Reviewing people you know

Hey All, Seriously, many thanks for all of the feedback on this so far. :) I think Craig brings up a very valid point that I have forgotten - a review and a critique are different things. The line between the two is blurry, but they ARE two different things. I think that what we see most of on this site are critiques - being honest, that's predominantly what I do. Kudos to Gordon the Optom - he's most definately a reviewer, not a critiquer. And I always value what he writes as I trust it comes from a balanced, informed perspective whether he appears to know someone in the cast/crew or not. At the same time, I don't think the critiques should stop. I personally learn a lot from the critiques I read on this site, whether written about one of my performaces or someone else's (as long as I have seen the show they are in). Marcie makes a good point: "I do think you can review shows involving people you know. In fact, I think it's probably not a bad idea to pretend you know everyone you mention, because this changes the way you word what you write. Some of the writing on this site is just nasty; you can make the same basic points but just be tactful about it, as you presumably would be if you were face to face with the subject. Some of the comments don't need to be made at all." Using this strategy would allow you to be the MOST effective when offering constructive criticism. People respond much better to advice/criticism that they think is coming from a good place. If you have some honest advice for someone, they are far more likely to listen to you if you phrase it in a positive, helpful manner :) The other possibility is to think "How would I like someone to tell ME that?" This would have a very similar effect I believe. Finally, coming back to the original question of this thread - Is it possible to review people you know from a balanced perspective, I'm going to quote Craig: "As for bias, this would occur if the reviewer was promoting (or demoting) something or someone more than it deserved. For instance if a reviewer said good things about a show with his friends in it, when it wasn't really justified. This should obviously be avoided...eventually, when found out, a reviewer with bias will simply lose all credibility. Having said this, if you have friends in a show who deserve to be heaped in praise, and you heap praise on them, this isn't bias so long as it is exactly what you would do if they weren't your friends...ie no preferential treatment (or unfair panning of people you don't get on with). So yes, you can review your friends positively and not be biased, if you can put it in a fair perspective." I have re-read the review (really a critique) that I wrote that spurred this whole discussion and I wrote the most positive remarks about someone that I had never met/seen before viewing the show in question and I offered constructive feedback to the people that I know well... I guess this means that, yes, I can write balanced reviews of people I know. Thanks again for everyone's feedback on this topic. :) Darren