AUDITIONS FOR ISU THEATRE’S THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller
Director—Cason Murphy
Production Stage Manager—Valentine Chenus
AUDITION DETAILS
ISU Theatre will hold a combined audition for The Crucible with Always Plenty of Light at the Starlight All Night Diner and John Proctor is the Villain. All auditioners should sign up for a 30-minute audition slot for Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 from 6:00pm – 10:00pm by signing up online, or use the QR code.
All auditioners should also be available for callbacks starting at 6:00pm on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
ABOUT THE SHOW
In the tight-knit, Puritan town of Salem, a group of girls are discovered dancing in the woods and then immediately fall ill. When no earthly cause can be identified, fear and suspicion begin to percolate in the small, isolated community, that something larger, more fearsome, and other worldly may be to blame. Buried secrets and resentments are brought to light and attempts to root out evil lead to finger-pointing, treachery, and betrayal. When everyone is a suspect, sometimes the most dangerous threat to the community may be the community itself.
Advisory: The Crucible contains moments of profanity, intimacy, and physical abuse. All safety and professional rules will be followed during rehearsals and performances. There will be no intimacy or violence at the auditions.
WHAT TO PREPARE
Please sign up for a 30-minute audition slot—auditioners will be seen in 3-minute slots within that half hour, for which you should:
- prepare a 90-second monologue from a contemporary play
- bring theatrical resume, if available
ROLES AVAILABLE
This production is committed to diverse, inclusive casting. Every auditionee will be considered for every role (see list of roles below).
John Proctor: A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
Abigail Williams: Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed.
Reverend John Hale: A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
Elizabeth Proctor: John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
Reverend Parris: The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.
Judge Danforth: The deputy governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
Judge John Hawthorne: Judge presiding over the trials, second in command to Judge Danforth; confident and resolute; believes strongly in his own authority and importance; willfully ignorant to any dissent voiced by the community.
Thomas Putnam: A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, who uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
Ann Putnam: Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
Rebecca Nurse: Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.
Francis Nurse: A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
Giles Corey: An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death.
Martha Corey: Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft.
Sarah Good: First to be accused of witchcraft. Poor, friendless, considered mentally unstable, rejected by the town.
Tituba: Reverend Parris’s slave. Tituba is implicated of witchcraft, and is pressured to participate in accusations.
Betty Parris: Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba.
Ruth Putnam: The Putnams’ lone surviving child out of eight. Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods at night.
Mary Warren: The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her.
Susannah Walcott: One of the girls who joins Abigail in accusing others of witchcraft; nervous and worried.
Mercy Lewis: One of the girls in Abigail’s group.
Ezekiel Cheever: A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.
John Willard: A deputy jailor of the court.
Herrick: The marshal of Salem.
Hopkins: A guard of the jail.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
This production will occur in repertory with John Proctor is the Villain.
Rehearsals will begin the week of January 29, 2024, and will generally rehearse Monday–Friday evenings. No rehearsals during Spring Break. Technical rehearsals for both productions begin April 6, 2024, and performances will be April 18-28, 2024.
CREDIT AVAILABILITY
2-3 Credits of Theatre 301x available.
Questions? Email isutheatre@iastate.edu or director, Cason Murphy, at cwmurphy@iastate.edu