‘The Crucible’ to deliver dramatic opening Friday
Photo by Faith Owan
Savannah Lawrence, Cameron Herrick, Kylie Kaeo, Aeris Joesph-Takashita, Taytum Herrick, and Aulialani Watanabe perform the opening of ‘The Crucible’ that runs this weekend and next, February 20-21 and 27-28, at 7 p.m. at Keōpuōlani Hale.
Putting a play together can be stressful, but the end result can be spectacular if the cast is willing to work for it. The Kamehameha Maui Drama Clubʻs production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is the perfect example of this.
Set to open tonight at 7 p.m, “It’s going to be awesome. It’s always awesome because I have awesome actors and crew, and we’re full of excitement to do the show,” said Ms. Victoria McGee, director and Drama Club adviser.
The Crucible takes the audience through the twists and turns of a fictional story inspired by the actual Salem witch trials that occurred in the late 1600’s. The production has a healthy incorporation of betrayal, drama and love that are easy to relate to as the story unfolds.
The cast has been rehearsing since their return from winter break and putting their efforts into producing the best show possible — despite the challenges a more dramatic play like this one poses.
“With this play, it’s really wordy, and since it’s from such a different time era than we’re used to, it’s really hard to like get the dialogue down because the way they talk is so much different than how we talk today,” said sophomore Kaiulani “Kai” Cambra, who plays one of the lead roles, Elizabeth Proctor.
Character development is key to putting on a great play, and members of the cast have different ways of getting into their parts. Junior Ashlyn-Jade “Hiʻilei” Aniban plays the role of Abigail Williams.
“It’s really easy for me to get into that place. I just think of, like, being controlling and desperate and hurt because Abigail, she’s actually, she’s gone through a lot,” she explained about her character, who tries to win the heart of John Proctor, played by junior Cole Schafer.
“For me, personally, I like to get really kind of pumped up. I listen to music and drink a lot of coffee…It just comes with months of practice for the character itself to develop,” Schafer said.
Although the cast has pulled off the mechanics of doing the play, getting lines down has been the main struggle, like for senior Jacob Lum Lung, playing the role of Judge Danforth.
“I say a lot of dialogue, and it’s kind of difficult to try to memorize it in such a short amount of time, but usually I do certain exercises to help me memorize all of my lines,” Lum Lung said.
Getting lines down might be a difficult task at times, but the dedicated members have been willing to troop it out for the sake of putting forth their best effort come opening night.
“Every time I have some free time, I take out my book, and I look some lines over. It’s ridiculous; it’s not healthy,” Schafer said.
Despite the challenges that have come with putting on a play like The Crucible, the cast has enjoyed the experience.
“I always look forward to coming to rehearsal,” said Kaiulani Cambra. “I know that I’m going to be surrounded by my friends and they never fail to make me laugh and bring a smile on my face, so it’s really awesome that I get to hang out with them.”
The Crucible will be running February 20-21 this weekend, as well as the 27th and 28th next weekend. All shows start at 7 p.m. at Keōpuōlani Hale. Admission is free.
