ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310011
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ANNE DAUGHERTY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
The mingling of church and theater dates back to the medieval church when plays took place inside the sanctuary as part of the liturgy.
So Blacksburg's Christ Episcopal Church and its rector Clare Fischer-Davies are merely carrying on a tradition with their production of "The Crucible" this weekend at the church.
The famous play by Arthur Miller is one Fischer-Davies had always wanted to direct. The play's theme concerns a group of wild teen-agers who frolic in the woods one night and decide to blame the mayhem they create on witchcraft. Miller based the play on the Salem witch trials, which resulted in the death by hanging of 19 people and two dogs plus the imprisonment of hundreds of people. There is also a subtext, meant to attract attention to a different kind of witch hunt; that of McCarthyism.
Fischer-Davies traces her interest in the theater to "a previous life." As an undergraduate at New England Conservatory, she thought her career would be in theater and opera. Later, when she realized her destiny was the church, her love and passion for the theater came with her. She has been at Christ Episcopal for three years, where she is the church's first female rector.
Cast member and Christ Episcopal parishioner Jenny Shuster explains that the play "pinpoints how superficial people can be. Its about people not thinking, people hearing one thing and not looking any deeper. It's about superstition and putting people down."
Fellow parishioner and actor John Tamminen says that performing in "The Crucible" has been a great opportunity. Although he had never been in a play, he has found the cast to be very professional. Along with Tamminen and Shuster on the stage are fellow parishioners David Roper, Jeanne Howard Roper and Ted Von Dameck. Glenda Von Dameck is the costumer and caterer.
Because the play is set in a small community, the cast varies in age and experience. Fischer-Davies formed her cast from parishioners, students from the local high school and Virginia Tech, community members and local theater personalities.
The stage design is by Laurel Dahill, a graduate student in theater at Tech. Dahill's concept for the production is simple, yet symbolic. The play is performed in the center of the parish hall at Christ Episcopal. The audience sits around the walls. There are only 100 chairs in all, thus everyone is so close to the action they are almost part of it. Dahill's design forms the audience into a crucible, the vessel used for examining and melting metals at high heat.
As the heat turns up, the shining light of this production comes from the very moving and realistic portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor by Jane Browning. Browning, a graduate of Ohio University and Ohio State University, is a member of the Playmakers Community Theatre in Blacksburg. She sees the real plot of "The Crucible" as a tragic love story between John and Elizabeth Proctor.
The play has drawn renewed public interest in the past month with the release of a new cinematic adaptation of the play, with a screenplay written by Miller himself. Winona Ryder plays Abigail Williams to Daniel Day Lewis' John Proctor against the setting of a rugged New England shoreline. While the film is interesting, the Blacksburg production is more authentic, realistic and moving.
The play will be performed each evening at 7:30 p.m. today through Sunday. Tickets are $5 and reservations are strongly encouraged. Call 552-2411.
* "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller will be performed at 7:30 p.m. today through Sunday in the parish hall of Christ Episcopal Church on Church Street in Blacksburg. Tickets are $5. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Call 552-2411.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB