THT Rep presents An Experimental Staged Reading of The Crucible at the BrickBox Theater

Written by Arthur Miller

TERRITORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Land is something sacred to all of us, whether we consciously appreciate it or not, it is the space upon which we play, live, eat, find love and experience life. The land is ever-changing and ever-shifting, giving us and all other creatures and beings on the earth an infinite number of gifts and lessons. Today, we want to acknowledge the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Nipmuc Nation on which we are working and currently performing in Worcester, MA. We recognize and respect Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. This sort of acknowledgement is essential to human rights work across the world. It is essential to our work of honoring stories that explore the human experience. Find more information here:

Worcester Center for Performing Arts is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which owns and operates The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts.

CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright .................................................................................................... Arthur Miller

Director, Artistic Director .......................................................................... Livy Scanlon

Lighting Design Laura J. Eckelman

Costume Coordinator, Wardrobe Supervisor Perri Sylvester

DEIB Counselor (Founder + CEO, Promoting Good) ...... Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham

DEIB Counselor (Collaborating Consultant, Promoting Good).........Camille Holmes

Production Stage Manager Jane Siebels*

Assistant Director Ashleigh Rose Prince

CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

Narrator Alyssa Morales^

Tituba Karen Richards

Reverend Parris ........................................................................................ Kris Danford*

Abigail ................................................................................................... Colleen Malvey^

Susannah Wallcott Caroline Major

Ann Putnam Bridgette Hayes*

Thomas Putnam ........................................................................................ Janis Hudson

Mercy Lewis ...................................................................................Samantha Madigan^

Mary Warren Ainsleigh Flanagan^

Betty Parris Katie Parks^

John Proctor ........................................................................................ Therese Plaehn*

Giles Corey ....................................................................................... Bobbie Steinbach*

Rebecca Nurse Veronica Wiseman

Reverend Hale Danica Gabriele

Elizabeth Proctor ................................................................................... Meri Stypinski*

Francis Nurse ................................................................................... Elaine Vaan Hogue

Ezekiel Cheever Veronica Bailey

Willard Abby Epple^

Judge Hathorne .................................................................................. Kathryn Moncrief

Deputy Governor Danforth ............................................................. Karen MacDonald*

* Member, Actor’s Equity Association ^ Student, The Hanover Theatre Conservatory

This staged reading of The Crucible is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

PLEASE NOTE

You are welcome to stay after the reading for post-show dialogues with members of the community and creative team.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

I’ve long been obsessed with this play, from watching my 9th grade English teacher act Giles Corey in class, to performing Abigail in graduate school, to associate directing an acclaimed production in New York. As I take up the mantle of director, I ask myself: why should we do this play, at this time, for this audience? And how should we do it?

Miller originally wrote in response to the political “witch hunt” that gripped the United States in the 1950’s, when Senator Joseph McCarthy hurled unsubstantiated accusations that Communists had infiltrated the State Department. He claimed to have a list of names...

Right now, however, the play’s themes of racism and sexism strike me as more relevant. White supremacy and the weaponization of Christianity are having a dangerous resurgence. People of color continue to be marginalized and used as scape goats. Women’s rights and bodily autonomy have been stripped away once again.

White women, however, have a foot in both camps: oppressor and oppressed; victim and victimizer.

How does The Crucible land, then, when we cast White women in the majority of roles? Do we see male behavior differently when it is acted through female bodies? Do we see racist behavior differently when it is acted through White women specifically? And if so, what do we learn about ourselves, each other, and our society?

Thanks for engaging in these questions with us. We look forward to your thoughts.

The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production

Worcester Center for Performing Arts (WCPA), a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, owns and operates The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts (THT) and, on behalf of the Worcester Cultural Coalition (WCC), manages Worcester’s BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC). All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Livy (Goody) Scanlon

CAST

(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

ALYSSA MORALES^ she/they (Narrator)

Alyssa is over the moon to be a part of The Crucible. Her favorite roles include Nina Zarietchnaya (The Seagull), Ethel McCormmack (Footloose) and Mrs. Potts (Beauty and the Beast Jr.). Alyssa is currently a college student majoring in theater arts and is a part of The Hanover Theatre Conservatory Youth Acting Company. She is so grateful for this amazing opportunity and hopes you’ll enjoy the show!

