For Immediate Release: November 9, 2006
Media Contact: Amy Watson Bish, Delaware Theatre Company, 302.594.1104 x244

The fifth season of a valuable educational program is underway at Delaware Theatre Company (DTC). Seven area high school students are participating in the Young Critics program offered through DTC's Department of Education and Community Engagement. The Young Critics review DTC's mainstage productions and Delaware Young Playwrights Festival productions and meet monthly with DTC Artistic Associate, David Stradley, to discuss the critic's process and be part of a theatre criticism "think tank." The Young Critics are encouraged to become more sophisticated audience members and to explore a critical response to theatre that goes beyond the typical "thumbs up, thumbs down" reaction. The reviews of the Young Critics are then posted on the DTC website.

The seven students participating in the 2006-2007 season Young Critics program are: Stephanie Brown (St. Elizabeth High School), Dan Jones (Brandywine High School), Jacob Markiewitz (Charter School of Wilmington), Nathan McMichael and Ned Redmond (Newark High School), Kelly Reeder (Padua Academy), and Sean Ryon (Sanford School).

To become a Young Critic, each student fills out an application and submits a writing sample to David Stradley. The application process is open to all students whose teachers chose to have their classrooms participate in DTC's Delaware Young Playwrights Festival. The deadline for Young Critic submissions each year is early fall. The applications and writing samples are then reviewed and only a small handful of critics are chosen to participate.

The Young Critics face an exciting and challenging season once they are on board. Attendance at monthly meetings, viewing DTC performances, and submission of reviews are the mandatory requirements of participation in the program. The Young Critics are introduced to professional critics and theatre artists who speak about their jobs and the relationship between theatre and its critics. The group also studies and analyzes professional reviews, reads articles on the tasks of the critic, and considers questions such as "Is the critic a part of the theatre community?" and "What is the difference between a reviewer and a critic?"

Each critic attends a performance during the opening weekend of every DTC production and a performance of Delaware Young Playwrights Festival. Within three days of viewing the show, they provide a copy of their written review to Stradley, who serves as an editor and mentor, guiding the students through revision processes while reinforcing the topics and themes discussed during the monthly Young Critics meeting. The meetings also serve as a medium for open discussion of the plays and inspiring the critics to find their voice. The critics are asked to defend or clarify points from their reviews for the rest of the group and they learn from each other, particularly when the group members may have opposing views. Each Young Critic review is posted within the Department of Education and Community Engagement section of the DTC website and is also displayed in the gallery at DTC.

One of the purposes of the Young Critics program is to encourage interested students on becoming well-rounded theatregoers and people who will apply their ability to creatively analyze not only to theatre, but to everyday life. "Although I do hope our process creates thoughtful theatre reviews," Stradley says, "I also hope the process improves each student's ability to be alive and aware in our world. Young Critics hopefully awakens students to the possibilities of theatre and their own lives."

Delaware Theatre Company's p rograms are made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.

Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware's premier professional theatre, is located at 200 Water Street, on Wilmington's exciting Riverfront. Delaware Theatre Company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, the Arts Consortium of Delaware, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, and the Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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