Interview with Director Laura Henry of The Crucible

December 15th, 2007 Written by: Mali· No Comments

Crucible -07-12-17 Last weekend I saw The Crucible at the Matrix Theatre. I knew that this play had been chosen for it’s political and social relevance, but I wasn’t entirely convinced at how its fifty year old allegorical message could be translated to the present date. However it did not take long for any of my doubts to disappear. I don’t know how I didn’t think of it before, but it is like peering through the looking glass and watching our lives being played out in front of us.

The play is running through December 23rd, and I recommend seeing it. The cast is stunning. I defy anyone to stay dry eyed as Jeffrey King (playing Proctor) weeps his final lines. Ashley Bell embodies the evil and fear in Abigail William, which drives the play forward. Collen Flynn breaks your heart as the ever strong, and almost always honest Elizabeth Proctor. The cast is huge and every actor was boiling over with energy, which helped to build up the overwhelming chaos that entrances the audience.

La.CityZine was lucky enough to sit down with the Director of the play Laura Henry and ask a few questions about bringing The Crucible to the stage and what it’s like to Direct theater in LA.

CityZine: What is it in The Crucible that attracted you to this play?

Laura Henry: I think it is amazing how applicable it is and how it could have been written today. It doesn’t feel dated to me at all. It’s an amazing story, it’s a true story and it’s just like opening a Newspaper. It is important to remember that American history (and all history) is littered with witch hunts, terrorist hunts, looking the other way, and bending the rules for political or powerful gain. All of which have lead to the erosion of our civil liberties.

I just think it’s a positive thing to remember that history repeats itself and this has happened before and that we’ve come out of it before. To hold up a mirror and say you need to look at this because we’re in the midst of it.

CZ: Did this have any kind of effect on how you chose to direct the play?

LH: I directed The Crucible very fast [because] it’s supposed to be really, really fast [because the story] spins out of control. It’s like a centrifugal force of events that start to happen because people don’t pause and look at the situation or at the people around them with any clarity, because they each have their own goal. The only people who really stop, look and listen are Proctor and Elizabeth and of course they get taken down in it. That certainly has happened in the US since 9/11. We had an opportunity to pause and make a decision, we had the whole world on our side, and then because everybody needed to move so quickly and saw opportunities for political and personal advantage they have started a situation that has spun out of control.

CZ: What political, social or religious issues do you feel this play addresses that are relevant today?

LH: The Muslim religion is one of the most loving, caring, passive religions in the world and yes there’s a terrible faction of it, that’s Al-Qaeda, but that’s not the whole Muslim faith. So many people don’t understand that, along with the scapegoating in this country, the Patriot Act, the loss of our rights, and the abuse of power [which are all topics in the play]. Today they’ve just discovered that the CIA have destroyed the torture tapes. There were these trials and everyone was talking about torture and what is torture, and Bush is saying that’s not torture. Then we find out that they have destroyed the tapes, that proved that they were torturing these people, that’s the Crucible right there.

The interesting thing about Salem is that the town until quite recently was ruined for hundreds of years from this. The farms lay fallow, everyone was superstitious, they wouldn’t go near them. Now it’s a tourist town, I heard something that around 30,000 people go there for Halloween and you just think, that is pathetic. That is really the sad. Disney-fication of our country.

CZ: Do you enjoy working with such as large cast or do you prefer more something more intimate?

LH: I think that when you work with a large cast and it goes well, like The Crucible has, there’s nothing more gratifying, because you have all these incredibly talented people and they all bring something so individual, special and unique. They’re great people and they’ve all been a joy to work with.

CZ: Do you find it difficult to direct Theater in LA?

LH: I think directing theater in Los Angeles has it’s own set of challenges which at times can be very very frustrating, because you’ll have an actor who won’t be at rehearsal for five days because he or she is shooting a movie and there’s nothing you can do about that. And you’ll lose actors opening night to the movie. That’s the thing, if The Crucible had opened before the strike was over I know that would have happened. Even though everybody works very hard and is very professional about being there, it’s just exhausting. The scheduling is insane. In New York or in Regional Theater, it is their job to be there. And I understand they’re not getting paid anything to do this, so everybody is doing it as a labor of love, so it better be a play everybody is interested in and feels is important.

CZ: Is it easier to direct plays in NY?

LH: It’s only easier to work in NY because most of the plays in NY are off Broadway. There isn’t an equity waiver in New York, so there would be a modicum of money so that, that would be their job. The actors in New York are there because they want to do theater. The actors out here; as much as they love theater, because of the nature of the beast, they’re not here to do theater, they’re here to do TV and film in order to make a living. On top of that, to make money they’re waiting on tables, temping, or whatever they’re doing. The theater is something that is then a tertiary thing because first is their film/ TV jobs, second is their survival job, and third is the theater, and they work butts off to make it work.

CZ: How do you feel the audiences differ from NY to LA?

LH: I think there are not a lot of people who don’t go to the theater anymore and I think that’s because of the traffic. I really do, because ten years ago, when I used to Direct a lot of theater in LA, the shows were always sold out. I think that people think, ‘I’m not going to get into my car and drive 2 hours to go see a 3 hour play’ and it’s really unfortunate. I’m really glad I’ve done it but it’s very challenging. But it’s very gratifying to see the work go well and have the actors go really well and to have good houses which we have had for The Crucible.

I mean, we can all stay home with our big flat screens and watch movies but there’s nothing like that live experience. I wish there was a way to go to the theater in LA where there was public transportation to take you there. It’s so daunting to have to think about having to get into all that traffic. And it wasn’t as bad ten year ago when I was directing in LA, even though there was traffic 10 years ago, it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t as horrific as it is now. But I just love live theater and I will continue to direct live theater.

CZ: Do you ever want to direct anything other than theater, such as film or TV?

LH: Yeah. I’m up for a couple of things right now. I think that’s why I keep staying in LA, because otherwise I would just go back to New York to do theater. Yes I would like to. The movie I co-directed, [Big Top Winkle] which won the kids first award this year so that was really nice.

CZ: How do you feel about the WGA strike currently taking place?

LH: First of all I’m glad they’re striking and I think they need to hold out because it’s just disgusting how that’s not solved for actors and writers to get the residuals they need. So I completely support the strike. We offer free tickets to anybody from the WGA, if they just show their card. I think because production is down, I have to say especially in The Crucible, I haven’t had as many conflicts as I would have had. But that’s just a fluke that we did it when we did. And I wish they’d resolve the strike. I’m glad that everyone is committing to staying on strike because they deserve to be paid.

Thank you very much Laura for all of your time!

The Crucible runs December 6-9, 13-16, and the 20-23.

Check out www.plays411.com/crucible for more information.

You can also purchase tickets for $25 at (323) 960-7712

It is located at Matrix Theatre at 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046 Map

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