AUDITION NOTICE:
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller

Synopsis: In the tight-knit, Puritan town of Salem, a group of girls are discovered dancing in the woods and then immediately fall ill. When no earthly cause can be identified, fear and suspicion begin to percolate in the small, isolated community, that something larger, more fearsome, and other worldly may be to blame. Buried secrets and resentments are brought to light, and attempts to root out evil lead to finger-pointing, treachery, and betrayal. When everyone is a suspect, sometimes the most dangerous threat to the community may be the community itself. WHEN: Friday, July 14th @ 7pm and Saturday, July 15th @ 7pm (Callbacks will take place on Sunday, July 16th from 2-5pm.) Please send us an email to let us know which session you would like to attend. hummingbirdtheatreco@gmail.com WHERE: Cal Cap Black Box Theatre 9845 Horn Rd #100, Sacramento, CA 95682 WHO: Hummingbird Theatre Company offers a supportive, positive environment with high standards of artistic excellence. We are a grassroots theatre community company and focus not only on making magic happen on stage, but fostering a cooperative and inspiring culture. WHAT: Please prepare a 1 -2 minute dramatic monologue (Classical or Contemporary). It may or may not be memorized. My goal is to see your range and emotional depth. You may pick anything from any published play. Please use the url below to be directed to a resource of monologue materials: https://stageagent.com/monologues#results IF YOU ARE A BABY ACTOR WHO HAS NEVER DONE A MONOLOGUE: My friend, have no fear! Please email me! I was a middle and high school instructor for many years and have lots of resources for you. After monologues, auditions will also consist of group readings from the script with fellow actors. CHARACTERS: Note: Ages are approximate for the character. Actors can be around or just look an approximate age. It depends who auditions. John Proctor- Male, 30 to 40. A farmer in his middle thirties, there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites. He was the kind of man – powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led – who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly – and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore. But as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul. He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct. Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud. But no hint of this has yet appeared on the surface, and as he enters from the crowded parlor below it is a man in his prime we see, with a quiet confidence and an unexpressed, hidden force. Ethnicity: Any Elizabeth Proctor- Female, 30 to 40. The wife of John Proctor, Elizabeth shares with John a similarly strict adherence to justice and moral principles. Her chilly demeanor and continual suspicions of her husband render their marriage tense. But she is a good christian woman with righteousness and integrity. She is the heart of the play. Ethnicity: Any Abigail Williams- Female, 17. A seventeen year-old girl who is the niece of Reverend Parris, 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 a malicious, vengeful girl who, in an attempt to protect herself from punishment, instigates the Salem witch trials and leads the charge of accusations. A strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling. Ethnicity: Any Mary Warren - Female, 17. A timid 17-year-old servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. Easily influenced by those around her, she tries unsuccessfully to expose the hoax, but is thwarted by Abigail and the other girls. A subservient, naive, lonely girl. Ethnicity: Any Mercy Lewis - Female, 18. Putnam's serving girl and one of the girls who joins the group crying witchcraft. Friend and confidant of Abigail's, she functions as Abigail's lieutenant and second in command. Sly, merciless. Ethnicity: Any Betty Parris** - Female, 10. 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. Ethnicity: Any Susanna Walcot- Female, 17 A nervous, hurried girl who works for Doctor Griggs. Tituba*- Female, 40’s. Parris' slave from Barbados, Tituba was with the girls when they danced and attempted to conjure spirits.. She is the first person accused of witchcraft and likewise the first person to accuse others of witchery - particularly when she discovers that the easiest way to spare herself is to admit to the charges no matter their truth. Ethnicity: African or of African descent. Reverend Samuel Parris - Male, 40’s. Minister of the church in Salem, Parris instigates the witchcraft panic when he finds his daughter and niece dancing in the woods with several other girls. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community. Stuffy and a bit neurotic. Ethnicity: Any Reverend John Hale - Male, 30- 40. 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 arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused. Coming into Salem, Reverend Hale conceives of himself much as a young doctor on his first call. His painfully acquired armory of symptoms, catchwords, and diagnostic procedures are now to be put to use at last. Ethnicity: Any Judge Danforth - Male, 50-70. 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. Ethnicity: Any Judge Hathorne - Male, 40 to 50. Judge presiding over the trials, second in command to Judge Danforth. Confident and resolute, he believes strongly in his own authority and importance. Is wilfully ignorant to any dissent voiced by the community. Ethnicity: Any Thomas Putnam - Male, 50. 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. A well-to-do, hard-handed landowner, near fifty. Ethnicity: Any Ann Putnam - Female, 45. 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. She is a twisted soul of forty-five, a death-ridden woman, haunted by dreams. Ethnicity: Any Rebecca Nurse - Female, 72. Francis Nurse’s wife. Wizened and white haired, Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess. Gentleness exudes from her. Ethnicity: Any Francis Nurse - Male, 70-80. Francis is the husband of Rebecca Nurse, and a well-respected wealthy landowner in Salem. Francis Nurse joins Giles Corey and John Proctor in their challenge against the court when their respective wives are charged with witchcraft. Ethnicity: Any Giles Corey - Male, 83. 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. He is knotted with muscle, canny, inquisitive, and still powerful. Comedic. Ethnicity: Any Ezekiel Cheever- Male, 30 to 40. Ezekiel is a clerk of the court who serves the arrest warrants to the persons charged with witchcraft. Ethnicity: Any Sarah Good - Female, 30-50. One of the first women charged with witchery by the girls, she is a homeless woman who confesses to witchcraft to save herself and continues the charade with Tituba. Ethnicity: Any George Herrick - Male, 30’s. Marshal of the court, is sympathetic and kind to the accused who are under his watch. Attentive to his duties, but not overzealous. Ethnicity: Any Hopkins - Male, 18 to 60. Guard in Salem prison. Ethnicity: Any CASTING NOTES: Note: There are quite a number of characters in this show, and some actors will likely be asked to play multiple roles. Some characters have very little stage time, so we will utilize each actor as much as possible. Other characters will require a single actor’s entire attention (John Proctor, Abigail Williams, for example). *We will only be considering POC actors to fill the role of Tituba as we feel any other choice would be disrespectful. Because of this, we are interested in potentially precasting this roll so if you have a specific interest in it please reach out to us ASAP. hummingbirdtheatreco@gmail.com That said, please note that all other roles are open to any and all actors regardless of race. **We are looking to cast an actor who has the appearance of a 10 year old female for the role of Betty. Said child will need to be able to read unassisted, and will also be required to have a parent/guardian with them at all rehearsals and shows. SHOW INFORMATION: -Rehearsals: Beginning July 22, rehearsals will take place on Tues/Thurs from 7pm-9:30pm, and Saturdays from 10am-2pm. -Tech Week: October 1st-5th, 7pm-10pm PERFORMANCE DATES: Friday October 6th: 7pm OPENING SHOW Saturday October 7th: 7pm SHOW Friday October 13th: 7pm SHOW Saturday October 14th: 7pm SHOW Friday October 20th: 7pm SHOW Saturday October 21st: 7pm SHOW Friday October 27th: 7pm SHOW Saturday October 28th: 7pm CLOSING SHOW Sunday October 29th: 2pm STRIKE Please send us an email at hummingbirdtheatreco@gmail.com to let us know if you’d like to audition! We look forward to meeting you.