KAREN RICHARDS (Tituba)

Born in Jamaica and raised in Worcester, MA, Karen is an enthusiastic performer. Karen is eager to utilize a Caribbean accent with The Hanover Theatre Repertory in The Crucible. Karen made her debut with The Hanover Theatre Repertory in Macbeth when she studied in the Worc @ Play program. Karen is a lover of improv comedy and karaoke. @karenkarynkarin

KRIS DANFORD* (Reverend Parris)

Kris is delighted to make her debut with The Hanover Theatre Repertory in The Crucible . Kris is a professional actor and dialect coach. Acting credits include The Communist Revolution (Ashland New Plays Festival); The Fair Maid of the West (Riverside Theatre); The Winter’s Tale (Asolo Rep); and The Last Five Years (Peterborough Players). Coaching credits include Joy The Musical (George Street Playhouse); Annabella in July (North Coast Rep); Hood (Asolo Rep); and Oklahoma! (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Kris is also an educator, currently at Penn State University as Associate Professor of Voice and Speech. She holds an MFA in Acting from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory and is an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®.

COLLEEN MALVEY^ she/they (Abigail Williams)

Colleen is thrilled to be a part of THT Rep’s staged reading of The Crucible! Her most recent productions have been The Seagull (The Hanover Theatre Conservatory Youth Acting Company); Signals and Pippin (Holliston High School); and Footloose (The Hanover Theatre Conservatory Youth Summer Program). She is a senior at Holliston High School and is thankful for all of the theatrical opportunities in her area. She would like to thank her family, friends and company for making this such a wonderful experience!

CAROLINE MAJOR (Susannah Wallcott)

Caroline is a junior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute studying biomedical engineering and theatre. She is from Easthampton, MA and is very excited to be working on her first project at The Hanover Theatre Repertory! She has recently worked on many plays at her college including People, Places, and Things (assistant stage manager), She Kills Monsters (Farrah) and Alice in Wonderland (Alice). She is very grateful for this opportunity and wants to thank her family and teachers for always believing in her.

CAST

BRIDGETTE HAYES* she/her/hers (Ann Putnam)

Bridgette is a Boston-based actor, teaching artist and designer. Off-Broadway: The Contrast (Mirror Repertory). Regional: Mr. Fullerton, Between the Sheets (Gloucester Stage Company), Everyday Life (Sleeping Weazel / Arts Emerson), Men on Boats (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol (Greater Boston Stage Company), Dog Paddle, Julius Caesar (Bridge Repertory Theater), An Octoroon (Company One / Arts Emerson), First Love is the Revolution (Apollinaire Theater), How Soft the Lining (Bad Habit Productions), The Love of the Nightingale (Hub Theatre) and Radium Girls (Flat Earth Theatre). Bridgette is a proud member of AEA. She studied classical acting at LAMDA and holds a BFA in Acting from Boston University and an MLA in Dramatic Arts from Harvard.

JANIS HUDSON (Thomas Putnam)

Janis is grateful to The Hanover Theatre Repertory for including her in this evocative production. Since settling in Boston, she has artistically hustled in theatre, cabaret, improv and film. Most recently, you may have seen her as Laurel in Moonbox Production’s Torch Song or headlining at Club Café in a cabaret or two. Other recent credits include Phantom in The Rocky Horror Show (Moonbox Productions 2019 & 2021), Woman 1 in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Concord Players), Denise Dupree in Rock of Ages (The Company Theater), Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music (Reagle Music Theater) and Diana Goodman in Next to Normal (Civic Theater). For Dr. Sandra Hardy, always.

SAMANTHA MADIGAN (Mercy Lewis)

Samantha is delighted to debut with The Hanover Theatre Repertory in this staged reading of The Crucible! Samantha is a senior at Hopedale Jr-Sr High School where she is an intern and student director. Samantha has portrayed Laurey Williams in Oklahoma! (The Hanover Theatre Conservatory Youth Summer Program), Little Becky Two-Shoes in Urinetown (The Hanover Theatre Conservatory Youth Acting Company), directed and played Cathy in The Last Five Years and Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Hopedale Jr-Sr High School). Samantha will attend Sacred Heart University in the fall in a Theater Arts and Journalism major. She would like to thank her cast and Livy for the opportunity to grow on this wonderful project!

