Parsons School of Design Virtual Show Attendance Response Paper

Show Response Paper and Virtual Show Attendance Requirements:

For this semester, because many theaters across the country are still facing problems with staying open, you will not be required to go out in public to watch the shows that you’ve selected. Obviously – and hopefully – circumstances may change through the course of the semester. If you want to watch your shows in person, by all means, please go out and support live theater in a safe and healthy way. However, since we can’t predict the future, we’ll proceed through the semester with the option to watch everything online.

I’m still glad that you went through the process of researching theater in your area and deciding which of those shows was most appealing for you. I hope that when the world gets back to normal, the skills you used to complete the Show Selection Assignment will help you to find live theater to get out an watch. Remember, live theater will need your support more than ever once the theaters reopen to their full capacity. Many of you noticed this as you completed the Current Events Assignment. So as much as it pains me to substitute the experience of watching live theater with watching live recordings online, we just have to provide the option.

First of all, in order to watch a Professional Musical, Professional Straight Play, and a Theatrical Event, you’ll need to create an account with Broadway HD. You can create an account and take advantage of a 7-day free trial. NOTE: In order to not be charged for this account, you must cancel your account before the end of the free trial. That means, you should not sign up for the account until you’re ready to start watching the shows because you’ll only have 7 days to do it. Of course, you’re welcome to pay the $8.99 per month and keep the account for as long as you want. Some of you may be interested in doing that so that you can take a little more time to see the shows and complete your Show Response Paper. Some of you may be interested in doing that because you’ll find some cool stuff that you want to take more time to watch. But some of you will want to cancel on day 6 to make darn sure you don’t get charged. That’s totally fine as well.

To set up your account with Broadway HD:

• Go to broadwayhd.com
• Under Monthly, click “Choose this Plan”
• Follow the instructions to set up your account which includes the 7 day free trial. You’ll need a credit card to be able to do this.
• Note: you may want to set yourself a notification or reminder in your phone to make sure you cancel the free trial before you’re charged.

Once you’ve set up your account, you’re ready to follow the instructions below to watch a Professional Musical, Professional Straight Play, and a Theatrical Event. There are several options below for you to watch Community Theater which will be viewed on You Tube and require no subscription.

Once you’ve watched a show from each of the 4 categories (Professional Musical, Professional Straight Play, Theatrical Event, and Community Theater), you’re ready to complete the Show Response Paper. Details about the expectations for that paper will be given here below the instructions on how to watch the shows.

Remember, you’re not just writing a summary or review about each of the 4 shows that you watch. You are to compare the experience of watching shows from the different categories.

Here are the individual instructions for each category…

PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL
To watch a Professional Musical, first follow the instructions above to create an account with BroadwayHD.com, then follow the instructions below:

• In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on “Categories”
• Using the dropdown menu, click on “Musicals”
• You may select any one of the musicals listed on this page to count as your Professional Musical
• Note: at the bottom of the page, you can click “Load More” to expand the list of musicals

PROFESSIONAL STRAIGHT PLAY
To watch a Professional Straight Play, first follow the instructions above to create an account with BroadwayHD.com, then follow the instructions below:

• In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on “Categories”
• Using the dropdown menu, click on “Plays”
• You may select any one of the plays listed on this page to count as your Professional Straight Play
• Note: at the bottom of the page, you can click “Load More” to expand the list of plays

THEATRICAL EVENT
To watch a Theatrical Event, first follow the instructions above to create an account with BroadwayHD.com, then follow the instructions below:

• In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on “Categories”
• Using the dropdown menu, click on “Performing Arts”
• You may select “Vox Lemiere The Hunchback of Notre Dame” to count as your Theatrical Event

Or

• In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on “Categories”
• Using the dropdown menu, click on “Cirque du Soleil”
• You may select any one of the productions listed on this page to count as your Theatrical Event

COMMUNITY THEATER
You may select any of the following Community Theater selections to watch on You Tube:

• Newsies
• Wizard of Oz
• As an alternative to watching the two Community Theater options above, some of you may have access to a video recording of a play or musical that you or a loved one participated in at a local community theater. You’re welcome to submit a production like this as an option, but you’ll need to email me before you complete this assignment to get approval. If you choose this option, please don’t wait until the last minute because you will need time to receive the approval. You’ll also need to provide me with a link to see the show for myself so that I’ll know whether or not to grant approval.

And those are your alternatives to watching theater live. It breaks my heart to encourage watching recorded theater. It’s just simply not the same thing. But I definitely think it’s the right thing to do under these circumstances.

And finally, here are the specifics of what you should submit for the paper…

Show Response Paper
Tell me what you thought about the shows in comparison to each other. Don’t simply write about what happened in the shows. I don’t want to read a synopsis of the four shows you watched. I want to know how you felt about the experiences that you had watching four different types of productions.

Here are some questions you can use to prompt you through the writing of your paper:

Did you like them? Why? Did you hate them? Why? What aspects of the productions did you find successful? What aspects do you feel could be improved upon? Which one was your favorite? Why? Which one was your least favorite? Why? How did they compare to each other? After seeing these four types of productions, which type of theater are you most likely to attend again? How did watching these productions change your appreciation of Theater?

You do not have to wait until the deadline to submit this paper. I would recommend writing this paper as soon as you have completed viewing your fourth show. That way the shows will be fresh in your memory. I would also recommend that after you watch your first, second, and third shows that you take notes, or perhaps begin the first drafts of this paper. This way you will have notes to refer to for the first, second, and third shows.

These papers are to be no more than THREE pages long, double spaced, and written in twelve-point font. There’s no minimum, but you should probably get pretty close to the three page maximum.

Some things to keep in mind when writing your paper

I want to give you instructions on what is expected in terms of structure, so that you can receive the highest marks possible. Students who follow these instructions often see an improvement in their writing assignment grades, not only in this class but others. Good academic writing is important in any course. Believe me, professors are happy when they see such effort put forth.

Papers for this course have an inherently subjective grading component; meaning that a portion of the final grade cannot help but be based on my opinion of your work. Therefore, I try to make structure and grammar weigh significantly, so that the grade has a strong objective base. Strong structure and grammar will earn between a B and a B+ (80-89) depending upon how well the sentences build in each paragraph, etc. Any writing that earns an A (90 or higher) is of strong academic quality and additional points are based on how well the writing flows, builds, and drives.

It is not my philosophy when grading papers that you start with a 100 for the assignment and lose points from there. Rather, you start with a blank expectation and earn the grade by accomplishing the above and below mentioned standards in your writing. Therefore, my best advice is to write academically-

• Use strong structure (the body of the paper should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. So should each paragraph).
• Be succinct. The assignment is three pages for a reason; to limit the space in which you have to express yourself. Therefore, if you are attempting strong analysis it becomes very important to pick your words well and build to a point. Each sentence should build and drive the thought of the overall analysis, because there is no space to waste.
• Spell check and be strict about grammar.
• Make sure you do something to identify the title of a play (underline, italicize, or place in quotation marks).