How would you direct the key scenes to reflect Miller’s ideas in‘The Crucible’ ?
How would you direct the key scenes to reflect Miller's ideas in
'The Crucible' ?
Miller wrote 'The Crucible' as a parallel with the 'Mcarthy,
Communism paranoia that terrorized America in the 1950's. The
play highlights the tendency in America to gather in masses
against the individual. Although may not be clear, the play is meant
to show how people haven't changed in hundreds of years and this
is reflected by the paranoia and the way that many people are
accused in the Salem witch trials.
Although the symptoms that are thought to be witchcraft
are historically correct and did actually happen at the time,
recent research suggests that the destruction of crops and the
illness that 'victims' suffered from actually had nothing to do with
witchcraft and were in fact caused by ergot poisoning. The ergot
forms on Rye in certain weather conditions. The symptoms can
include hallucination, fever and convulsions. The weather conditions
around the time of the Salem witch trials were such, that that
ergot may have been present in the Rye fields around Salem. The
ergot may have taken hold, with people hallucinating and believing
they saw things that they didn't, leading to accusations of
witchcraft and helping hysteria to rise. If this is true then a great
many people were killed during the Salem witch trials unnecessarily,
in much the same way as the false accusations of people who were
accused f being communists during the 'Mcarthy era'.
In the play, one of the key points that Miller wanted to get
across was the fact that no matter how respectable or well
meaning someone is, hysteria can still damn them a victim. The
accusation and trial of Rebecca Nurse, who is claimed by most of
the people in the village to be the most godly and kind-hearted of
them all. Most people feel that it is outrageous that she can be
accused of dealing with the Devil. Also with Abigail Williams
accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, as Elizabeth is a
respected member 'of the community'.
The first scene that we are looking at is in act 2. It begins with
Elizabeth and John proctor in the midst of arguing. In the scene,
the tense relationship between them is established. John's flaw
is revealed: his brief fling with Abigail Williams, their ex-housekeeper.
It also becomes clear that Elizabeth is an upright woman, who is
unable to fully forgive or trust her husband. This part of the
scene must be directed accordingly, in order to see the full extent
of Elizabeth's inability to 'let sleeping dogs lie'. The tension should
be shown to gradually increase, until the entrance of Hale towards
the end of the scene.
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the tense relationship between them is established. John's flaw
is revealed: his brief fling with Abigail Williams, their ex-housekeeper.
It also becomes clear that Elizabeth is an upright woman, who is
unable to fully forgive or trust her husband. This part of the
scene must be directed accordingly, in order to see the full extent
of Elizabeth's inability to 'let sleeping dogs lie'. The tension should
be shown to gradually increase, until the entrance of Hale towards
the end of the scene.
When Hale enters, Elizabeth and John
are embarrassed, as any one would be if a stranger had walked in
on a private argument. When they discover that Hale is their to
tell of Elizabeth's name being mentioned in court, they start to
unite and Elizabeth seems to forget John's 'flaw' and they unite
together against the court. When Hale enters, he seems to be
dominant and in charge. This is represented by him inviting John
and Elizabeth to sit down although it is their house. This idea
could follow throughout the scene, with Hale maybe staying
standing or sitting on a higher chair the Proctor's. Although Hale
is dominant, he is cautious about what he says and often pauses
and thinks about what he is going to say next and how would be
the best way to put it.
At the point when he enters, Hale is starting to lose faith in
'the court', so when he is questioning John and Elizabeth, he is
trying to satisfy himself as much as anything else. He has started
to become unsure about the 'whole witch situation.' As Hale starts
to feel more welcome, he starts to relax a bit. When Hale asks John
about the commandments, john becomes uneasy, as he is unsure of
them all. Ironically, the commandment that he forgets is adultery.
This is a key point, because that is his flaw, as he had an affair
with Abigail Williams and he forgot to think of the commandment then.
When setting up for this scene, the stage must be arranged
to show the Proctor's intimacy, despite the conflict. The play would
probably have greater effect if it was performed in 'the round',
a round stage with the audience close and right in the heart of
the argument. The furniture should be minimal but still giving a
homely atmosphere, as there is still a strong love between John
and Elizabeth. I think the scene takes place in a kitchen and so
a kitchen table should definitely be part of the furniture, but should
not be so big as to form a barrier between the audience and the
actors. When John and Elizabeth are arguing, they should be
walking around, pacing back and forth. When Elizabeth mentions
Abigail's name and the affair that John had with her, John should
avoid her eyes and possibly look in the other direction, to show his embarrassment and guilt about the affair. As I want the play to
be performed in 'the round' I think the characters need to move
around in order to let the audience feel part of the argument.
