Critical View
Students from a previous Critical View year.
Photo Credit: Mark Vancleave
Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Critical View Student Reviewer Program gives Minneapolis high school students the opportunity to attend and review touring Broadway productions, SpotLight Musical Theatre Program events and other opportunities depending on availability. Critical View teaches communication skills and enhances critical thinking and creative response. As part of Critical View, students receive study guides and press kits before the show, learn from experts including local theatre critics, playwrights and actors who teach workshops in lighting design to choreography, and in some cases, have expanded access to the Broadway touring cast and crew.
Students post their reviews and interact online through our Critical View Clubhouse (online access is required for participation). This program is free of cost to participants. Students are accepted through an application process. The application deadline for the 2012-13 school year will be in mid-September.
Learn More
Goals
- To provide high school students the opportunity to develop an appreciation for live theatre
- To provide a unique and engaging forum for student learning outside of the classroom
- To develop and enhance critical thinking, self-expression and analytical writing skills
Elements of the Program
- Participants see up to eight live theatre performances, often touring Broadway productions, at the State, Orpheum or Pantages Theatres and write reviews
- Opportunity to review press materials provided to the professional media
- Workshops with professionals in the theatre and journalism fields
- Tour of one of the theatres and tour of the Star Tribune plant
- Student reviews posted on the Hennepin Theatre Trust website, in the theatre and Critical View reviewer site
What participants are saying:
“I LOVE Critical View so much! Going to see all of those plays was so amazing. I really appreciate what the program has done for me.”
-Diamond Billinger, Critical View student
“Fiddler on the Roof is one of the best performances I have seen this year, tied with Wicked and Spring Awakening. There is no one better than Chaim Topol to tell the classic story of family hardship and change.”
-Sara Sommers, Critical View student
“I have loved Rent ever since I saw the movie. Being able to see the stage version with two of the original cast members was beyond amazing. It was so much fun and definitely an experience I’ll always remember.”
-Alicia Battle, Critical View student
Contact Us
For more information about Critical View please contact:
Melissa Koch, Director of Education and Community Engagement
Melissa.Koch@hennepintheatretrust.org
612.455.9530
