Arthur MillerS The Crucible Essay Research Paper — страница 3

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wanted to show that she was a servant and wasn’t clothed in the same clothes as her masters. Last is sound. This play didn’t have any chances for back ground music except for the end of each act. The ending song for Act 1 is called “Pulse” which is performed by The Kroumata Percussion Ensamble located on the C.D. “The 2nd Construction”. It contains light xylophone, snare drum, timpani and bells. Act 2 opens with the living room and Elizabeth singing in the back ground. It also had a fire place so I wanted the sound of the fire crackling randomly through the scene. Then we hear the neighing of a horse and John proctor arrives. Act 3 ends with the uproar from John proctor and I chose another piece from The Kroumata Percussion Ensamble entitled “Soldier’s Song”

which is a series of drum rolls, base drum crashes and timpani rolls. Act 4 leads us to the jail cell where the fall moon is shining through the window and the sounds of frogs and crickets can be heard. The scene ends with John being taken away to the hallows. For this scene I wanted a constant percussion ensemble of sounds and to get increasingly louder as the curtain falls. In my theater class I was given the assignment of having to write a critical review of the play “Steel Magnolias,” by Robert Harling. So on the Wednesday before the holiday weekend (Rosh-Ha-Shana) I decided to make the trip over to the Hand Chapel on the Mount Vernon Campus, to see this play that I had already convinced myself was going to be dreadful, or at least that was what I wanted myself to

believe. It was for this reason that in the beginning I wanted to be over critical and to pick apart every little detail. There was only one problem, the fact I thought the play was absolutely terrific. The caliber of this play was far superior to that which I had expected. Although, there were a few minor complaints I did have they hardly took away from the overall production. In my opinion, the most successful aspect in this play was the actresses, not just because they were good, but rather because they were incredibly believable. I did not feel that I was watching actors on the stage, rather that I was watching the lives of the six individuals unfold. They became their characters. A perfect example of this can be seen when Sabrina Hyman, who was playing the part of Truvy, was

decorating the salon for Christmas and had to improv. While placing tinsel on the couch she was unable to keep it on the desired spot, because it kept falling off of the arm. Initially when she realized that the tinsel was not staying in its place she did not panic, as one would have thought. Instead she simply tried again, and then even a third time without showing any signs of a problem, she had to finally walk away without properly placing the tinsel where it should have been. This quick change in events did not throw her off in the least; she played it off like nothing was wrong. She played it off, as Truvy Jones would have in real life. Although I did feel that the acting in the play was truly amazing I did have two problems, and a couple of instances where I was given a

reality check and reminded that it was just a play. My first complaint was that although Patricia Jenson and Jenny Towns did a terrific job, they were not able to play the part of elder women simply because of their age. Patricia Jenson who played, the oldest woman, Claree Blecher did an incredible job with her role. However, in my opinion, just did not have some of the same mannerisms that a woman of her age would have. Jenny Towns also did an absolutely terrific job, however there was one incident in particular that I had a problem with. During Shelby’s diabetic attack she did not show the concern that I felt a mother would have. Mothers and daughters have a special connection something that in my opinion cannot be duplicated by anyone else. This however only seemed to be a

problem in this scene and I think it is because it was basically the only scene where they are together when feelings like are needed to be shown. It also could have been because it occurred early on in the production before her situation became serious. Although there were minor flaws in the performances of the actresses they did an incredible job bringing this production to life. No matter how incredible an actor or actress is it is nearly impossible for a production to be brought to life if the visual aspect prevents it. This was not the case in this production. The Hand Chapel would be considered found space, in the aspect that it was never designed for this purpose. Aside from the fact that, the seating was uncomfortable, being an understatement they were able to create the