I saw the play The Crucible and there were examples of styles of directing and acting that were very interesting. The production was put on by the University of Arizonas theatre department and as such the directing and acting had its good points and its bad ones.There was one scene in particular that appeared to be very well directed. Act two takes place in the common room of the Proctors house about a week after the initial scene in the Reverends home. This scene was especially well directed because of its length and the number of French scenes within it. The space where this scene took place was rather large, but there were obstacles that had to be dealt with by the director. The blocking was done well in that at no point were any of the actors in each others way or upstaging each other. There was also the use of the props. At one point Mary Warren entered and gave a doll to Elizabeth Proctor. This doll was placed on the mantle and left alone for a while. Later when the deputy came to arrest Elizabeth the doll was rediscovered. It had been placed originally in a spot where it was still visible and easily found. Another example is the placement of John Proctors whip. In the same sort of instance the whip was placed originally in a spot where it was easy to get to later in the scene. The many French scenes also must have been challenging to the director. Different actors were entering and leaving the common room throughout the entire scene. The timing of these scenes was very well directed and made the scene flow smoothly. The director used the entire stage and at no point was it unbalanced or lopsided. One character I found engaging was the Reverend John Hale played by L. Jay Meyer. The reason I found him so interesting was because of the way he went from a character I liked to one I disliked back to one I liked in the span of one play.When Reverend Hale was first introduced he seemed to be the master of the subject ...
