Presser Art Center is holding auditions for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a classic drama exploring mass hysteria and religious extremism during the 1692 Salem witch trials.
Auditions: March 16 & 17 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM (Presser Art Center Art Room).
Performances: October 2–4 and October 9–11, 2026
The Story
The play follows a community consumed by fear when a group of young girls, led by Abigail Williams, begins accusing neighbors of witchcraft to avoid punishment for dancing in the forest. The story centers on John Proctor, a farmer who must grapple with his own past sins (an affair with Abigail) while trying to save his wife and expose the trials as a fraud.
Cast Requirements (21 Total Actors)
The production requires a diverse cast of 21 performers:
10 Mature Men: Includes authority figures like Rev. Parris, Rev. Hale, Deputy Gov. Danforth, and local farmers like John Proctor and Giles Corey.
6 Mature Women: Includes the virtuous Elizabeth Proctor, the respected Rebecca Nurse, and the grieving Ann Putnam.
5 School-Aged Girls: Includes the primary accusers, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Betty Parris.
List of characters in order of appearance:
Rev. Samuel Paris
The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.
Betty Parris
Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft.
Tituba
Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request.
Abigail Williams
Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed.
John Proctor
A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
Elizabeth Proctor
John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
Susanna Walcott
a young woman from Salem who joins Abigail Williams and the other girls in accusing townspeople of witchcraft. She represents how ordinary people are swept up in fear and hysteria, helping to spread the false accusations that drive the trials.
Mrs. Ann Putnam
Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
Thomas Putman
A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
Mercy Lewis
One of the girls in Abigail’s group.
Mary Warren
The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her, who tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately recanted her confession.
Rebecca Nurse
Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.
Giles Corey
An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.
Rev. John Hale
A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
Francis Nurse
A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but he is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
Ezekiel Cheever
A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.
Marshal Herrick
The marshal of Salem.
Jude Hathorn
A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials.
Martha Corey
Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft.
Deputy Gov. Danforth
The deputy governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
Sarah Good
a poor, homeless woman who becomes one of the first accused of witchcraft. She is socially marginalized, speaks bitterly, and is easy for the community to blame. Her accusation shows how fear and prejudice in Salem lead to the persecution of the most vulnerable.
