In the year’s fall play, Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, drama and technical theater classes recreated the tale of the infamous Salem Witch Hunt of the 1690s. Many students have seen the spectacular performances on Nov. 16-18, but few have witnessed the heart and soul poured into the production outside of public sight.

“The Crucible” was elected as the fall play last year when director and drama/technical theater teacher Megan Kirby discovered that sophomores would be studying this literature piece. Kirby sacrificed a large amount of her free time in order to hold the entire show together.

“I will be directing as well as technical directing,” Kirby said, “which means the lights and sound and that kind of stuff, so I am leading that endeavor. I also designed most of the costumes with the help of students.”

The cast, consisting of 36 actors and actresses, and the crew, consisting of 48 members, began preparing two-and-a-half weeks prior to their performance. It opened with a readthrough of the script, followed by watching the movie in order to gain an understanding of the plot. Planning regarding the time, settings and budgeting took place next. Drama students then auditioned for roles and began rehearsing, while technical theater students took on creative tasks such as costume designing and prop production.

There were six total rehearsals with the addition of numerous in class run throughs, each ranging from two to three hours, for the entire team to tackle major issues together while running through the play repeatedly after a brief mic check. Additionally, many technical theater students volunteered to devote extra time to help Kirby create costumes and props.

“[The most important segment] was the courtroom scene,” freshman Samir Behera said, who played the lead role of John Proctor, “because that’s the most intense and enjoyable scene that the audience will mostly likely see.”

Sophomore Alene Hata played an important part as stage manager, makeup director and costume designer. Being a stage manager meant that she had to ensure everyone was on top of their work or their lines; that all were on task and was ready when need be.

“Mrs. Kirby and her mom contributed a lot,” Hata said. “They spent a lot of their own time working on the costumes and planning things out and choosing who would do what role. ‘The Crucible’ went really well, and the cast did an amazing job as well. Everyone contributed, and I think it turned out really nice.”