MAR
29

Post-Mortem:  5 Wonderful Ways to Reflect

By Lavinia Roberts 

Lavinia Roberts is a theatre teacher and award-winning playwright who’s passionate about arts education and about creating zany, engaging, and meaningful plays for schools and community theaters. 

What is a post-mortem and why do one?

In the context of a theatrical performance, a post-mortem meeting is a discussion held at the end of a production’s run.  A post-mortem is an important opportunity for the ensemble to process their experience working on the performance.

• This is an opportunity to celebrate accomplishments and strong choices made during the rehearsal process and performance run.
• Additionally, this is a space to acknowledge challenges and instill a growth mindset in the ensemble.

Discuss!

Consider having a short discussion with your ensemble.  Here are some possible questions to pose to your cast and crew during a post-mortem:

Here are some creative activities you might consider as additional ways to reflect upon your production:

Hold an award ceremony

Do your own version of an award ceremony after the production.  Encourage students to dress up in their finest.  Lay out a red carpet if you have one (red masking tape signifying one will do).  Have students write short acceptance speeches which include the answer to a specific question like, “What I appreciated about the rehearsal process during this production?”  or “What do I want to learn more about after working on this production?”  Give each student a certificate that acknowledges something they did well in the production.  Examples of possible awards include:  having perfect attendance, being a good listener, being quiet backstage, or having a positive attitude.  The awards could also be silly and specific to the production like doing the best evil witch laugh or having the most meticulously organized rubber chickens on a prop table award.

Use improv!

Create an improv acting game that centers on reflection.  For example, have one actor be the host of a TV show interviewing cast and crew members about the production.  You also could have actors cast as local newspaper reporters reporting on the production and interviewing the cast and crew.  Have a narrator share a challenging moment in the production where they had to use teamwork to succeed, and have a few actors perform the story silently behind them.  In small groups you could have actors create tableaus or still images with their bodies of a moment from the production that emotionally resonated with them, that they then share with the ensemble.

Write on!

Creative writing can also be an important space for actors to reflect on their experiences.  There are various ways to have actors reflect on a production.  Put them into small groups and have them write theatrical reviews of the production for a made-up publication.  In small groups or individually, have them write a short monologue or play about a challenging experience they overcame while working on the show.  You could even have the actors do stage readings of the plays.  Another possible creative writing activity is to assign everyone to write a thoughtful and specific thank you note to another member of the ensemble acknowledging their hard work and how they contributed to the success of the production.

Keep it short and sweet

If you don’t have time to do a long post-mortem after the ensemble, consider incorporating reflection into the run of the production.  After each performance, gather in a circle and have each member of the ensemble share one word to describe their experience working on the production.  You could have a reflection board that, after each performance, actors put a sticky note on answering one question before they leave the theater.  You also could hang up large pieces of paper with questions written on them that actors answer after each performance.  You could then briefly discuss the responses before the next performance.  You also could have students answer one to three questions after each performance on notecards that they then give to you to look over.

Celebrate together!

Overall, remember to celebrate your cast and crew for their hard work on the production.  Theatre is a collaborative art form, and a post-mortem is all about reflecting on and recognizing the contributions of the ensemble.