Critics meet in the O'Neill's Sunken Garden. Instructors Larry DeVine and Dan Sullivan in session with the 2006 Critics Class.

A BOOT CAMP FOR CRITICS -- OR A RE-BOOT

The O'Neill National Critics Institute--NCI, for short--is designed for theater critics who aren't satisfied with their copy.

Running concurrently with the National Playwrights Conference and the National Music Theater Conference, NCI offers three things that the average critic doesn't get on the job:

1. Informed, objective feedback on his/her writing from recognized, experienced critics (Michael Feingold of the Village Voice, Newsday's Linda Winer.)
2. Total immersion in the backstage life of a working professional theater. (NCI is the only American critics' workshop with such a partnership.)
3. The fellowship of others in the profession, something that's hard to come by in smaller communities. ("It was a comfort to realize that I'm not alone in this," said one of our graduates.)

At heart, NCI is an intensive writing workshop. Critic fellows turn out a piece of copy almost every night--a review of last night's show, a description of an individual actor's performance, an interview with the director. After breakfast the copy is read aloud and dissected by the group, under the direction of a seasoned theater writer or editor. "A boring script?" Example, please. "A great performance?" Prove it.

These morning sessions aren't held for the benefit of the rest of the base. "We don't come to the O'Neill to tell the playwrights what's wrong with their scripts," says NCI director Dan Sullivan, who reviewed theater for the Los Angeles Times for twenty years. "This is about our process as writers -- the place where we exercise our right to fail."

After lunch, the critic fellows are plunged into the O'Neill's production process. Sullivan: "For two weeks we live and breathe theater. We find out -- if we didn't know already, and as a rookie reviewer I didn't -- how a director puts a new play on its feet in four days. If Edward Albee visits the O'Neill, we sit down with Edward Albee. Our lighting designer may have us hanging lights in the Barn.

"It's a tough two weeks, not a vacation at the beach. We like to call it a boot camp for critics. For critics with experience it's a re-boot. There's no other program like it."

NCI's 2008 season runs from July 7-21. It will include field trips to other Connecticut theaters, such as the Goodspeed Opera House and the Ivoryton Playhouse.

Critic fellows are housed at nearby Connecticut College but spend most of the day on the O'Neill grounds. Some classes are held at the Monte Cristo Cottage, Eugene O'Neill's boyhood home and the scene of Long Day's Journey into Night.

Although primarily designed for working journalists, NCI also welcomes college teachers. CEU credits are available. Application deadline is May 15.

Cost of the session is $1,800. This includes private room, meals, tuition and tickets to Playwrights Conference and Music Theater Conference shows. A $100 deposit is required on acceptance, with full payment due June 1. Financial aid is available: working journalists may be eligible for full or partial scholarships from the New York Times Foundation and the Foundation of the American Theater Critics Association. For more information call 860/443-5378 or visit the O'Neill website -www.theoneill/critics. Director Dan Sullivan is available at 612/522-9053 or at sulli008@yahoo.com.

Program Overview