The Crucible’s Director’s Notes: An Interview with Mrs. Kathy d'Alelio By Emma Ladowicz ’26 Actress, Director, and Teacher Mrs. d’Alelio has enabled the PVI community to experience incredible productions year after year. Following this year’s play, The Crucible, I embraced the opportunity to sit down and speak with her about her most recent production.
What was your favorite scene in the show? That’s really hard. I think the courtroom scene because of the range of things that went on. We start out quiet, then some things happen, and it ends with ten girls screaming their guts out!
What surprised you the most during auditions/rehearsals? What surprised me -- in a good way -- was how good some of the people were. I knew that the people I cast were good, but some exceeded my expectations. Some took stuff and made it their own. It was great.
What was the hardest scene, in your opinion, to fully develop? The hardest one would have to be the last scene. The relationships - having Katherine and Mateo come to that really loving “I’ll never see you again” part that made the audience feel what they were going through. Having the noose hang at the end and get that reaction was also great.
What is your favorite PVI show you have ever directed? I cannot answer that because every one of them is unique in its own way. This one was a joy. There were hassles, but right now, I would say that this one is one of the best shows we ever did.
What is the hardest part of being a director? What is the easiest, if there is any? There are two - one of them is not being able to cast everyone in the play. People don’t get the roles they want, or they don’t get in at all. It’s also hard because I demand hard work from my actors, and it is frustrating when they don’t feel the need to do that. The easiest part - the most joyful part - is seeing it all come together in the way that I saw it coming together - my vision, if you will. There is nothing really easy about the process, but there are joyful moments -- like when an actor makes a breakthrough.
As an actor yourself, what advice would you give to aspiring actors at PVI? If you want to do this, you must love it. If you want to go into the business as an actor, you have to be tenacious and understand that you will get rejected -- probably more so than success. You just have to keep working. You start out small and have to build up to a lead. Hard work is the basis of it all. This applies to high school students as well. I look for people who will work hard and are talented.
