Art & Literature
MJHS CRUCIBLE REVIEW
By Meagan Richardson
Photographs By Randy Self and Kori Presley
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1952. The play itself was written about the true-life events of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. Miller wrote the play in response to McCarthyism, which was a period of Communist suspicion in the United States around the late 1940s to the late 1950s. The term was coined for then Senator, Joseph McCarthy.
The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1962. A local reverend caught a few teenage girls in the woods dancing and chanting. Everyone is in a stir and thinks the girls were participating in the dark art of witchcraft. The girls begin accusing several others of being witches. The townspeople now believe that the Devil is in Salem, and they want him out.
MJHS Production of The Crucible
Drama Honor Society has done it again. With past marvels such as last years Helen Keller and Bye Bye Birdie, it is hard to believe that these remarkable students could stand to produce yet another excellent work. The present work referred to is the classic play, The Crucible. Why The Crucible? The Crucible was chosen because Mrs. Ratt believed it made a statement and came across as a challenging work. This play you may or may not have heard about before is taught in Junior Literature and has been made a major motion picture.
The teaser of Act I of The Crucible was shown in the school auditorium on January 24 th of this year. The teaser began with a bit of information by Mrs. Ratt and then the curtains moved aside to begin the first act. The play was a wonderful reenactment and showed the hard work and dedication of the actors. These actors portrayed very adult emotions and projected wonderfully. Afterwards Mrs. Ratt ends the teaser by introducing all the students involved in the production.
After the teaser, I was allowed to become a wallflower backstage. Not nearly being as prepared, as I should have been, Mr. Agee generously helped with the interview and made this review possible. Behind the curtains I was informed of many other aspects of the play such as the preparation being approximately 5 months with a cost of about $800, which was all gathered by the drama team.
Cast Members:
Paige Gober played the role of Abigail Williams, a young girl in love with a married man (played by Michael Longstreth). Paige has been acting in school plays for close to 6 years, and recalls acting prior. Her future plans include pursuing theatre in college, perhaps in stage-managing. Her favorite role was playing Helen Keller in last year's play. When asked, Paige said when preparing for a role she first analyses the play. She thinks about the characters goals and purposes. She admits to finding a basic emotion to build off of for her character, then elaborating.
Ben Spencer played Reverend John Hale, a witch hunter brought in to make sense of the mysterious illness of a child. Ben described his character as being the voice of reason being concerned logically. When asked his favorite previous role, he simply remarked that he was not attached to any of his roles.
The actors’ hard work paid off and the projection was beautiful. This play is a must-see. All 
of the actors volunteered for their roles in the play and were very helpful in the interview. The people involved are as follows:
Austin Agee
Annalisa Barnes
Stevie Belew
Angelique Brown-Green
Amy Burgess
Haley Burnett
Chris Cowan
Kristen Crawford
Becky Crook
Jackie Eastridge
Brandi Gamache
Paige Gober
Ronica Haynes
Dylan Kline
Kayla Knollenberg
Randi Ligon
Michael Longstreth
Daniel Mathews
Joey Mathias
Heather Nixon
Betsy O’Choa
Sarah Prouty
Kelsey Quiambao
Ben Spencer
Greg Summers
Megan Tamas
Doortje Theunissen
Loren Thunder
Tansy Waldrop
Gromyko Weir
Jonathon Wooten
Trey Yates
Sponsors:
And of course Mr. David Agee and Mrs. Dottie Ratt.
To view other photos of the play, click on the following links:
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10