AINSLEIGH FLANAGAN she/her/hers (Mary Warren)

Ainsleigh is a member of The Hanover Theatre Conservatory’s Youth Acting Company and is thrilled to be performing in this staged reading of The Crucible. Some of her favorite roles include A Christmas Carol (Ghost of Christmas Past), Footloose (Chicago Soloist) and You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Snoopy). In addition to acting, Ainsleigh has been dancing for 15 years! She would love to thank her friends and family for their endless support and The Hanover Theatre Repertory for this amazing opportunity!

CAST

KATIE PARKS she/her (Betty Parris)

Katie is very excited to be a part of The Crucible. Katie has been in many Hanover Theater Youth Summer Program productions; her latest role was Vi Moore in Footloose Jr. This spring, she is playing the role of Dorothy in her school play The Wizard of Oz. Katie would like to thank her friends and teachers at school for cheering her on and encouraging her to do her best!

THERESE PLAEHN* she/her/hers (John Proctor)

Therese is excited to work with The Hanover Theatre Repertory for the first time. Select credits include Off-Broadway: Monsoon Season (Rattlestick, Edinburgh Fringe), Anna Christie (The Wild Project), A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again (after David Foster Wallace) (The Public Theater), Family Play (1979-present) (C-Town / The New Ohio). Broadway National Tour: The Humans Broadway: The Heidi Chronicles . Regional: Blink (Chester Theatre), Crimes of the Heart (Theatreworks, Silicon Valley) Our Town (Huntington Theatre), Dying City (Opera House Arts Stonington), North Shore Fish (Gloucester Stage). T.V. / Film: “The Boston Strangler” (HULU), “Julia” (HBO/MAX), “Don’t Look Up” (NETFLIX), “Defending Jacob” (Apple TV+), “New Amsterdam” (NBC).

BOBBIE STEINBACH* (Giles Corey)

This staged reading is Bobbie’s debut with The Hanover Theatre Repertory. Bobbie is a longtime member of Boston’s vibrant theater community. Her most recent role, with Moonbox productions, was Ma Beckoff in Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song. She has performed at Actors’ Shakespeare Project (founding member/ resident actor), Huntington Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, Lyric Stage Company, Speakeasy Stage, Greater Boston Stage Company, Boston Playwrights Theatre and Boston Symphony. Bobbie was honored to receive the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress and in 2016 she was awarded a prestigious two-year Resident Actor Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement. She was also the 2016 Huntington Theatre Company’s Lunt-Fontanne Fellow. Bobbie is a private acting coach. bobbiesteinbach.com

VERONICA ANASTASIO WISEMAN she/her/hers (Rebecca Nurse)

Veronica is honored to be included in this incredible cast and production team. The Crucible marks Veronica’s debut with The Hanover Theatre Repertory. Notable past shows include Everyday Life and Other Odds and Ends (Arts Emerson); The Audacity (Eliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production - Small Theatre) Timbuktu USA, Cleanliness, Godliness & Madness, 27 Tips for Banishing the Blues, Talk to at Me, Real Realism (Sleeping Weazel), My Station in Life, The Last Schwartz (Gloucester Stage); Old Money (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Mrs. Packard, Mud Blue Sky, Salome (Bridge Rep); Speech & Debate, The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (IRNE Nomination for Best Actress) (Bad Habit Productions). XOXOH

CAST

DANICA GABRIELE (Reverend Hale)

Danica is thrilled to join the cast of The Crucible. Her most recent theatre and film credits have been self-written and directed and include Change (Haddonfield Plays and Players), Bed Fellows (Walnut Street Theatre, Studio 5), “Breathless: An Autobiography” and “Doria”. Some of her favorite roles have been Winston in The Island (Swarthmore College) and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Swarthmore College). She has an MA in Text and Performance from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Birkbeck, University of London.

