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ENG: The Crucible and the McCarthy Era

Course Guide

Starting Point

Think about the overall message/theme you would like to leave with your audience. Think about the climate that gave way  to the Salem Witch trials: is your version about the dangers of fear? or the effect of group mentality in a community?  

Performance & Script due Tuesday, November 24th!

Mash-up Information

  • Figure out which lines are most important in terms of character, and plot.
  • Make sure your edited version, at least in the longer productions, makes sense.
  • Plan a blocking that is interesting, varied, realistic.  Don’t just stand there looking at each other.<
  • For your individual character think about voice, pacing, speed, volume.
  • For your individual character think about facial expressions, gestures, posture, movement, body language
  • Be creative in mashing up your scenes--try to make each character distinct and different in as many ways as possible.  How will you account for changing of time periods?
  • Remember to act and to react.
  • Memorization is not required; you should know your lines well and should not use anything larger than a 3x5 card when performing

The Assignment

In your group, you will create a mashup of the significance elements and themes that Miller was creating through his political allegory.  In a group of 3 or 4, perform a 6-minute mashup of the play,  the McCarthy Era and/ or relevant issues that are relevant today.  Once your group has decided on a theme, create a script that mashes up two of the  listed elements.  You must stick to the plot; however, you are free to focus on specific characters or specific areas of the plot to ultimately get at your theme. You will need to conduct research on Miller and the McCarthy era.

Credits

This resource guide was created by Laura Pearle.