Hysteria
Set
ACT 1:
- empty space, creating a large open area
- single simple bed, wooden chair and table in the corner of the room
- high wall flats, stone grey colour, with sharp edges and points
- walls move and lean in when hysteria is present
- large window flat which shows outside to the forest
- trees behind flats, which are lit from behind and begin to move into the set
when hysteria is heightened, trees have to leaves, just sharp spikes and
branches
ACT 2:
- empty room
- fireplace at the left hand side of the room and small wooden table in the middle
- walls are wooden, with no religious symbolism
- walls begin to become taller and move in hen Mary enters and talks about the
court
ACT 3:
- no hysteria
- set in the court
ACT 4:
- set would be opposite to previous
- lack of hysteria
- room would be smaller
- smaller wall flats and more wooden colours
- round edges and softer shapes
Lighting
Overall lighting for all Acts:
White light shining on the cyclorama to create shadows of both the forest (trees) and the
people of the town. As the hysteria grows throughout the acts the shadows gradually
become bigger and brighter. When the hysteria begins to lack the light gets dimmer as well
as the shadows become smaller till they fade out when there is no hysteria present.
Act One:
P.O.A -Village is downstairs:
To begin with the white light on the cyclorama is dim, with only a few small
shadows. More shadows appear and gradually get bigger as the light becomes
brighter. This showing how the hysteria is spreading and growing within the town.
As well as having shadows of trees on the cyclorama, have trees on the stage
which will be lit from below with a red light, to emphasise the hysteria.
P.O.A- Mrs. Putnam’s entrance:
As Mrs. Putnam enters, have a red light shining through the door as she opens it,
to show how she is bringing in the hysteria from within the town. Maintain this red
light when the door shuts, so the red light is still shining through the gap between
the door and the floor onto the stage. To show how the hysteria from outside is
creeping in. The shadows on the cyclorama gradually get bigger and brighter as
more shadows slowly appear.
P.O.A- Rebecca calms Betty:
Have the shadows on the cyclorama shrinking quickly as the light also gets
dimmer, this showing how there is now a lack of hysteria.
P.O.A- Abigail and Betty name names:
Shadows become more prominent on the cyclorama as the lights gradually get
brighter until they change from a white light to a red light, showing how the
hysteria is gradually reaching its peak. Also have a red light creeping in through the
walls and the floor of the stage. At the end of the Act when Abi and Betty have
finished naming names, have a bright white light sharply appear to cover the
whole stage. To show how the hysteria is at its peak now.
Act Two:
P.O.A- John and Elizabeth:
The white light that sharply appeared at the end of Act One, have it snap off, to
show how there is no hysteria present in John and Elizabeth’s house. The shadows
on the cyclorama also snap off so there is just a general coverage of white light, to
emphasise the lack of hysteria.
P.O.A- Mary describes the court (physical hysteria)
Change the shadows on the cyclorama to a white light on the back wall with a
projection of the proceedings which took place in the court. As the projection
plays, have the white light gradually change to a red light, this showing how the
hysteria in the court is gradually getting bigger. Also have a white light lighting
Mary from beneath to create shadows, to show how she is representing the
physical hysteria.
Act Three:
P.O.A- Mary can’t faint:
Have the shadows on the cyclorama gradually get smaller and dimmer until
eventually there is no shadows present and it is only a dim white light covering the
cyclorama, which also fades away, this showing how there is now a lack of
hysteria.
P.O.A- Yellow Bird section:
At the beginning of this section have a small cluster of shadows on the middle of
the cyclorama outlined in red. Have more shadows gradually fading onto the
cyclorama which are also outlined in red, as the shadows appear have them
beginning to appear quicker and quicker as well as increasing in size, until
eventually you can’t see the shadows but just the red outlines which is now
covering the cyclorama. This showing how the hysteria has reached its peak again.
Also have a white light shining on each of the girls which gradually goes from white
to red at the end of the section, this showing how they are creating and causing
the hysteria at this point.
Act Four:
No hysteria:
No shadows on the cyclorama instead just a dim white light this showing that
there is no hysteria present now.
Overall lighting theme for hysteria will be shadows proving hysteria is heightened at this
point in the play and the display of lighting through the trees also highlights hysteria. We
also use a red light in some cases showing hysteria and danger entering the room.
Points of action
Lighting
People downstairs
There would be a bright white light hitting on
the window flat creating a dark shadow
making shadow of people and trees
prominent on the stage, this would show the
height of hysteria coming from the full of
Salem. The more the Hysteria heightens on
set, the more people which would be seen
from the cyclorama
Mrs Putnam's Section
A red light would be used shining through
the door flat when Mrs Putnam enters
showing the height of hysteria she is bringing
into the room from outside
Rebecca enters- calms Betty
Hysteria drops here as Rebecca is a calm
character, the shadow from the back wall
would become less prominent on stage and
very quickly the red light would vanish
showing the drop of the characters hysterical
actions
Betty and Abigail name names
The white light creating shadows would then
turn to red at this point showing the intense
hysteria picked back up in this act. The red
light is also lit from underneath the
floorboards to prove that the hysteria from
the devil is creeping in from everywhere and
is difficult to escape.
