The grievances of innocent spirits from Salem echoed throughout the theater on Nov. 16-18 as drama students recalled the injustices surrounding the infamous witch trials in their performance of Arthur Miller’s classic play, “The Crucible.” Miller explored how paranoia clouds people’s judgments through his fictional take on the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.

“The Crucible” began with young girls’ accusations of witchcraft and eventually led to a tragic ending with many lives being needlessly lost. Sophomores studied “The Crucible” in their American Literature classes, which was taken into consideration when choosing the first official fall play.

“After talking to the English Department and learning they will be using [‘The Crucible’] as one of their studies in American literature…we thought it would be a really cool cross collaboration between the English Department and the Visual and Performing Arts Department,” director and drama teacher Megan Kirby said.

The controversial theme of “The Crucible” has fascinated many cast members.

“Although many people think Salem was a boring time, and it’s just another lesson in history, [the play] actually had some stories behind it with all these young girls and the adults [who] actually thought the Devil is real,” said freshman Kayla Espiritu who plays Abigail Williams, one of the main accusers.

Ashley Pagador, the actor playing Elizabeth Proctor who was accused by Abigail Williams of practicing witchcraft, shared a similar appreciation for the play’s varied messages.

“[‘The Crucible’] is interesting because it is really about the dark side of Salem, and it is about the side we never really hear about society,” Pagador said.

As a collaborative effort by sophomores and freshmen from drama and stage technician classes, all students involved were given the chance to see how a high school play evolves into a full-scale production.

“The design choices are special because for the most part they were chosen by the students,” Kirby said. “Traditionally, ‘The Crucible’ is a very minimal show in the way of sets and costumes.”

For example, one artistic lighting choice made by the students was to create the feeling of a home or a jail cell using lighting techniques, such as utilizing the light mover to form different visual impacts. As they approached opening night, the excitement and eagerness to show off their preparation and hard work to the audience had the entire cast and crew in overdrive.

“This is our true fall play, so that’s really exciting,” Kirby said. “Everyone that has had some sort of impact on the production or has been working on it is really excited about [the play] and proud of it. I hope that it makes people excited to come and support their friends and people they have been hearing about for the last few months.”