So... what to talk about this month? Well, as there isn’t a current show going on, I had to think on it a bit. Strangely enough, it sort of hit me while I was on a lunch break at work. I was surfing the internet reading one of the online local theatre reviews, and I realized that the critic responsible for the article, who had ostensibly seen a show that I had also just watched, had a completely different reaction to the performance than I did. It seems everything that I felt was excellent wasn’t mentioned by her, and the enumerated strong points were things I thought could really use improvement. What, I wondered, was the deal? I don’t have a simple answer, but it certainly gave me an idea for a blog entry. What is the role of a community theatre critic, and how should actors (and directors, designers, etc.) respond to them?

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