Posted by Jim Seay
on 7/15/2009, 4:25 pm, in reply to "Re: We've Done it Again! Reviews in SJ-R..."
The major difference is that professional theatre uses TRAINED talent -- trained either in professional acting schools or from long years in the trenches. That is the "line in the sand." A recent community theatre production in this area had a very large cast which ran the distance from former Equity actors to a couple in their seventies who had not been in a play since Junior High. This is a disparity that one does not find in the professional ranks. I think it makes a difference, but that, like a review, is only the opinion of one person.
One needs not to be too gentle with community theatre, but, in the reviews, there is no need or place(I personally believe this is true in ANY review at ANY level) to be vicious, or sarcastic, just because it sounds clever. A really good reviewer does not NEED to be clever -- he (or she) just needs to know what they are talking about.
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