MERI STYPINSKI* she/her/hers (Elizabeth Proctor)

With The Hanover Theatre Repertory: Macbeth (Lady Macbeth), Julius Caesar (Cassia/Cassius). Other regional credits include: A Christmas Carol (The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts), Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Opera House Arts), The Wild Party (MoonBox Productions) and Dark Room (Bridge Repertory Theatre). Favorite roles include Maria (Twelfth Night), Dora Strang (Equus), Lysistrata (Lysistrata), Abby (The Musical of Musicals (The Musical)!) and Liz Morden (Our Country’s Good). Meri earned her BFA from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Practicing witch since 1998. All the thanks in the universe to her muse.

ELAINE VAAN HOGUE (Francis Nurse)

Elaine is an actor, director, teacher and producer. In 2022 she toured the solo performance of Representation and How to Get It in New England and NYC, playing human rights activist Julia Ward Howe. Elaine is a fervent member of The Magdalena Project, a dynamic international cross-cultural and cross-generational network of women in contemporary theatre. She performed in the Magdalena International Festival, a gathering of worldwide women, non-binary and trans artists. Elaine has acted and directed at many theatres: New Repertory Theatre, Central Square Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Double Edge Theatre, BCAP, Arts After Hours, Bridge Repertory Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Olney Theatre Center. She’s delighted to be a part of The Crucible!

VERONICA BAILEY (Cheever)

Veronica is excited to return to the stage after a long hiatus! For several years, she belonged to the repertory cast of Pastimes Entertainment, which brought to life the stories of King Arthur, Robin Hood and the Three Musketeers as environmental plays. She also served as the costume designer for Pastimes and for the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. Her love of theatre led her to an administrative position at The Hanover Theatre & Conservatory, where she fundraises by day and seeks out poppets by night. Many thanks to THT Rep for this amazing opportunity!

CAST

ABBY EPPLE she/her/hers (Herrick)

Abby is honored to join the Hanover Theatre Repertory for The Crucible. Abby has studied at The Hanover Theatre Conservatory for five years and has been a member of their Youth Acting Company for three. Recently through The Hanover Theatre Conservatory, Abby has been in Urinetown, Oklahoma!, Macbeth, Godspell, Footloose and The Seagull. Abby is a senior at Bancroft School in Worcester and will attend Fordham University in the fall. She sends thanks to her family and friends, the cast, crew and the director, Livy, for all the opportunities and education she has given in the past three years.

DR. KATHRYN MONCRIEF (Hathorne)

Kathryn is Paris Fletcher Distinguished Professor and Head of Humanities and Arts at WPI. Regional: Rapture, Blister, Burn (Nextstage Theatre), Twelfth Night (Rosebriar Shakespeare). Other: Major Barbara (Washington College). Dramaturgy/ text coaching: Prague Shakespeare Company ( Henry VI Parts 1, 2, & 3, The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night ); Utah Shakespeare Festival (Twelfth Night, The Book of Will, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat); Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Love’s Labour’s Lost); Chesapeake Shakespeare (Wild Oats, Othello, She Stoops to Conquer, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Hamlet); THT Rep (Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth). Directing: THT Rep (assoc. Julius Caesar, Macbeth), WPI (Every Brilliant Thing, Silent Sky, Sense and Sensibility).

KAREN MacDONALD* (Deputy Governor Danforth)

Karen has been an actor, director and teacher in the Boston area for many years. She most recently played Scrooge in Merrimack Rep’s A Christmas Carol. On Broadway, she understudied and performed the role of Amanda Wingfield in John Tiffany’s production of The Glass Menagerie. Other New York credits include Theatre for a New Audience, Roundabout Theatre and Second Stage. Regional credits include Founding Company Member of The American Repertory Theatre (73 productions), Speakeasy Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Lyric Stage, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Boston Playwrights, Israeli Stage, Arts Emerson, Merrimack Rep Theatre, Greater Boston Stage Company, Boston Symphony Orchestra (Symphony Hall and Tanglewood) Boston Pops, Gamm Theatre, Trinity Rep, Hartford Stage, Portland Stage, Berkshire Theatre Group. She is a Lecturer in Dramatic Arts, TDM at Harvard University. Her awards include Eliot Nortons and IRNEs, the Robert Brustein Award for Sustained Achievement in the Theatre and the Eliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence. Member, AEA, SAG/AFTRA.

