Blocking “The Castle of Perseverance”

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Experiences of the Directing Group for Fast Times at Morality High: A
1980s medieval morality play
“Justice and Equity in the English Morality Play” by J. Wilson McCutchan in the
Journal of the History of Ideas (Jun. 1958)
In a brief article in the June, 1958 edition of the Journal of the History of Ideas J.
Wilson McCutchan analyzed the development of the character of Justice in the English
morality play of the late Medieval and Early-Modern period. In early morality plays such
as the Castle of Perseverance, McCutchan noted that Justice appeared as one of the Four
Daughters of God, advising to condemn the character of Mankind in the Castle of
Perseverance. Justice is considered a “theological concept” rather than a character
focusing on legality and legal procedure. This is also true in morality plays concurrent to
Perseverance, such as Salutation and Conception, Ludus Coventriae, and Processus
Satanae.1
However, in later morality plays such as Respublica, published in 1553, Justice
increasingly becomes a judicial figure on matters of legal pronouncement, gradually
moving away from the abstract Daughters of God.2 For the purpose of our production,
McCutchan’s analysis proves useful in displaying the evolution of the various
conceptions of the Daughters of God from abstract virtues to more recognizable authority
figures. We as the directors use a later interpretation for the Daughters of God, with them
updated as teacher or administrator characters separate and above the virtues.
Despite creating less-abstract virtues and Daughters of God characters in our
production, Justice and the other Daughters of God remain under the authority of the
Principle Godfrey (God) character and despite reconciling in agreement, they must
adhere to his pronouncement on Mankind’s fate and ultimate choice for salvation over
the objections of Truth and Justice. The alteration of these characters from abstractions to
Blocking “The Castle of Perseverance”
Blocking “The Castle of Perseverance” took many hours and many meetings
between the directors. During our first meeting, we divided the script into sections, and
then blocked a particular number of pages a night based on these sections. We also came
up with a rehearsal schedule that could suit everyone’s individual schedules based on
these sections of the play, which (needless to say) was quite difficult.
When beginning to rehearse with the actors, we emphasized how even the littlest
bit of blocking required quite a bit of acting, or even overacting in order to create kind of
stage picture we wanted. For example, the Virtues and Vices are blocked to walk off the
stage in their groups, and in doing so, their individual characters need to be portrayed in
every step that they take. For example, Sloth is blocked to walk off stage a number of
J. Wilson McCutchan, “Justice and Equity in the English Morality Play”
Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 19, No. 3. (June, 1958), p 405-406.
1
2
Ibid, p 407.
times, and so he was directed to walk as obnoxiously slow as possible, mumbling and
groaning about how everyone else needs to walk slower.
We also used height in order to differentiate the Virtues and Vices from Doctor
Godfrey and Vice Principal Death, who are always seen higher from the rest of the cast
when on stage due to their power. Doctor Godfrey especially is disassociated from the
teachers and students, appearing on his own platform, and requiring everyone to look up
at him when talking to him.
We approached only a small number of problems when blocking, and they all
seem to have been resolved. Many actors had trouble keeping their faces to the audience,
and sometimes would speak to other cast members while having their backs completely
turned, making it hard to hear their lines. Using the proper stage hand so that the audience
could see every single movement actors make was also a bit of a struggle at first, but after
teaching actors how to fix this, our job was done.
The Audition Process: Casting the Characters
To begin to get a feel for how people feel on stage, we had everyone read in class,
both from the Medieval text and from our re-created text of The Castle of Perseverance.
From these in class readings, the directors were able to learn which of our classmates
would be more comfortable in larger (or smaller roles), and which roles would best fit
individuals in our class.
One of the main factors was certainly that the students listed their preference as
far as roles, and the directors tried to follow that as closely as we could. Then spent one
or two days in class having several people read for each of the parts, so that we could
make decisions. All five of the directors cast the play together, and tried to match
preference with ability to act out the role. After this was completed, we compiled a cast
list with understudies for the larger roles, and double cast a few parts (including the
daughters of God).
One problem we did run into with casting was that we should have checked
schedules ahead of time to see which of our classmates had more free time than others,
but in the end we were able to work that out with the individuals who had bigger roles.
We were also able to discover quickly which students fit better into certain roles,
especially according to preferences (and in some cases, we must admit, personality). We
really worked on pushing the dynamic between the virtues and the vices as far as
character development and blocking goes, which is something we are still working on.
Symbolism and Practicality in the Set
In working with the set, we had originally planned on using a large portion of the
back of Breidenbaugh, extending to the platform outside the Joseph Theater. The
platform was originally intended to be Dr. Godfrey’s platform from which he could
watch the events as they unfolded. However, we soon realized that the stage was too
large and the platform was too far from the audience and the rest of the action for the
parliament of heaven scene to take place. Thus, we had to condense the set, using little
more than the stairs for our production.
In addition to this, we attempted to symbolize the division between the virtues and
vices by adding a dimension of physicality to the staging. Thus, the virtues were always
positioned on the right side of the set and the vices were always on the left. Further,
Angel is also always on the right side of Manny and Demona on the left in a second
attempt to symbolize the division between the two different groups. Similar to this, we
also attempted to demonstrate the omnipotence of both Dr. Godfrey and Vice Principal
Death by elevating them above the rest of the action. Although Death did not have his
own platform like Dr. Godfrey did, he was still positioned above the virtues, vices, Angel,
Demona, and Manny to symbolize the control that he has over all of them. Through these
actions, we attempted to symbolize the relationships between the various characters.
MODERN CONTEXT, MEDIEVAL STYLE
Though we have updated the language and setting of The Castle of Perseverance,
we are actually performing it in a style very close to that of an actual medieval play. The
modern conception of acting as a deeply emotional and realistic art is actually a very
recent development – “Method acting” is a 20th Century invention. Since medieval plays
were comprised of stock characters and historical figures, there was no need to go into
depth regarding the “internal life” of the character. Action was more important than
emotion, and breadth was more important than depth. Especially in morality plays, the
purpose of medieval theatre was to impart a universal moral message to a large
demographic of people, so the creation of easily identifiable characters was important.
Another contributing factor to the less personal nature of medieval acting was simple
practicality. Outdoor theatre in a parade or festival format requires over-exaggerated
gestures and speech. The use of slapstick and direct audience address helped
accommodate both the practical reality and the moral intention of medieval theatre.
Perhaps one of the biggest similarities between Fast Time at Morality High and
The Castle of Perseverance is the nature of our production. Much like our medieval
predecessors, we are a troupe of amateurs. Medieval actors were not professionally
trained – the concept did not really exist. Instead, guild members would pool their
untrained talents and combined resources to create the productions that we now study.
Due to limited resources and requirements of mobility, medieval plays did not emphasize
realism in acting, blocking, or set. These constraints led to the development of a more
presentational style of theatre, which is a type of theatre that calls attention to a play’s
theatricality in an abstract and symbolic way. The stage diagram of The Castle of
Perseverance clearly does not depict a set that attempts to portray the objective world
accurately. In the same way, we are presenting a highly stylized, very suggestive vision
of a moralistic 1980s high school.
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