Mockingbird, Response to Jess- Iris

I brought a lot of preconceptions to the performance of To Kill a Mockingbird, as it is one of my favorite books and movies, and I was skeptical that a stage play could capture everything that I love about the story. But, as is usually the case with good theater, this production asked me to look at the story in a new way.

I had a very similar reaction to the mob scene that Jess did. Usually, I don't like it when actors enter from the audience, because of how much it takes me out of the play. I also hate having to squirm around in my seat to see someone acting in the dark- I worry that I'll miss something. But when the angry mob started swarming up the aisles, I didn't have to see everything that was going on- there was plenty to look at from both sides. Some of the actors walked straight down the aisle, some ambled at a slower pace, or were hampered by heavier weapons, some even waited until later and then ran, full-tilt, to the stage. It was varied and interesting and very intimidating. By putting us in the center of the action, I was reminded that Atticus, Scout and Jem are in the minority in their views- I felt like I was being told "You are a part of this mob. You can say you wouldn't have been there, that you're views are different, but this play does not take place in the modern day, and if you were there, you wouldn't be so evolved. You'd have a weapon, too."

I had the same response in the courtroom scene, when the jury is placed in the audience, and Atticus Finch gives his closing argument directly to us. I was reminded that these issues may seem clear-cut to us today, but that if we were really sitting in the jury box in this fictional town in Alabama, we would have voted to convict Tom Robinson just like everyone else. It didn't feel preachy to me- instead, it just felt like a reminder- we have to put our social and cultural biases aside if we're going to experience this work, and appreciate the true nobility of its characters.