Piggy: Character Analysis

When the light first struck the stage, it was amazing to see how the stage had been transformed into a tropical island. Unlike many other productions, the set was not composed of pieces of furniture that had been brought in or resources available at the school. Infact, nearly the entire set was constructed by the Drama students. The amount of work that must have gone into creating an island with hills, forests, and sandy beaches must be monumental. A few weeks before the production, I was in the auditorium, rehearsing for the Senior Beta induction, and the Drama students were working on building the wooden structures that would act as cliffs and hills. The sheer craftsmanship of the set was amazing, simply due to the fact that each aspect
I was immediately drawn in to how well the characters developed their personalities. The traits of each individual character were so distinct, I was able to easily identify them without having to hear them project their names. The performers were precise in their movements and actions, which corresponded perfectly with the novel. Each actor/actress became their own person, with a story to tell, and a dark personality that some seemed to be hiding. The most dignified character was surely Piggy, the actor seemed to come out of his shell and let his emotions fall into place, which corresponded perfectly with the true nature of Piggy.

An equally important factor that contributed to the success of the production was the character development. In the beginning of the play, there is some sort of unity, Ralph is elected “chief,” and the speaking conch becomes the focal point of all order on the island. However, as the days rolled by, two key groups began to form; the civilized led by Ralph and the savages led by Jack. There was a clear struggle within Ralph’s group as they attempted to maintain their humanness, while the savages quickly became untamed upon the killing of their first
In many plays it seems as though actors/actresses will stumble over their words or not speak loud enough for everyone to hear. However, I did not experience any of these issues throughout the production. The performers spoke at a level that I could easily hear them, even though they were not wearing microphones. Even more impressive, the performers were able to adjust the tone of their voice to accommodate the scenario, while still maintaining a constant volume. If an actor was supposed to be whispering it was obvious, while the articulation remained precise and the volume