the actors moves the audience with songs such as “Love Reign O’er Me” leaving chills down your spine.
With a moving centre stage which is used to portray the chaos in the story and it is used effectively by the actors and the brilliant scenery is relevant and effective in all scenes, moreover it all adds to the atmosphere built up throughout the performances. The costumes were funky and relevant to this era, they also gave the audience an idea of the difference between the two groups. Furthermore I really enjoyed the dances which accompanied the songs, the choreography was ablaze and satisfying.
However, the opera sometimes overpowered the singers on stage and the story plot sometimes got confusing when scenes changed abruptly. Despite this I feel it was a positive experience and this show would appeal to any of the one who has experienced this era of time and wants to relive it for a night. It also appeals to a younger audience that likes rock music and action theatre, like myself who found it enjoyable and a really super theatre performance.
Overall today I have learned to produce a well presented and written critique, exploring all the aspects of the show and how effective the were.
In addition to this i learned to analyze a show and point out all of the less obvious things (like lighting) and say how they could have bee improved.
I have showed strengths in doing this stage and taken on feedback to improve the quality of my work.
I conducted a well-focused investigation into the show and gave my personal response to the show.
I explained it in detail well and underlined the things that were enjoyable and could have been improved.
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