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An Advanced List of Questions to Critique a Play
1. Tell what the play was about, describe it.

• Where did it take place? What sounds did you hear?
• Who were the characters and what was the story?
• Was the play realistic? Did the characters seem like real people in a real setting? Or was it fantastic as if it was in a whole different world, not like ours at all?

2. Think about what the playwright, designers and actors did, analyze the play.

• The playwright made choices when he or she wrote the play
  • Which characters were interesting? Why?
  • What dialogue really fit the characters and helped you understand them? What dialogue helped to tell the story?
  • How did the setting help tell the story?
  • Was the story interesting, fun, scary? Why?
• The actors rehearsed the play
  • Which characters did you believe? Why? When did they listen to one another and sound and look as if they were talking to one another?
  • How did the actors move?
  • How did the actors talk?
• The designers made choices when they created the setting and costumes, lighting and sound
  • Did the set designer and costumer choose to make the setting and costumes seem real, like we would expect to see in real life? Or did they choose to make it seem fantastical, not real? How did that help tell the story?
  • What colors, lines and shapes did the set and costume designers choose? How did this help set the mood and tell the story?
  • Which props and costumes helped you know about the time and place of the play?
  • Did the lighting seem real or unreal? How did that help tell the story? Did the lighting help you see what was happening?
  • Were there sound effects? How did they help tell the story? Was there music? Did it help set the mood and tell the story? When?

3. How did the play make you feel? What did it make you think about? Interpret the play.

• How did the characters and play make you feel? Why?
• What was the play saying about people in general, or about life? What did the play mean to you?
• What might the play mean to your friends or family?

4. Think about the whole play, what did you particularly like. What would you like changed? Evaluate it.

• Did you enjoy the play? When was it particularly interesting or funny or scary? Is there anything you’d like to be different about the story.
• Which actor/characters did you particularly like? Is there anything you would ask the actors to do differently?
• Which settings and costumes were attractive? Which one made the play more interesting? Is there anything you’d ask the designers to do differently?
• Who would you tell about the play so they might go to see it?