CREATIVE TEAM

LIVY SCANLON (Director)

Livy is a versatile theatre professional working as a producer, director, actor and teaching artist. She currently serves as Artistic Director of The Hanover Theatre Repertory and Managing Director of the Jean McDonough Arts Center. Various acting and directing credits include Central Square Theatre, New Rep, Commonwealth Shakespeare, Trinity Rep, Asolo Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, Hartford Stage and Bridge Rep, which she founded and helmed for five years, and where she received an Eliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director (Dark Room) and an IRNE Award for Best Actress (Mrs. Packard). Livy is a Lecturer in Acting at WPI. She has been included in Worcester Magazine’s list of Women to Watch and in the Worcester Business Journal’s Power 50. MFA, Brown University/Trinity Rep.

LAURA J. ECKELMAN (Lighting Designer)

Laura has worked with companies and institutions across the country, including Yale Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre, Theater J, Keegan Theater, Triad Stage, The Welders, Perseverance Theatre, the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Bang on a Can’s Asphalt Orchestra, Capital Fringe, the New York Urban Theatre Festival, PTP NYC, the Byrdliffe Arts Festival, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, University of the Incarnate Word, Connecticut College, the Bard College Vocal Arts Program and many others. Laura is an Associate Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she teaches design and management. She is a proud alumna of Middlebury College and Yale School of Drama. laurajeckelman.com

PERRI SYLVESTER she/her/hers (Costume Coordinator + Wardrobe Supervisor)

Perri is a local creative who is thrilled to be a part of this production of The Crucible ! Dabbling in the art of costume witchcraft, recent credits include Costume Designer on the Youth Acting Company’s productions of The Seagull and Exhibit This!, both produced by The Hanover Theatre Conservatory. She was also THTC’s wardrobe manager for The Nutcracker. Perri graduated from Clark University with a major in technical theatre and is thrilled to be involved with the local theatre scene! She would like to thank friends, family and artists of all kinds for inspiring her. Find her spells in silver on instagram @perrisylvr.

JANE SIEBELS* (Production Stage Manager)

Jane is excited to be back with THT Rep after stage managing Macbeth, The Edgar Allan Poe Double Header and Judith ! In addition to stage managing A Christmas Carol with The Hanover Theatre, she has also stage managed at regional venues including The Huntington Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Greater Boston Stage Company, American Stage Festival, Florida Studio Theatre and the Asolo. New York credits include The Pearl Theatre, Miranda Theatre Co, The John Houseman Theatre, and Lincoln Center. Currently, Jane also enjoys working as a Children’s Librarian in Shrewsbury. Many thanks to her family for supporting her during this busy adventure!

CREATIVE TEAM

VALERIE ZOLEZZI-WYNDHAM she/her/ella (DEIB Counselor)

Valerie is the Founder + CEO of Promoting Good, LLC. She is very excited to work as a DEIB counselor for the The Hanover Theatre Repertory. She has a love of theatre, equity, and belonging and is excited for this artistic collaboration. promotinggoodllc.com

Camille Holmes she/her/hers (DEIB Counselor)

Camille Holmes is a coach, facilitator, consultant and equity advisor to nonprofit leaders and organizations. Based in Washington DC and a collaborating consultant with Promoting Good, LLC, she is delighted to serve as an DEIB counselor to The Hanover Theatre Repertory artistic team.

ASHLEIGH ROSE PRINCE she/her/hers (Assistant Director)

Ashleigh is thrilled to be a part of the team that is bringing The Crucible to life on the BrickBox stage! As The Hanover Theatre’s Communications and Creative Coordinator, she has been working on marketing materials for numerous THT Rep and mainstage performances, but is delighted to return to her theatre roots with The Crucible. She would like to thank Livy for this special opportunity, Miriam Sas for her guidance and her family for their support.

* Member, Actor’s Equity Association

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Photo by UnityMike. Prreeti Tiwari (Lennox in THT Rep’s Macbeth), Member of AEA