After we’ve learned about Stanislavski, it was time for us to prepare a production to show our understanding of Stanislavski’s system. We were divided into 4 groups:
"A view from the Bridge" - Part 1:
Director: Lynn
Eddie: Blair
Catherine: Katherine
Biatris: Osnat
"A view from the bridge" - Part 2:
Director: Junko
Eddie: Nicky
Catherine: Oda
Biatris: Irene
"The Crucible" - Part 1:
Director: Ramy
John Proctor: Jeffrey
Gabriella: Sara
"The Crucible" - Part 2:
Director: Anastysa
John Proctor: Roei (Me)
Elizabeth: Gabriella
Marry Warren: Marianna
All of the plays are written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Asher Miller was an American playist. He was a prominent figure in American figure and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays, including celebrated plays such as The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman, which are still studied and performed worldwide. Miller was often in the public eye, most famously for refusing to give evidence against others to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
I was selected to the part without me knowing it: I missed the casting class and after the lesson, Anastasya told me that I am John Proctor. I was happy, because I wanted to get a part that will really challenge me.
John proctor is one of the main characters in the play. Proctor is in his thirties and Abigail Williams is 17 and a half years old trials. In the play, they have an affair, as a result of which Abigail accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft.
Our scene was talking about the moment when Marry Warren came back home from Salem. Elizabeth and John are sitting in the dinning room after a fight.
Marry Warren comes gets in, and John Proctor shakes her and gets angry on her, for mocking him.
Marry Warren is asking for mercies and explains him about the problem with the witches and the Deputy Governor.
During the first rehearsal, we decided on super objectives that will help us to understand the topics and the feelings that we are suppose to perform with.
Suspicion
Mistrust
Loyalty
Confusion
Betrayal
Alienation
Innocence
Instability
Communication problem
We started the rehearsals. My biggest scare was, for some reason, from the lines. It was really important for me to remember the lines perfectly so I will experience the text as Arthur Miller wrote it.
When I came more familiar with the text I came to know certain things about John and his relationships with Marry Warren and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth – after they just had a fight, John feels like Elizabeth is picking on him. He feels guilty by the fact the he cheated on her but he doesn’t want to feel like that anymore. My director told me to visualize it as Elizabeth is someone I did something bad to him, and he is reminding me it all the time. It helped me to get into the character because I felt the same feeling and actually lived it.
Marry Warren – she is coming back home from Salem, John is angry at her because she mocked him but on the same time is terrified that she is going to tell his secret, and especially when she is reminding him the Deputy Governor and other important figures. John Proctor feels defeated in some way because his made is talking to him with this disrespectful tone, but also tries to show his masculinity.
I found some parts extremely hard but I enjoyed them. I had to show by face expressions different feelings all the time, but I felt like it doesn’t match Stanislavski’s system, which is ‘realism’. I didn’t feel concentrated and relaxed, and absolutely not realistic to show these expressions through my face.
Steve advised us to look for super-objectives, and more than that, look for our ‘magic if’. We had to think what where did our characters come from and what did they exactly do a minute before our scene begins. It helped me to imagine the fight between John and Elizabeth, because I could really get into the mood of anger.
The real performances came. I think that I did a better job on the rehearsals, because I found it hard to get into the character on the stage. On the first time, I was completely out and to concentrated, probably because of the stress and excitement- in the second time I felt more concentrated, but I tried to ‘treasure’ this moment on stage and I though about it a lot.
I felt that I gained couple of skills during the process on ‘The Crucible’:
1. Team work – how is it to work with a director and two other actors which each one of them interprets the text differently.
2. Getting into the character – especially during the rehearsals, I didn’t feel like myself anymore, I felt like John Proctor. This experience was amazing because I actually lived the story, which in my opinion; it is the whole point in theatre.
3. Interpretation – I’ve learned how to feel comfortable with text enough to change it so it will fit me and my character.
I felt that we collaborated in a very positive way in the group- we listened to each other and supported each other. These are things that I will take with my to my next productions.
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