Champagne 1

Allie Champagne

1/24/15

Proof Analysis

Proof takes place on the back porch of a house in Chicago. Due to the fact that the house

is mentioned as being sold to the University of Chicago, we can assume that geographically they

are close to the campus. In Act Two, Claire mentions that it is getting chilly outside, thus

implying that it is most likely fall and the weather is starting to cool off. The playwright does not

supply us with a specific date or year for the world of the play, but due to the mention of certain

dates in the play, you can deduce that it is around the year 2000 and somewhere around the

month of October. The first act and the first few scenes of act two take place over the span of a

few days but the last few scenes of act two happen about a week later. Economically, Catherine

has enough money to live comfortably, due to her fathers pension. They live in a house, as

opposed to an apartment, so its clear they lived on a decent paycheck. It is mentioned that the

house is located in a socially active area with a downtown area filled with shops and bars. Due to

the University being close by, the town would most likely be labeled a college town by todays

standards. In this play, politics and religion do not play a huge role in the development of plot or

characters. Surprisingly, this play does take place in a time when there would be an increase in

the amount of technology. The only technology used throughout the production is a telephone,

which we would assume is portable due to its use on the porch. The lack of technology, despite

its availability, might stem from Roberts lack of coherency at the end of his life. Spatially this

production has only one setting, the porch of a house. Although this environment is technically

outside, there is furniture, lighting fixtures, and other elements that affect the space.
 Champagne 2

This play has an extensive history prior to its beginning. The sisters, Catherine and Claire

grew up with their father Robert, a mathematician. After Roberts health starts to decline,

Catherine returns home to take care of him. Claire, on the other hand, lives in New York and

carries on with her life separately. Between Roberts bad spells, there is a good year in which

Catherine enrolls as a Mathematics major at Northwestern University. Once he becomes ill

again, she drops out of college to continue providing assistance for her father. Later in the play it

is revealed that during this time she became depressed and starting working on her own proof,

which is a huge mathematical discovery.

At the beginning of the play, Catherine is very stubborn in her beliefs. She feels that she

is a competent and strong woman who doesnt need any help. She chooses to ignore the

similarities between her and her father and maintains a strained relationship with her sister due to

past occurrences. At the end of the play, however, shes softened and begun to accept some of the

help offered to her. She admits that it would be nice to be taken care of and that maybe she is

more like her father than she wants to be. She also agrees to leave Chicago, finding reasons to

leave as opposed to fighting her sister to stay.

Hals character doesnt change much throughout the play. Although he changes his mind

about who wrote the proof, he doesnt change in any moral or emotional way. He is the static

character of the show, a pawn that receives the ups and downs of Catherines emotions. Although

Hal isnt old, he believes that he is past his mathematical prime, which ages him in a different

way than years. Even in the flashback scene, Hal has the same characteristics as he does many

years later in the present day, showing him to be an even minded character.

Claire becomes more frustrated as the production goes on and her attitudes change from

sympathetic to exhausted. As a sister, Claire views it as her duty to help Catherine out and make
 Champagne 3

sure that she is taken care of. Claire remains kind and helpful even while Catherine pushes her

away and makes sarcastic remarks. Slowly, Claire becomes worn down and gives in to her

sisters requests to leave her alone. Although it is clear Claire still loves her, she doesnt have the

energy to fight anymore.

Due to Robert being only seen in flashbacks or imaginations, it is hard to tell if his polar

attitudes change during the show. Especially once his illness sets in, his mind isnt working

properly enough to be making many decisions.

The setting of the play carries a lot of significance, specifically regarding the character of

Catherine. The house carries some important memories of Robert and also works as a binding

agent for the three characters whom, without this house, might not have been together at this

moment. Having the play set on the porch of the house as opposed to inside allows for a certain

level of detachment, although it is a clear reminder of the past and their father. Its also important

to consider the bond that Catherine feels with the house and her unwillingness to leave it. If the

setting hadnt carried such a heavy significance, much of the conflict would dissipate.

