While it may not be Halloween just yet, the season of the witch has crept up on the Diablo Valley College Drama Department.

Arthur Miller’s famous play, The Crucible, is now showing at DVC with the final three performances taking place at the Performing Arts Center on March 21-22 at 7:30 p.m., and March 23 at 2 p.m. 

The story follows a group of young girls in Salem, Mass., during the rise of the Salem witch trials in the 1690s. 

Speaking with The Inquirer after the play opened earlier this month, Nicole Hess Diestler, professor of theater and director of The Crucible, noted that the play’s message was challenging for the actors to portray in an authentic and genuine way — and that it might be seen as risky or provocative by viewers. 

She emphasized that she loves theater that makes people think.

“I would be ecstatic if something that I directed ticked people off enough to where they got up and left, because I like the fact that people had some sort of a response to it that was so strong,” said Diestler.

The director’s note inside the play program reads, “In a time of fake news and conspiracy theories, The Crucible shows us the danger of remaining too insulated and not accepting of others who may appear different. It speaks to us in the 21st century and encourages us to recognize hysteria and to not follow the crowd, but to apply rationality to our lives.”

The lead actors said they faced many challenges during the show’s production, specifically during the rehearsal process as they learned to embody the people they were cast as. According to some, it was the overall cohesiveness of the group of people who worked to bring the production to life.

“I think the hardest thing for me was trying to understand the complexity of these characters. They’re so complicated,” Sahil Sing, 25, who plays the central? role of John Proctor, told The Inquirer. 

“They have so many conflicting feelings and ideas and wants.” 

Kaila Knudsen, 20, who plays the role of Abigail Williams, went further, saying, “I think the hardest part for me has been just how emotionally demanding the show is.”

“If we’re not careful, it’s easy to kind of go home in a bad mood” after rehearsals, she said. “That’s been the hardest part for me, like shaking that off at the end of the day and remembering nobody’s calling me a witch.”

The Crucible includes intense scenes filled with high emotions, screaming, and at times physical altercations between the characters. Actors said they felt incredibly supported through these dramatic scenes by their fellow cast members as well as the stage combat director, Skyelar Clouse, and fight captain Kyla Guasco, who coached them  in a safe and healthy way. 

Kianna Molina, a 20-year-old third-year student at DVC who plays Mary Warren, one of the afflicted girls, agreed that the play had been difficult.  

“It’s been great working with [the cast] because it’s been hard tapping in and tapping out of those moments, and everyones been so supportive,” Molina told The Inquirer.

Actor Savannah Stachelek, who plays Susanna Walcott, another of the accused girls, said Diestler had directed her to research the witch trials and the real life counterparts of some of the characters in the play, adding depth to her role.  

“These were real people, they had biographies and epitaphs, you could [understand] the kind of personality they had,” Walcott said. 

Other actors said they were shocked to find out The Crucible was based on true stories and events that took place in Salem more than 300 years ago. 

Sean Barry, 52, said that “when researching, you see that these were real life events and it’s like, ‘Wow!’”

For Knudsen, getting community support for the performance was key. 

“I think having a really lovely and strong leadership is where [community] starts,” said Knudsen, who praised the director and stage managers that helped everything fall into place for her and the cast. 

“Once we had our structure, we had permission to have fun and get to know each other, and build that trust we needed,” she said. 

Singh also noted the beauty of the connectedness that everyone working together brought to the performance — not only on the stage, but behind the scenes.

“I think each individual person in this cast and in the company wants to connect,” Singh said, and “that translates [into] more than just being part of the social aspect of our company.” 

The trust he and other characters built with one another was central, he added.

“Even though it’s not real, we’re feeling these emotions with each other and I think that willingness to connect as human beings, not even just on stage, makes us a better company as a whole, and makes the show better for it.