What would you do if one decision sealed your fate? Would you speak up or follow the crowd?
On Friday Oct. 14 at 8 p.m., the Theater Department will open Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in Blair Hall Theater, Building 2. The play will run from Oct. 14 until the 22.
All student tickets are $10 and adult tickets are $15.
“The Crucible is the story of one man’s struggle with right and wrong,” Stephen Skiles, chair of the theater and dance department said. “It is about how one man perceives himself and how others perceive him.”
The play is set in 1692 in Salem, Mass. when a group of young girls began to accuse people in the town of witchcraft. At the center of the hysteria is John Proctor, played by Sinclair student Chris Hahn, Elizabeth Proctor, played by Sinclair student Allison Husko and Abigail Williams, played by Sinclair student Angela Dermer.
Proctor, who is a devout, upright and zealous man, has to decide whether to tarnish his reputation or continue to let the town suffer because of his infidelity to his wife, Elizabeth Proctor.
Angered and jealous, Abigail Williams accuses Mrs. Proctor of being a witch. After the accusations begin, hysteria breaks out within the town, according to Skiles.
“The Crucible is one of the greatest dramas written in American theater,” Skiles said. “I think at the heart of the play there is a tie with every character in the play that students can relate to and that is the idea of ‘how am I perceived by others?’ and ‘how do I perceive myself.’”
The play will touch on several themes that students can relate to including: respect and reputation, lies and deceit, forgiveness and compassion, religion, acceptance and justice. The play will also highlight the internal struggle that each character faces when the choice is made to speak out or follow the crowd, according to Skiles.
“People often look for acceptance through the eyes of other people a lot and they can get caught up in what the crowd is doing,” Skiles said. “That is the story of so many of the characters in this play. We felt, as a department, that those thematic ideas of the play would really strike a cord.”
The Crucible and the undercurrent lessons to be learned have been around for more than 50 years and we can still relate those ideas to present day, according to Skiles.
“I hope that students, faculty and staff can take what they saw in the play and relate it to their own life,” Skiles said. “Because that is what theater does, we are trying to bridge that gap between what you see on stage and how you can relate to it as an individual.”
For more information including specific dates and times go to www.sinclair.edu/tickets.