“Mateer is at her most compelling when she's talking about the game...From there, her story goes in all directions and loses the grounding force that basketball was seemingly intended to provide...As we charge through the chapters of her biography, the conspicuous absence of narrative shape dilutes the potential wallop ‘A Kind Shot’ could have...There's a valuable story at the heart of 'A Kind Shot,' but for it to come into focus, Mateer needs to sweep away some of the debris.”
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"So much happens in 'A Kind Shot,' it would be helpful if Mateer could contextualize her material better. Some really terrible things happen to her, but it's hard to assess their role in creating the woman standing before us...Mateer is never a less-than-affable presence -- but this is a remarkably unreflective example of a genre that demands self-examination...It's hard not to wish that Mateer had given this piece a longer, more probing look."
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“And that's essentially the problem with ‘A Kind Shot.’ Clocking in at 75 minutes, the ‘performance’ feels more like a motivational speech than a theatrical event. It's well-meaning and well-told, but other than the charismatic Mateer, there isn't much else to it. The set, a masking tape outline of a shrunken basketball key, accomplishes so little visually that it begs the question, ‘Why bother at all?’”
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"Her story is worth hearing, even though she isn't the most natural performer...She sometimes pauses in a way that's unclear whether she's forgotten a line or it is just part of her acting style. No director is credited; one could probably have helped her overcome these issues. It almost all comes together at the end, and there's an important lesson—even if you are tall and strong and athletic, you can still be a victim of sexual harassment and abuse."
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“Holding a basketball throughout, Mateer dribbles delightfully through the picaresque game of her life…Sometimes, though, given the no-nonsense, smart, and sassy woman Mateer presents, it's a little hard to buy the innocence she professes when recalling these circumstances... Speaking in a…manner that is so unpretentiously direct…it almost seems she's improvising, Mateer lands many three-pointers…May not be a slam dunk but it offers a fascinating insight into one unusual woman's hoop dreams.”
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“A consummate storyteller with a mighty presence...Her story is devastating and necessary...It never becomes indulgent or sentimental but is rather a series of well executed dunks at high speed. It will be an enduring work that can be performed for many years to come as the messages inherent in the text needs to be heard by every generation...A perfect combination of brilliant acting, detailed physicality, hard-hitting text and uplifting personal triumphs."
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"Though the dialogue could stand some tightening, and a director could help Mateer better realize the moments that call out for a pause, her saga, her stage presence and her intimate style of delivery bring home a win...Mateer starts off slowly...But as her pace quickens, there is little time to absorb just how disturbing some of her experiences were...Mateer's physicality is a great asset to her storytelling, especially in the strong final moments when she fully extends her body."
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"Like nothing ever seen...Terri tells us her story, basketball in hand, in a comfortable, intimate setting...The story is simple and somewhat funny, until she begins to unfold the more perverse parts of her life...She takes us all the way through her childhood, and into her adulthood, which luckily results in a happy ending, something the viewer longs for this girl in the story who never really knew who she was. It's truly a fresh, brave, daring take on the one-woman show."
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