End of Act 1To Act 2 we would have a very strong bright white flood light fill the stage then
suddenly snap to blackout before Act 2 showing the intense drop of hysteria in both
Sound
Throughout the play:
A traditional and chilling piece of piano music would be used continuously through the play
to show that hysteria is always there within the society but at the highest points of hysteria
the music would be louder for example page 39-40 when the girls name names , the yellow
bird scene, when Mary cant faint and during the john and Parris confrontation
Act1:
A voice over could be used to highlight hysteria at the beginning of act 1 when Betty will not
speak when Abigail says “The parlours packed with people sir”. The voice over would
include peoples voices and rustling around building hysteria in case people accuse Abigail of
being a which if they find out what has occurred in the woods. This highlights that not only
the people on stage are hysterical the people of community are also as they have all came
to the parlour so quickly.
It would be very effective to have a voice over of the girls screaming before the play begins
as this could be a subtle indicator to the audience that hysteria is about to take place within
the play.
Act 4:
There would be no music because there is no hysteria in act 4 highlighting that the belief in
the court has faded out.
Costume
1. Costumes becoming “tighter”, e.g. sleeves becoming tighter, collars and buttons
done up, belts etc. to represent the fear of being accused, the control society holds
over people through fear.
Example: Mrs Putnam wearing multiple belts/corsets in Act I entrance, to show the
control that hysteria has over her.
2. Costumes becoming “looser”, e.g. buttons coming undone, bonnets looser so
strands of hair are exposed, clothes generally less “tidy”, to show how people in
society are afraid and less concerned with keeping their appearance at its best.
Example: Mrs Putnam’s entrance in Act I shows her looking flustered and unkempt,
her hair and clothes untidy, as if she is afraid and therefore uncaring about her
appearance.
3. People cover their faces with bonnets and hoods, to show the fear they have to
show their faces to anyone or stand out, in case they are accused.
4. Costumes becoming brighter, e.g. whites becoming purer and brighter, colours
becoming less faded, to show how shocking the hysteria in society is.
Example: the Yellow Bird Section in Act III. Mary begins the section in a greyish-white
and dully coloured costume, with a greyish-white shawl lined with pure white on the
inside. As the accusations against her grow, she tears off her bonnet in frustration
and fear, revealing red ribbons in her hair, and removes her shawl. When Abigail
goes to comfort Mary after she confesses, Abigail replaces Mary’s shawl inside-out,
so the bright white side is exposed.
Other people could change their costumes to show hysteria by removing/putting on
aprons, ribbons, bonnets, waistcoats, etc.
Make-Up
Hysteric Characters
Abigail, Mrs Putnam, Mary, Betty, Mercy
Throughout the play when these characters convey the theme of hysteria they would wear
similar make-up.
A white base with dark eyes created by black eye-liner and a grey eye-shadow. This would
show the similarities in the characters and the hysteric nature of each would become
obvious to the audience.
Mrs Putnam is the first character to enter the stage displaying hysteria. When she enters her
hair would be loose and very messy to convey a sense of panic and hysteria.
Mary in Act 2 brings hysteria to the Proctor household. She would wear a hint of blue lipliner to demonstrate a feeling of coldness that comes from the hysteria she feels: “I feel a
misty coldness climbin’ up my back” Powder would be used to give her face a drawn-in and
pale look, this would convey the physical effects of hysteria. When Mary cannot faint
because there is no hysteria in the room in Act 3 this make-up would be gone.
In the Yellow Bird scene, the girls would wear the make-up highlighted above but instead of
having dark eyes, a red eye-shadow would be used to show the malicious intent of what
they were doing, and the danger it posed for the other characters. Red contact lenses could
also be used.
Blocking
Blocking – Act 1
Mrs Putnam’s section.
Mrs Putnam –
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She would enter into the room quickly
She would take up a lot of space by constantly pacing around the room
Her voice would be strill and loud and she wouldn’t stop talking.
Her movement around the stage would be very fast
She is using the gesture of running her hands through her hair. This suggests that she is
trying to look like she is making an effort.
She would have strong eye contact with people to show how she is slightly crazed at
this present time.
Parris
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He would react to Mrs Putnam and her hysteria by his voice being a quick pace and a
strong tone to show that the hysteria is building in the room.
 The hysteria affects Parris so therefore his posture deteriorates. Before Mrs Putnam
came in he was standing up straight, now he is slouched over.
Abigail and Betty naming names section
AbigailAbigail would move from the back corner of the stage up to the front of the stage.
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The Putnam’s would start to follow Abigail, which shows that they are encouraging the
hysteria and want to know what else Abigail has to say.
 Her voice would be loud and her clarity would be better to show she knows exactly
what it is she is trying to say and that she is confident about saying it.
 She would be facing out to the audience chanting names of people in the society.
Her arms would be spread out and she would have completely open gestures.
Blocking – Act 3
Mary Can’t Faint
In the scene where Mary is pressured into pretending to faint but is unable to do so due to a
lack of hysteria, it is important to convey the lack of hysteria to the audience. Danforth and
Parris would crowd round Mary trying to pressure her into fainting or confessing but she
would appear to be calm and show no signs of panic which would justify her inability to faint
Yellow Bird Scene
Mary’s blocking is of utmost importance in this scene, through her movement we can
convey the dilemma she is facing and how she must choose which side to be on. She is
frightened by the girl’s hysteria and panics. When Abigail first “sees” the Yellow Bird Mary
would be near her on the stage but as soon as Mary realises what she is doing she would
rush away from her, towards the characters that aren’t phased by the hysteria (John, Giles,
Hale)
As the girls continue, the characters of Parris, Danforth, Cheever, Hawthorne, and Herrick
rush towards them, to show they have been taken in by their hysteria, Parris being the first
to move. This leaves John Giles Hale and now Mary on the opposite end of the stage clearly
dividing the characters into those taken in by the hysteria, and those who are not.