What is The Crucible?
The Crucible is a play published in 1953 written by Arthur Miller. The play is set during the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s. The play is about a village that becomes involved in a witch hunt after a group of girls go dancing in the woods and one of the girls, Betty, falls into a coma, which causes rumours of witchcraft to spread throughout the village.
Characters
John Proctor
John Proctor is a farmer who lives just outside Salem. He’s seen as a respectable man but is secretly having an affair with Abigail Adams.
Abigail Williams
- Reverend Parris’ niece.
- Used to be the servant of the Proctor household.
- Fired after Elizabeth Proctor discovered she was having an affair with John Proctor.
Reverend John Hale
- Minister who’s seen as an expert on witches.
- Hater of witchcraft and devout Christian.
- Called into Salem when Betty falls ill and people think it’s witchcraft.
- Intelligent.
Elizabeth Proctor
- John Proctor’s wife.
- Traditional.
- Cold personality.
Reverend Parris
- Minister of Salem church.
- Paranoid.
- Disliked in the community.
- Power hungry.
Rebecca Nurse
- Francis Nurse’s wife.
- Respected in the community.
- Falls to hysteria when accused of witchcraft.
- Refuses to confess to witchcraft.
Francis Nurse
- Wealthy land owner.
- Unofficial judge of Salem.
- Well respected.
- Enemy of Thomas Putnam.
Judge Danforth
- Deputy governor of Massachusetts.
- Presiding judge of witch trials.
- Believes he’s doing the right thing by rooting out “witches”.
Giles Corey
- Elderly farmer in Salem.
- Has a history of filing lawsuits.
- His wife is accused of witchcraft.
- Held in contempt of court.
- Pressed to death with stones.
Thomas Putnam
- Wealthy and powerful
- Holds a grudge against Francis Nurse
- Uses witch trials to gain more wealth and land
Ann Putnam
- Thomas Putnam’s wife.
- Birthed 8 children, but only Ruth survived.
- Believes the other children died because of something supernatural.
Ruth Putnam
- Only surviving child in the Putnam family.
- Has similar symptoms to Betty Parris after going dancing at night in the woods.
Tituba
- Reverend Parris’ slave from Barbados.
- Cares for Betty Parris.
- Is blamed for any problems in the Parris household, not just the witch hunt.
- Abigail tells the others to blame Tituba after dancing in the woods because she’s less likely to be believed.
Mary Warren
- Servant in Proctor household.
- Shy.
- Member of Abigail’s group.
- Influenced by others.
- Scared of Abigail.
- Tries to help in the 3rd act but is too weak.
- Ends up giving in to Abigail’s group and accuses John Proctor of witchcraft as well as Elizabeth.
Betty Parris
- Reverend Parris’ daughter.
- 10 years old.
- Falls ill after dancing in the woods, starting the rumours of witchcraft.
Martha Corey
- Giles Corey’s 3rd wife.
- Arrested and convicted of witchcraft because she read a lot.
Ezekiel Cheever
- Acts as a clerk during the witch trials.
- Strong sense of justice.
Judge Hathorne
- Judge who deals with the witch trials.
Herrick
- Marshal of Salem.
Marcy Lewis
- A girl in Abigail’s group.
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/summary
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller was an American Playwright, born in Harlem, New York, on October 1915, and died on February 5th 2005. His family was Polish and Jewish. His father was a successful coat manufacturer and his mother was a teacher. In the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the once wealthy family fell into poverty and they had to move from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
He saved up enough money to study at the University of Michigan. He wrote his first play, ‘No Villain’, in college, which he won the University’s Avery Hopwood award for. After finishing University, he moved back to East to start working as a playwright.
His first plays ere poorly received, including his 1944 Broadway debut, ‘The Man Who Had All The Luck’, which closed after just 4 performances and 3 days with lots of negative reviews. In 1945, he published the novel ‘Focus’ which was about antisemitism. His 1947 play, ‘All My Sons’, was much more successful, lasting on Broadway for nearly a full year and it earned him his first Tony Award for Best Authour.
He wrote the first act of ‘Death of a Salesman’ in less then a day, in a small studio that he built himself.
He was married to Marilyn Monroe
Target Audience
Target audience refers to the customer of a product or in this case, the people watching the performance.
The target audience of the performance is modern teenagers who will be able to relate more with the stereotypes of chavs vs alternative people.
The makeup and hair will need to be recognisable as either chavvy or alternative, whilst also fitting into the different sub-genres since there’s a range of alternative fashion styles and subcultures.