Dear White People: TWO TRAINS RUNNING is not a play about race
A critic evaluating TWO TRAINS RUNNING is not an anthropologist studying another culture through their artifacts.
theater criticism
Ethics for theater critics: Does an analysis by a privileged journalist have value?
Do writers get more ethical the more they are paid?
Critical Mass: Arden’s MACBETH introduces a new feature on Phindie
Readers of Phindie will know that I’m a big fan of William Shakespeare. Yet in the Fall, when I got an invitation to see a favored young Shakespeare group, Revolution…
Code of Practice for Theater Critics
the Code of Practice for the International Association of Theatre Critics
Debra Miller: An interview with Philadelphia’s most prolific theater reviewer
Debra Miller sees a LOT of theater. Indeed, she is the most prolific theater writer in town. Henrik Eger talked to Deb about her background and writing.
Why Phindie? The editor’s personal statement
Personal statement by Phindie editor Christopher Munden. How he got into publishing and why he started Phindie.
“The Experiment”: ARCADIA (Lantern), Introduction to an experiment in criticism
Phindie writer Michael Fisher introduces his multi-part critical experiment, using the Lantern’s production of ARCADIA as his guinea pig subject.
The Conversation Starter: A Fringe show, a reviewer’s word choice, and why it’s good to talk
Conversations are not always comfortable, but when Colie McClellan had an issue with a Phindie review, she decided to start one.
Victor Fiorillo, A Doll’s House, and the role of the reviewer
A review by Victor Fiorillo of EgoPo Classic Theatre’s A Doll’s House got Phindie writer Julius Ferraro contemplating the role of reviewer. This is part of Phindie‘s ongoing series on theater criticism….
An Interview with Inquirer critic Merilyn Jackson
Published by The Dance Journal, republished with kind permission. Merilyn Jackson has been writing regularly on dance for The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1996 and prior to that on dance, theater,…
Just one asshole with an opinion: theater critic Mark Cofta on the art of reviewing and observations on Philly’s theater scene
Originally published on the FringeArts blog. Republished with kind permission. “I see 150 to 180 plays a year, and still always regret missing a bunch.” Mark Cofta has been covering…
The Purpose of Criticism: Roger Ebert, Lester Bangs, and Psychotic Reactions
Following his much-discussed piece on Gimmickry in Theater, Michael F. Fisher considers the role of the critic, and how theater criticism in Philadelphia compares to the best pop culture reviews….
“Reviewing a Play”
Writing a play review, a brief critical account of an actual performance, involves making an evaluation.
Theater People vs. Theater Critics…The Ultimate Debate
I’ve been a lover of the stage as long as I can remember. Mostly this love has been realized as a patron of local theaters. My father acted in community…
Why’s Everyone Such a Critic?
I’ve been a lover of the stage as long as I can remember. Mostly this love has been realized as a patron of local theaters. My father acted in community…
Updike’s guide to reviewing
Submit to whatever spell, weak or strong, is being cast. Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the…
Philadelphia Theatre Reviews
I’ve never acted, except for a brief cameo in a high school musical on which I was working back stage. I have never studied acting, or playwriting, or plays (again,…
