As Elizabeth speaks to john and tells him that she cannot judge him I will have her go behind him and hug him from behind, as she does this I will have Proctor’s head hung low listening. Elizabeth will smear some red stage blood on his face and then gradually raise his hands in the Jesus on the cross position, the audience will see the crucifix and a face smearing with blood. This will show the bloody hands of humanity, and the blood that he has to die on. He is not dying innocent he is dying blood with the many sins of the world carried with him. It is a shocking image that will shock the audience. Reminding them and terrifying them of their own actions, of the actions of the world today, of all the wars. It will show the death of innocence and the power of violence. His bloody face will reflect the sins of those around him, the judges and the people who accused. He is not dying a fair death but a tormented one; it’s like murder of the first degree.
I have to make the audience see the part hysteria plays in tearing apart a community. Hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe that their neighbours, whom they have always considered upstanding people, are committing absurd and unbelievable crimes like communing with the devil, killing babies, and so on. I want Proctor to appear as a Christ figure, he can save himself but he chooses to die which brings out the goodness in him. I want the setting of the stage near the end to appear sacred and holy; I will have no actual stage lighting, dim and dark or simply candle light. Salem community is a religious community where everyone pretends to be good, where as long as you go to church all the time then you must be good and nothing else matters; Real-good ness in a sense doesn’t seem to matter.
Pretence matters, superficial things matter, not the true heart of a human being. John Proctor doesn’t want to give his name away because in a society that cares so much about superficial things without his name he would be as good as dead. I have to criticize the ‘American Dream’ which was all about money and name, and image yet nothing real from the heart because this is exactly what is happening. So for the sins of society one man dies (Proctor) which is why I really think the whole Christ image will work nicely. Lighting the stage with the candles will add a ‘holy’ air makes it ‘sacred’ and ‘beautiful’. The flame will conceal the faces of everyone showing we are all the same at the end of the day and the focus can be on Elizabeth and Proctor centre stage.
I don’t think I will have many props on stage; I plan to leave it bare. There are many reasons for this decision; I want the props to be cut down to as little as possible so that the focus is on the human element showing that material obsessions and possessions mean nothing, I hope the viewers will understand that is why but I cant be sure. Without many props it has more of a martyr quality- this man is dying in emptiness, the world is in emptiness. There are also some visual reasons; it will be more dramatic if his image and the shapes of his body are made clear and not overshadowed by any props. It has to be very spiritual and beautiful in a way. Having the stage filled with props would ruin it.
As I said earlier Proctor should be centre stage and Elizabeth should go from behind him and hug him - revealing the tenderness of their relationships and her forgiveness. And then while she is speaking she should raise his hands so that they are in the shape of Jesus on the cross.
Costumes are a very important part as well; I will have them dressed as good puritans dress, covered hair, long skirts and dull colours with dull expressions. I will have the men dressed with their priest outfits but not proctor, he will be dressed normally (Brown Pants and Brown long sleeve shirt) to show that he is different. In the end these people are dying for an illusion, for something that never happened, for something in the minds of those people around us.
While written years ago my staging of the Crucible will hopefully bring to the 21st century stage and a 21st century audience a message much needed to be heard much needed to be confronted. About the sins of man and society, sin of obsession with material right and wrong. And the goodness in humanity and that goodness in humanity is the only hope for a saviour. Maybe with Proctor's sacrificing himself on the stage the audience will go out and hope to have a new start a good start.