Catherine is a very strong willed character who has been beaten down through the years

of dealing with her fathers illness. Her overall desire throughout the play is to gain a sense of

normalcy as well as proving her ability to stand on her own and take care of herself. She is

willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal, including spurning her sister and blaming the

one man who loves her because she believes she has earned it after spending all her time taking

care of her father. Morally, she has a strong sense of right and wrong that gets blurred as she

becomes emotional. For example, when Hal decides to take the proof to the board for review,

Catherine has an emotional outburst because she believes that he is doing it for his own benefit

instead of thinking clearly through his purposes. Physically, Catherine carries herself with the
 Champagne 4

weight of her fathers death on her shoulders. She is more concerned with comfort than style and

often neglects to shower causing her to appear somewhat disheveled. Due to her lack of cooking

skills, she eats out a lot which has caused her to gain some weight. Catherine is strong-willed,

exhausted, misunderstood, brilliant, intelligent, sarcastic, lonely, cynical, and overall

compassionate. Right before the scene begins, Catherine tells Claire and Hal that the proof is

hers. She is nervous of their reaction and a bit hesitant in telling them the truth because she

knows they wont believe her.

Claire is Catherines older and more successful sister. The weight of Roberts death hasnt

affected Claire as much and thus she appears to be higher functioning than Catherine. Claires

overall goal is to protect Catherine and make sure that she is in a stable state. Claire isnt as

stubborn as her sister and thus gives in quicker when her sister refuses to move to New York.

Although she is willing to work hard to convince Catherine through her words, she wont go far

enough to force her to go once she displays a clear disapproval of the idea. Claire is more level-

headed than Catherine but also shares her sense of right and wrong. Claire works hard to make

sure that the decisions being made are the best for all involved. Look-wise, Claire is the complete

opposite of her sister. She is put-together and only wears clothes that are in fashion. As seen

through the show, she is concerned with beauty and works hard to maintain her level of

appearance. She carries herself with pride and has the posture of a business woman. She is

professional, emotionally cold, detached, motherly, protective, successful, and proud. Prior to

this scene, she is excited about the discovery of the proof and the historical significance it will

bring to the family. However, upon hearing that Catherine wrote it, Claire sinks into feelings of

confusion and disbelief.

 Champagne 5

Hal, or Howard, is a mathematician who was taught by Robert and is now working on his

own thesis. Overall, Hals desire lies in the need for truth and the advancement of his art. At the

start of the play, it is known that Hal has been spending many hours going through Roberts

notebooks to no avail. The dedication to this search shows Hals appreciation for math and

someone with Roberts talents. Hal is willing to spend many hours flipping through nonsense to

find a discovery and when Catherine give him one, he goes behind her back to present it to the

board, sacrificing their growing relationship. Despite this, his moral code does prevent him from

taking the proof as his own which is something he could easily do. Physically, Hal has a varied

appearance based upon where he is coming from prior to the scene. He wears business casual

clothing when he is coming from his work environment, but on a typical day he will be wearing

jeans and a causal, yet stylish shirt. Hal carries himself with a sense of pride but it is also clear

through his movements that he has realized his time as a math genius is running out. For

someone who holds such a high level of education, he acts very casually, especially around

Catherine. Hal is intelligent, determined, humorous, goofy, passionate, understanding, and

patient. Before this scene begins, Hal just found Catherines proof and found that it is

mathematically sound. He is ecstatic and optimistic about showing the proof to his colleagues,

while wondering how Robert wrote the proof within his few lucid years.

Robert, Claire and Catherines father, was an acclaimed mathematician who ended up

slowly deteriorating until his death. His appearances throughout the play are either memories or

Catherines psyche. Overall, his desire as a father is to lookout for his daughter and to push her to

use her intelligence while she still has it. However, due to one of his appearances being a figment

of Catherines imagination, it is hard to tell if those motives are entirely Roberts or if theyre

more of Catherines. Although Robert is willing to say anything to get his daughter to a point
 Champagne 6

where she is working on mathematics like he wants her to, he wouldnt go far enough to insult

her as a daughter. He is always looking out for his daughter and morally he works hard to

maintain a level of right and wrong, although it can be fuzzy when he isnt lucid. Physically, he

changes throughout the show depending upon the scene. He typically is dressed business causal

with a bit of untidiness to it. As he becomes less lucid, he starts to wear t-shirts and jeans and

becomes dirtier as he no longer takes care of his appearance. He is caring, intelligent,

manipulative, and often times fast-paced.

