GCSE Drama Coursework (Crucible Evaluation) - page 1
Keywords: GCSE Drama Coursework (Crucible Evaluation)
By slashwk on 23/11/2006 17:21:10
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 3 pages: 1 2 3
Arthur Miller wrote ‘The Crucible’ in 1952 and although on the surface it seems like an entertaining piece about the ‘witch trials’ in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, it is actually a parody of the US Senator Joe McCarthy's anti-communist, "RedScare" "witch hunt" of the early 1950's. I went watch a production of the piece at the Hampton Hill Theatre.
The performance was acted ‘in-the-round’. This convention proved to be predominantly effective in certain circumstances; however, it became problematic in other situations. I thought the 360-degree perspective was ingenious because every single person had a completely different angle from which to view the entirety of the piece. This meant that what people saw would be interpreted differently because of the different angles, and therefore create a different reaction for each and every member of the audience. This was particularly effective in the ‘Court Room’ scene because it drew together the audience to form a ‘jury’, and each member of the audience made their own conclusions regarding the trial they were observing.
The inevitable result of having the piece in-the-round was that in certain instances an actor’s back would be either: turned towards you, or blocking your view of the piece. I thought the neglect of this aspect was very appalling indeed. I have been to performances where performing in-the-round has not posed the same problem to the audience because the actors and director have taken particular precautions to overcome such a problem, and I feel that with a small amount of effort the overall viewing experience for the audience could have been dramatically changed.
The actors and actresses came on and off stage via the four corners of the square-shaped area. I thought this was a clever idea because people would come from different corners and make people look more peripherally for when actors came on and off and made the space seem larger than it actually was. However, I did find it quite annoying as one of the people right next to a corner, to have to keep moving my legs out of the way as actors came on and off.
Attention to detail can be the difference between a piece that someone saw for their GCSE Drama class, or a piece that changed their perspective on life. This is due to the fact that the closer the piece is to reality, the more likely people are to accept its ideals to apply in everyday
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