Bushnell Review

  Watching the Warrior’s Don’t Cry is really an amazing experience. It is a one-woman play, which describes a story of Melba who was one of the students chosen to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School during the period of racism segregation. The play vividly shows a transition of Melba, who is scared at first, but gradually stands up, acting as a warrior, fighting for their civil rights battle with her strength and courage, and eventually leads the Little Rock Nine toward victory after experiencing a series of hardship. 

  As what I mentioned above, it is a one-women play. That is also the most incredible lesson I learn — how the only one actor’s performance carries the entire show. There are some significant techniques were implied by the actor in order to help the audience more clearly distinguish the different characters. By using the body language and voice, the actor builds up distinct image corresponding to different characters. For example, when she imitates her grandma, she would become humpbacked, elbows bent with one hand on her hips, and speaks with a kind of more husky voice. Just because of the fixed gesture and voice for different characters, the audience has a clear understanding of what is going on, as well as creating a somehow easier way for the actor to memorize the great amount of lines I believe. By memorizing the lines along with the body language, she can clearly distinguish which one is which. Once again, I realize how important body language is not only from my own performance in the Romeo and Juliet. Body language is like the best prop used by the actors to convey what they want to say to the audience. 

  Despite the wonderful performance, I am also a little surprised by the “plain” stage set. There is only one desk, one chair, a bench, and a cup of water, a diary, and a pen on the desk. The simple stage set creates a lot of difficulties for the actor’s performance because as the plot goes on, the place also keeps changing. Thus, once again, the actor has to use her body language, lines, tone and voice to tell the audience the different blocking. However, the only props on the stage also were widely used by the actor: sometimes she sits on the bench; sometimes she stands on it. 

  Overall, it is hardly not to say how difficult and incredible the whole play is. Not only including the large amount of lines that the actor needs to memorize, but also the many characters the actor needs to portray and the few amount of props can be used by the actor, all of these increase the performing difficulties to some extent.