The dialogue throughout the play is written in fairly conversational language with no

long monologues except by Robert when he goes on manic rants. The language is simple when

the characters are addressing one another and there is also correct usage of mathematical terms

when theyre needed. The line lengths are rather short, typically involving questions and abrupt

answers. The bigger chunks of dialogue are typically spoken by either Robert or Claire, which

explains a lot about their characters. Robert has bigger chunks of dialogue, especially in the

flashbacks in which he is manic which displays the characters unstable mind and the inability to

hold a proper conversation. Claire, however, uses her longer pieces of dialogue to display a sense

of authority or power over Catherine, especially when she is arguing against her. There are no

dialects written into the play meaning that any accent added would be at the discretion of the

director. The most interesting aspect of dialogue with this author is his use of all capital letters to

express the characters emotional states. Although it does make it clear which words he intends to

have expressed, it can sometimes make a scene seem over-exaggerated.

The meaning of the title is quite simple and yet very profound. On one level there is the

literal meaning that the play is about a written mathematical proof. However, on a deeper level,

most of the characters in the play are searching for some proof to explain their life and their
 Champagne 7

choices. Especially in act two, scene two, the whole scene is about the need to prove who wrote

the written proof and also Catherines need to prove her intelligence and her reasoning for

showing Hal the notebook. Catherine is also searching for whether or not she is going to end up

like her father, as well as some indication of what life choices she should make.

Act Two, Scene Two, is a very pivotal scene in relation to the plot of the play. It is the

climax of the story as well as the height of emotion between the characters. Catherine has finally

revealed her well-guarded secret and no one believes she could have written it. She then has to

search for a way to prove herself to the two people she loves and trusts most. Catherines feelings

of betrayal leads to her acceptance of her fate, such as moving to New York and possibly

becoming like her father. It is also a significant moment for Hal as Catherine forces him to face

the truth of his life and his career, one that he had been worried about the entire show.

One word I would use to describe the play as a whole is genius. Although that seems

broad, a lot of the play deals with intelligence and how it can be so easily taken away from you.

Hal is constantly worried that he is past his prime or maybe just not smart enough to be solving

great mathematical problems. Robert shows that genius can sometimes take a turn for the worse,

even at a young age. Catherine is constantly worried she will end up like her father, while also

struggling to get others to recognize her intelligence. Claire acts as a control to bounce all these

other characters off of. Although she is smart, she leads an average and normal life.

In terms of set, I believe the strongest point to get across is the way Catherine feels

towards her surroundings and how they affect her. There is a tire swing on the tree as a constant

reminder of her childhood and the lucid times of her father, something that weighs down on her

heart. I would also like the back wall of the house and porch to be painted in grey scale, showing

the cold and lifeless environment that Catherine feels trapped in while taking care of her father. I
 Champagne 8

would like there to be minimal props and a majority of them should keep within the grey scale

pattern. The one prop that will need to break this is the notebook with the proof, which should be

a bright color, as it is the one beacon of hope that Catherine has left.

The lighting for proof should focus on providing the atmosphere of being outside in the

fall. Because they are on the porch, the audience should be able to see the rising and setting of

the sun as well as experience the cool crisp air through the color palette. During the nighttime

scenes, it would be optimal to have string lights or a gobo representing stars, as well as pale

moonlight to contrast the party inside the house. There should also be practical lighting on the

walls of the porch as well as a light that shines from the kitchen door to show that there is life

inside.

Costuming for this production should be kept within the 2000s time period. Catherines

clothes at the beginning of the play should be messy and slouchy in dreary neutral tones. Claire,

by contrast, should be very put together and wear warmer earth tones. As the play goes on,

Catherines wardrobe can become brighter in color and more stylish in appearance. In the last

scene, where she accepts her fate, she should be dressed in the way Catherine used to with a full

color palette. The flashback scenes with Robert will also need to use costuming to distinguish

what year it is.

The biggest sound effects will come from ambient noise, such as crickets chirping or

birds in the trees. Because the whole show takes place outside on the porch, there will need to be

realism in the sounds that one would hear. When the funeral scene takes place, there could be

some muffled party music coming from inside the house. However, it shouldnt overtake the

scene, just provide some environment.

Champagne 9