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Sharing Opinions and Learning about Theatre. At intermission and again at the end of the show, you'll return to the Cappies room to discuss what you thought about the show per the four evaluation factors for each category in the Theatre Evaluation Guide. This sharing of opinions brings out observations and information that help everyone learn more about theatre, and, thus, write thoughtful reviews and give knowledgeable scores. For instance, you may be wondering what positive aspects you can use in your review to balance the criticism you have for a show, when a fellow Critic notes the difficulty level of the lighting, making you realize how well the lighting was done under the circumstances. Or you may think those simple-looking dresses involved little costuming ability until a fellow Critic points out details showing how cleverly they were designed.
Keeping the Discussion Moving. The discussion after the show is supposed to take should take about 45 minutes. To keep it moving along so everyone can go home in a timely manner, please raise your hand to speak, state your opinion briefly when you're called on, and then listen quietly while other Critics give theirs. Listen carefully so that you don't repeat the same observation or just heap onto the same point.
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After you and your fellow Critics make Critics' Choices, you will choose your own score for each one and the play/musical as a whole. These preliminary scores are to help you remember, at the end-of-year voting, what you thought about each of the shows you saw. The 10-point scale you'll use is explained at the bottom of the Critics' Choices form, and tips for scoring are given for each category in the Theatre Evaluation Guide. If your school has done this show, take extra care to base your scores only on the production you are reviewing. Do not base them on a comparison with any other performances.(Some Cappie chapters use a 2-9 point scale). Review the theater guide for scoring and consider the degree of difficulty of a role.
Fair Scoring
Across all the shows you see, and all of the Critics' Choices you score, try to keep your overall average score somewhere between a 5 and a 7 – especially if this is your first year as a critic. If you're mean evaluation score is below 5, maybe you're too "meancritcal." If your average score is above 7, maybe you're a little too nice. Your overall score for a show category should be in a similar range as the individual scores. If you scored a majority of the performers and technical categories with 6 and 7 you should NOT score the show a category a 3 or a 9.
Apply the same scoring standards to shows in the fall, winter, and spring. If, over the course of the year, you feel that your scoring scale has changed, you can fix adjust that when you vote for awards at the end of the school year.
Nomination and Award Notes
The Critics' Choices are the names that will appear on the ballot at the end of the year, that is, those that you can vote for to receive Cappies nominations or awards. So, you may also wish to mark a few N's and A's next to the score of people you think might deserve nominations (N) or awards (A) – to help you remember what you thought when it comes time to vote at the end of the year. Reminder that if you are scoring a 3 in orchestra it should not receive a nomination or award.
Turning in Your Scoring Sheet
When you are done scoring and making whatever notes you want, sign your sheet and include your school's name and turn it in to the Mentors before you leave. It will be kept safe so you can see it on voting day. You may also wish to save your show programs to refresh your memory before you vote for awards. (If you forget to hand in your form, bring it to the next show, and give it to a Mentor when other forms are turned in for that show. Clip on a note as a reminder that it's for an earlier show. If this happens at your last show, just bring the form with you when you vote.)