Open Forum

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

'The Crucible' is a tricky one. We had a lot of pushback from our administration over the words 'whore' and 'God damns all liars' and any other 'damn's actually. It was tense for a while! Especially as the estate of Arthur Miller is fairly adamant about not changing a single thing in the text.

Letters home, or whichever communication medium works best for you. Stress all the educational benefits and sociological benefits of mounting this production; this is a play that is a systematic study of mob hysteria and paranoia, which at this point, at this time, is incredibly timely. Stress that this is real history, though fictionalized to an extent, but that this really happened in the pre-history of the United States and, if we refuse to learn from the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat the mistakes.

You could offer warnings on any promotional material. You could do a talkback after the show (though, with the play being 2.5 hours+, you might be stretching your audience's patience.

What I found, is that our audience was stunned into silence, and appreciated the production very much. IT is so powerfully written, it defends itself. Add to that, you have the subconscious feeling on the audience's part, that 'Thank goodness we wouldn't do anything like them!' (which were actual comments I heard from our audience).

Good luck!

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

Thank you!  In my opinion, the play is perfect to do in the schools because it hits on so many cylinders.  Not only will students learn about the actual time period but they'll also learn about McCarthyism. They'll be able to relate the hysteria at the time to what's happening in the world today.  For me, there are so many great things about the piece that I'm willing to take any negative stuff that might happen.  

'The Crucible' is a tricky one. We had a lot of pushback from our administration over the words 'whore' and 'God damns all liars' and any other 'damn's actually. It was tense for a while! Especially as the estate of Arthur Miller is fairly adamant about not changing a single thing in the text.

Letters home, or whichever communication medium works best for you. Stress all the educational benefits and sociological benefits of mounting this production; this is a play that is a systematic study of mob hysteria and paranoia, which at this point, at this time, is incredibly timely. Stress that this is real history, though fictionalized to an extent, but that this really happened in the pre-history of the United States and, if we refuse to learn from the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat the mistakes.

You could offer warnings on any promotional material. You could do a talkback after the show (though, with the play being 2.5 hours+, you might be stretching your audience's patience.

What I found, is that our audience was stunned into silence, and appreciated the production very much. IT is so powerfully written, it defends itself. Add to that, you have the subconscious feeling on the audience's part, that 'Thank goodness we wouldn't do anything like them!' (which were actual comments I heard from our audience).

Good luck!

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

------------------------------
John Smith
Theatre Teacher
Highland High School
Hardy, Arkansas
------------------------------

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

I've directed Crucible twice and had great results both times. We did have a bit of controversy the second time when our poster featured a noose superimposed over a church. Some felt that we were saying negative things about religion; however, this was quieted when we pointed out that those who died did so because they wouldn't betray their faith. If they had admitted to being witches, they would not have been hanged. They refused to lie because, as has been pointed out, "God damns all liars."

On a separate note - A few years ago, I found the transcripts of the trials online. It's clear that Miller had access to these when he wrote the play since there are some quotes that appear in the play and he captures the voice of the period exactly.

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and advice!  It gives me confidence that the play is the right choice to do for our school at the moment.  I think it would be a great idea to talk with students/parents about the religious aspect. That characters died because they refused to be hypocrites.  I really think that will speak to our audiences here.

I'll plan on attaching all the common core standards to the piece because I know my admin loves that stuff.

I love the mission statement idea!  I'm going to get our Thespians together so we can draft a meaningful statement that applies to our community.  

Thanks again for all the encouragement.  It's easy for me to feel distant from the rest of the theatre community living in such a small town.  This forum is definitely a lifesaver!

I've directed Crucible twice and had great results both times. We did have a bit of controversy the second time when our poster featured a noose superimposed over a church. Some felt that we were saying negative things about religion; however, this was quieted when we pointed out that those who died did so because they wouldn't betray their faith. If they had admitted to being witches, they would not have been hanged. They refused to lie because, as has been pointed out, "God damns all liars."

On a separate note - A few years ago, I found the transcripts of the trials online. It's clear that Miller had access to these when he wrote the play since there are some quotes that appear in the play and he captures the voice of the period exactly.

I've settled on The Crucible as our fall production.  I think it's perfect for the group of students I have right now.  And it's a play I've always wanted to work on but I've never had the chance.  However, I live in a pretty conservative area, and I'm concerned about some possible issues arising.  Students at our school study the play in their junior English classes, and I was told that some parents didn't allow their children to read the play.  I was a bit shocked when I heard this.

My administration has approved the play, but they told me to expect some ruffled feathers.  How would you guys prepare for something like that?  I've already thought of having a parent's meeting and/or sending letters home with students.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts or ideas!