Also the lighting must be used in order to show Elizabeth's coldness
towards John. These could then change to warmer colours when
Hale enters and they start to work together against the court.
At the start of the scene when Elizabeth says, "The noose,
the noose is up!", she should say it with a sense of real fear and
emotion, it should be said quietly when she says "The noose" for
the first time. She should say it quietly and then say it louder for
the rest of the phrase with the emphasis on the "is up!". This is
because she feels that she is as good as convicted and is imagining
the noose being already up and waiting to hang her.
When Elizabeth says "She wants me dead", she should
emphasise the word "She" as she is referring to Abigail and has
a great dislike for her. Elizabeth thinks that due to Johns affair
with Abigail, she now wants her dead so that she can have John all
to herself. Elizabeth uses a few phrases with a similair meaning to
the phrase "She wants me dead.", all the time "she" is referring to
Abigail, as if she is too disgusted with Abigail to say her name.
When she says these phrases, Elizabeth's fear and anger has to
be conveyed and brought across to the audience. This could be
done by having her emphasise the "she", and also by her voice get
shaky due to the anger and fear. During this part of the scene,
Elizabeth is subtly trying to tell John that it is his fault that she
is accused, if he had not had an affair with Abigail then she might
not be accused of witchcraft. She knows that Abigail wants her
dead and is trying to let John know that she knows this.
From "Go to Abigail", down to "She cannot think it!". The
characters should act in a way that conveys the strong relationship
that they once had and that it all broke down due to John's adultery.
Elizabeth should be very angry during this part, due to Johns failure
to admit that it's his fault their relationship is breaking down and
Elizabeth is being accused of witchcraft. John is angry due to the
fact that he is not standing on firm ground in the argument, because
he knows that Elizabeth is right and so is morally higher that him.
Both of them are trying not to say anything too bad, as they both
want to be back together again. Due to this, I think they should
gradually move closer to each other and then further away again
as the arguing gets more intense. When John says "She cannot
think it!", he is angry and embarrassed at saying it, because he
knows deep down that Abigail does want Elizabeth out of the way
and he is resentful at this. There should be pauses when John
and Elizabeth look into each other's eyes longingly, wishing that
everything could just go back to the way that it was before John's
affair with Abigail and before all the witchcraft accusations. From
"John have you ever", down to "cracked for shame", John is trying
to earn back Elizabeth's respect by asking, "and what see you
Elizabeth?" When Elizabeth questions him about him blushing as
Abigail passes when he I with her.
When Elizabeth tells John that she thinks she is ashamed of what
he has done, he agrees with her. This should be said with passion as
he is trying hard to earn back Elizabeth's respect. They should be
close at this point. Maybe pausing and looking at each other. The
closeness is then broken by Elizabeth's next line, "then go and tell
her she's a whore"! Elizabeth should almost shout this line as she is
distressed, desperate, and pleading with him to go and do it, as she
feels that he has still got feelings for Abigail. Proctor agrees, as
he knows that it is the only way to earn back Elizabeth's respect.
Elizabeth then says, "oh how unwillingly". This is contrasting, as it
is said quietly and with an underlying tone of sarcasm, almost under
her breath.
When John speaks during that part of the scene, he needs to speak
in a way that conveys his fear/worry that Elizabeth seems to think
him little better than a dishonest animal. John thinks that he has
been base and due to his inability to accept his own guilt, he wants
Elizabeth to say that and agree with him to make hi9m feel better.
When Hale enters, Elizabeth and John are shocked and worried that
Hale might have heard them saying something that could incriminate
one or both of them. They both see Hale as a sign of trouble and their
fear of authority, the court pulls them together. This needs to be
conveyed by the way that John and Elizabeth act. They need to "suck
up to him", just incase he has heard anything. Hale is very authoritative,
this is shown by his confidence in inviting John and Elizabeth to sit
down, although it is their own house.
As soon a Hale enters, the atmosphere becomes quite tense and
awkward, John and Elizabeth feel threatened by his presence. His
could be reflected by the lighting changing to match the tense
atmosphere. There could be a dull spotlight on John as he recites
his commandments, to also emphasise the pressure that is riding on him.
When John is repeating the commandments, he forgets the
commandment "adultery". This is significant as he also forgot that
when he has the affair with Abigail. He tries to cover this up by
making a joke of it. The atmosphere should still remain tense, with
Hale and Elizabeth looking at him, as if to make him feel "on the spot".
Hale points out that even a small fault is not acceptable. Hale should
appear worried at this point, as he is not sure what to think about
the Proctors. His inner conflict becomes clear.
A Cambridge 11B 28.9.01
