You Can't Handle the Truth: Arthur Miller's The Crucible
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Lesson #3: Acting in class
We'll soon be reading the play in class every day. It will be beneficial for everyone to read with as much feeling and expression as they can manage. This way, the class will be entertained, and we will be exposed to the lines as they were meant to be read. This is a very dramatic play with full ranges of human emotion being expressed: fear, passion, jealousy, betrayal, determination, stubborness, destructiveness, power, hypocrisy, and brutality. Get ready to act!
The following web sites will help you get prepared. They contain tips and suggestions for those just beginning to act. Don't be afraid to put as much feeling into the lines as you can. I will have props available for students playing crucial roles (Proctor, Abigail, Parris, Danforth, and Elizabeth). I prefer for the parts to shift while we read and give different people a chance to read. However, if there's a role that you feel a special affinity for, you can make that known and we'll try to assign that role to you as much as possible.
All students who are reading will be expected to get up out of their seats and come to the center of the room. How much you move is up to you, but the more you move, the better.
After you have read all three links, we'll review the acting techniques together in class. Be prepared to get up and move!
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