Description:

PlayTime Theatre is proud to present its 2024 production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller at Athenaeum Center, 2936 N Southport Ave, 60657. Directed by Julie Szwedo

Auditions will be held on August 8th from 6-8:30 at Green Shirt Studio, 4001 Ravenswood Ave, Unit 303B, Chicago, 60613.

Pay is $200 stipend plus Share of Profits

Character Breakdown

John Proctor (Male, late 30s to late 40s)
A highly charismatic farmer in Salem, Proctor serves as the voice of reason and justice in The Crucible. A sharply intelligent man who can easily detect foolishness in others and expose it, even as he questions his own moral sense given his affair with the teenage Abigail Williams, Proctor.

Elizabeth Proctor (Female, early 30s to early 40s)
The wife of John Proctor, Elizabeth shares with John a similarly strict adherence to justice and moral principles She is a woman who has great confidence in her own morality and in the ability of a person to maintain a sense of righteousness, both internal and external, even when this principle conflicts with strict Christian doctrine. However, Elizabeth can be a cold and demanding woman, whose chilly demeanor may have driven her husband to adultery and whose continual suspicions of her husband render their marriage tense.

Abigail Williams (17, to be played by an adult)
A seventeen year-old girl who is the niece of Reverend Parris, Abigail was the Proctors' servant before Elizabeth fired her for having an affair with John. She is a malicious, vengeful girl who, in an attempt to protect herself from punishment after Reverend Parris finds them dancing, instigates the Salem witch trials and leads the charge of accusations. Abigail's callous nature stems partially from past trauma; she is an orphan who watched as her parents were murdered by Natives.

Deputy Governor Danforth (Male, late 40s and up
The deputy governor of Massachusetts presides over the Salem witch trials. He is a stern yet practical man more interested in preserving the dignity and stature of the court than in executing justice or behaving with any sense of fairness.

Reverend Samuel Parris (Male, late 40s to early 60s
A weak, paranoid and suspicious demagogue, Parris instigates the witchcraft panic when he finds his daughter and niece dancing in the woods with several other girls. Parris is continually beset with fears that others conspire against him. Parris knows the truth that Abigail is lying about the dancing and the witchcraft, but perpetuates the deception because it is in his own self interest - he strives for monetary compensation, including the deed to the preacher's house and expensive candlesticks.

Reverend John Hale (Male, late 20s to mid 30s)
A scholar from Beverly, Reverend Hale comes to Salem on Reverend Parris' request to investigate supernatural causes for Betty Parris' suspicious illness and thus instigates the rumors of witchcraft. Hale approaches the situation precisely and intellectually, believing that he can define the supernatural in definitive terms. Despite his early enthusiasm for discerning the presence of witchcraft in Salem, Hale soon grows disillusioned with the witchcraft accusations that abound.

Giles Corey (Male, late 60s and up)
An irascible and combative old resident of Salem, Giles Corey is a comic figure in The Crucible whose fate turns tragic when he unwittingly effects his wife's charge for witchcraft when he wonders aloud about the strange books she reads at night.

Martha Corey (Female, late 60s and up)
Giles Corey's wife, accidentally accused of witchcraft unknowingly by her husband.

Mary Warren (Female, teen)
The teenage servant in the Proctor household, Mary is one of the girls found dancing in the woods and is complicit in Abigail Williams' schemes. Although weak and tentative, she challenges the Proctors when they forbid her to go to court. She is a pliable girl whose actions are easily determined by others.

Tituba (Female, Black, 20s-30s)
Parris' slave from Barbados, Tituba was with the girls when they danced and attempted to conjure the spirits of Ann Putnam's dead children. She is the first person accused of witchcraft and likewise the first person to accuse others of witchery - particularly when she discovers that the easiest way to spare herself is to admit to the charges no matter their truth.

Thomas Putnam (Male, 40s-60s)
One of the wealthiest landowners in Salem, Thomas Putnam is a vindictive, bitter man who holds longstanding grudges against many of the citizens of Salem, including the Nurse family for blocking the appointment of his brother-in-law to the position of minister. Putnam pushes his daughter to charge witchcraft against George Jacobs, for if he is executed, his land will be open for Putnam to purchase.

Rebecca Nurse (Female, 40s-60s)
One of the most noble and well-respected citizens of Salem, this elderly woman is kindly and sane, suggesting that Betty's illness is simply a product of being out too late in the cold. A tragic figure who is charged with the supernatural murder of Putnam's children, who were each stillborn.

Judge Hathorne (Male, 40s-60s)
Hathorne is the judge who presides over the Salem witch trials. He remains largely subservient to Deputy Governor Danforth, but applies the same tortured reasoning to charges of witchcraft.

Francis Nurse (Male, 40s-60s)
Francis is the husband of Rebecca Nurse, and a well-respected wealthy landowner in Salem. Francis Nurse joins Giles Corey and John Proctor in their challenge against the court when their respective wives are charged with witchcraft.

Betty Parris (Female, 10-13)
The young daughter of Reverend Parris, Betty falls mysteriously ill after Reverend Parris finds her dancing in the woods with Abigail and the other young women of Salem.

Sarah Good (Female, 20s)
One of the first women charged with witchery by the girls, she is a homeless woman who confesses to witchcraft to save herself and continues the charade with Tituba, comically claiming that Satan will take her and Tituba to Barbados.

Ezekiel Cheever (Male, 30s-60s)
Ezekiel is a clerk of the court who serves the arrest warrants to the persons charged with witchcraft.

Mrs. Ann Putnam (Female, 40s-60s)
The wife of Thomas Putnam, Ann suspects that there is some paranormal reason for the stillborn deaths of seven of her children and blames Rebecca Nurse.

Mercy Lewis (Female, teen or young looking adult)
Mercy Lewis is the Putnam's servant - a sly merciless girl whom Parris found naked when he spied the girls dancing in the woods.

Susanna Walcott (Female, teen or young looking adult)
Susanna is one of the girls whom Parris found dancing in the woods, and a confidant of Abigail.

Marshal Herrick (Male, 20s and up)
Marshal is one of the local constables who guards the jail cells while nearly drunk.

Hopkins (Male, 20s and up)
Hopkins is one of the guards at the jail cell.

George Jacobs (Male, 40s-60s)
A landowner Thomas Putnam wishes to have killed so he can purchased his land.

Dorothy Good (Female, 5-7)
Sarah Good's young daughter. At 5 years old she was the youngest person to be tried as a witch. A feral child who was said to bite and carry a snake "familiar" around in her jail cell alongside her mother.