"After a hard day's work diggin' up the sod, we're ready for chow."

Welcome to our class's blog. We are discussing the latest topics we're studying in American history and literature. This website has been active since December 2005. Selected Excel 10 students will take turns posting their thoughts, and other Excel 10 students will comment on these posts. Parents, staff, and other interested persons are invited to add their comments on our musings. Any inappropriate comments will be deleted.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Your take on the play



Now that many of you have seen the play, experienced the intense on-stage drama, tell us what you thought.

Ms. Z. mentioned the symbolic lighting - did you notice the red and blue lights that came on at certain times? Why did they come on and for whom? She also mentioned the stage was symbolic. I've got my own take on those three trees in the background. Did those branches remind you of flailing hands reaching towards the sky? Kinda Picasso/Guernica like? That might be a stretch. But it also made me think of something else which I'll save for later.

How about the characters? Did they act the way you thought they would? Did you know any of the actors personally and did that knowledge interfere w/ the characters the portrayed? I thought Paul's portrayal of Danforth was bordering on comical, especially with his facial gestures. How about Spence and Mickey? Awesome job, guys. Josh was behind the stage and Andrew was techie on the spot.
So, give us your take on the play. Different than the movie? Of course.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Out of the play, the novel, and the movie, I would have to say that the play was my favorite. I really enjoy visual things, and the play kept my interest. The lights added dramatic effects, along with the music. The characters acted similar to how they were portrayed in the novel. John Proctor was such a strong actor in the play, and I didn't think of him as being that intense as I was reading the novel. Spencer and Mickey also did a really great job. Overall I think that the play was an extreme success.

Jordan R.

Anonymous said...

Like a lot of people I enjoyed the play more then the movie and the book. I noticed a lot of diffrences from the three. I think the play made John Procter seem a little too violent. As for the lighting it helped you to stay involved and know what was going on. Every time someone got mad the light in the background would be red.

I thought all of the other characters were very well played. Abby was terrific. She shocked me in the bedroom scence with all of her friends, I was not aware she was so violent. The characters in the play were very similar to the ones in the movie, other then John. I loved the stage. It was great because they changed it to be so many diffrent sttings. It was a house and then a court house and it was even the forrest once. As for the trees I did remind me of hands a little bit.

Erin B.

Anonymous said...

I liked the play the best out of the book, movie, and play. I was really able to understand and grasp the characters real meaning and feeling in what they were saying, either sarcasim or joking around. I think that the lights and music in the background really added a dramatic effect for those who didnt see it yet or whoever hasnt even read the book. My favorite character was Abigail because I think that she did a very good job with portraying the feeling and affect of her script.

Nicole M.

Anonymous said...

The red and blue lights were symbolic of the Devil (red) and the innocent (blue). I really did not see much symbolism in the stage, I thought of it more as an interesting way to keep the same picture in all of the scenes. The trees I thought were kind of scary, but I did not think of any thing symbolic until I realized that much better trees could have been made, and that these were crudely made and barren. I would be curious to know if the gray color of the stage and the trees was trying to convey something instead of using a whitewash type color.

Andrew s

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the movie the most out of all them. First off, when reading the book there was alot of things that one could not visualize such as the girls freaking out because "spirits" were among them. Another thing is the way the characters interact with eachother. Abby and Procter dont even seem like they have that much of a sexual history to me in the book, but since in the movie she is all over him it makes it more clear. The play was great however some of the characters were not portrayed the way i envisioned it. Procter was way too cocky, and Danforth wasnt angry and stern enough. The cast was absolutely fabulous, just not the way i pictured it to be.

Lisa R.