Last Hurah !

This is the final post for The Crucible! We had three incredible shows last week and have wrapped up our “mobile home” in the atrium. Thank you to the cast, crew, Mr. Howard, Dom, and Sam for all the hard work that went into this show and thanks to all that attended our performances. Sam, we will miss you greatly, thank you for all of your contributions to Berkshire Theater in the past two years! We would also like to thank our seniors for all the effort you have put forth into making this program great. See you in the fall!

- Alden, Gerry & Anna 

Tech Load In

  We are less than week away from opening night! Today is Load-in day for the cast and crew of The Crucible. We moved the set, props and lighting for the show into the Berkshire Hall Atrium. Mr. Sayler coordinated the operation by dividing us into groups to optimize efficiency. We were all very excited to see how it all pieced together in a matter of three hours. The final countdown starts as we approach the finalization of this journey. Stay tuned for more details about the upcoming events!

I Am No Longer a Theater Rookie

Hello, I am Alden Weiss, I am a one-year Junior at Berkshire School, and this is my first time in a theater production.

Recieving the role of Judge Danforth in The Crucible was a dream come true. Ever since I came to Berkshire last fall and saw Berkshire Theater, I was fascinated by it. In fact it all started out during the first days of school when I met many of the people involved in Theater. I was struck by their friendliness and their invigorating personalities. It seriously made me consider switching to Theater, despite already having had a fall sport. When I watched the original play Scrutiny and what the crew had crafted, I was amazed. I knew this was something I had to try out. Long story short, I ended up auditioning for the spring play, and somehow got a role. I was really happy to say the least.

Working in theater has been an incredible experience so far. Contrary to what I thought working in theater is very demanding and requires a lot of focus and discipline; more so than any of the other sports I have engaged in at Berkshire so far. There is a lot of different aspects that come into play (pun intended) when creating such a complex production like The Crucible — and in order for it to go smoothly on opening night, each one of them has to be treated with equal importance. While this can be quite challenging at times, it has also taught me to be more accountable and a better team player.

There is only 8 days left until our premiere in the Berkshire Hall Atrium. It is really cool to see the play coming together, and we are all very excited as we slowly enter the last week of the production.

-Alden Weiss

The Crucible Does Yoga

                         

Last Monday, the full cast of The Crucible took a day off from scene work to do some relaxing--but difficult-- yoga with Sam as the instructor. We have been working in the dance studio for the past couple of weeks and it has been a great space for us to practice in in preparation for the atrium in Berkshire Hall. We have only two more weeks until opening night! Stay tuned for more updates on tech load-ins to the atrium as we come down to the final days!

- Anna Flaherty

Playing John Proctor

I am Gerry Gimenez and I play John Proctor in The Crucible. This experience has brought me a new appreciation for the performing arts and what being an actor means, to a completley new level. I have experienced a wide range of emotions through living, and working with this very talented cast. I'm coming to understand the simplest meaning behind what theater is, and what it can do for people who love and have a passion for it. Berkshire Theater is open for any type of person, just as long as you want to build something truly memorable. My passion for working with dark material has made me extremely curious to discover the depth and intensity of this play.

In Act 3, my character John Proctor experiences a wild mixture of emotional stages. It has been a adventure for me to understand and manage these different layers of emotion. A very specific challenge that I have while playing Proctor is his contrasting body language to my own. One of the character exercises we did in rehersal helped me to find a center of gravity in my body. I began to see how to control and administer my own physicality through that center. This was an enlightening experience that helped me channel my energy into John Proctor’s body. All of these concepts and ideas from The Crucible generate a creative outlet that is highly applicable to every aspect of life.

Reflecting now as a senior, with three weeks left at Berkshire, I am coming to understand and appreciate the significance of learning from this present experience and applying it to my future. It's clear, that what I am learning from Berkshire Theater, will never be forgotten.

- Gerry Gimenez