"The Crucible" HDA's Final 2014-15 Upper School Production

The Hopkins Drama Association presented their final Upper School production of the year, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller earlier this month from April 30 to May 2.

Congratulations to the cast and crew on another thrilling production, and thank you to all the seniors for your contributions to HDA over the years.

Please see the attached gallery of photos by Peter Mahakian, and the program below.

The Hopkins Drama Association 2015 presents
The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Michael Calderone

The Cast
Tituba, Samuel Parris’ Slave       Taty Rosetta ‘17
Samuel Parris, Salem’s Minister       Noah Riley ‘15
Betty Parris, His Daughter        Tatiana Niebuhr ‘17
Abigail Williams, His Niece        Eva Mullineaux ‘16
Thomas Putnam, A Salem Land Owner  AJ Marks ‘18
Ann Putnam, His Wife               Clare Arlington Boyle ‘16
Mercy Lewis, Their Servant Girl       Leigh Melillo ‘18
John Proctor, A Salem Farmer       William Lowrie ‘15
Elizabeth Proctor, His Wife       Karma Masselli ‘15
Mary Warren, Their Servant Girl       Lisanne de Groot ‘16
Rebecca Nurse, A Salem Elder       Anna Ayres-Brown ‘15
Francis Nurse, Her Husband       Colin Flaumenhaft ‘18
Giles Corey, A Salem Land Owner       John Josephson ‘15
Martha Corey, His Wife               Neha Patel ‘15
Reverend Hale, A Visiting Minister Tim Halvorsen ‘17
Judge Hathorne, A Salem Judge       Ramon Rivera ‘17
Judge Danforth, A Boston Judge       Alex Da Silva ‘15
Ezekiel Cheever, The Salem Clerk   Ali Hagani ‘18
John Willard, The Salem Bailiff       Tyler Clark ‘15
Sarah Good, An Accused Witch       Raffi Donatich ‘15
Afflicted Salem Girls:  Madeleine Cahn ‘17, Emily Calderone ‘18,
Maraya Clark ‘15, Unique Parker ‘18, Nia Simmons ‘18

Produced with permission of Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 440 Park Avenue South, NYC                         

Technical Crew
Stage Manager     Sarah Wang ‘16
Sound Board Operator     Lionel Louis ‘18
Light Board Operator     Greyson Twombly ‘16
Poster Graphic    Annika Eberle ‘16
Original Music Score    Robert Smith & Grant Hill ‘16
Choral Music    Erika Schroth
Carpenter    Derek Byron
Costumes    Catherine Mason                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 
Synopsis of Scenes

Act I, Prelude
The wooded area just outside of Salem Village

Act I, scene 1
An upper bedroom in Rev. Samuel Parris’ house, Salem, Massachusetts, in the spring of the year 1692
(N.B. - Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, CT, has been in existence for 32 years at this time.)

Act I, scene 2
The common room of the Proctor house, eight days later.

THERE WILL BE A 15 MINUTE INTERMISSION
Refreshments are available in the lower lobby

Act II, scene 1
The wooded area just outside of Salem Village

Act II, scene 2
The Salem Meeting House, two weeks later

Act II, scene 3
A makeshift jail cell in a Salem barn, three months later.


2015 HDA Senior Bios

Anna Ayres-Brown (Rebecca Nurse) is thrilled to be in this production of The Crucible, her final show at Hopkins. She is a proud co-head of Hopkins Drama Association and Student Productions; her favorite past productions at Hopkins include Gypsy, Vanities, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Outside of theater, she is a co-head of Triple Trio, one of Hopkins' a cappella groups, and a singer/songwriter. Many thanks to Mike, Hope, and all the other people who make up HDA. You've taught me more than you know.

Maraya Clark (Susanna Wallcott) is happy to have been part of The Crucible, learning chants and getting to scream with her “afflicted girl” sisters. Along with this production she has appeared in three Winter One Acts during her freshman, sophomore and junior year at Hopkins. She had a small role in The Tempest, no sorry: “there are NO small roles, only small actors.” Shout out to the JS Six Year Club! Maraya also took part in the J-School play/musical each year. Her favorite J-School musical being The Fiddler on the Roof. Overall however she has enjoyed her time spent in the theater and wishes with all her heart that she could have been involved even more. She has loved getting to know everyone in The Crucible better and says thank you, and goodbye to Mike Calderone and Hope Hartup.

Tyler Clark (John Willard): began his career by deploying to Edinburgh on a whim after he believed he could slide under the acting radar and avoid the theater aspect entirely. He quickly became a seasoned veteran of the Winter One Acts after he found an incredible talent that could only be described as Mike and Hope finding him tolerable, a skill only few have discovered. In between a few backstage endeavors and building sets, The Crucible will be his first and last full-campaign, before he retires. Outside of acting, he is a co-head of the Autism Speaks club at Hopkins, a music enthusiast, and an avid photographer. A special thanks to Mike and Hope for tolerating me for the past six years, convincing me to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. Thank you to the cast and crew for being so friendly and wonderful and thank you to HDA for providing me with these amazing opportunities over the past few years.

Alexander Da Silva (Deputy Governor Danforth): First and last full length HDA dramatic production. Moderately good Hopkins Fencer; way too enthusiastic Frisbee player; Model United Nations, Just Dance, and Bridge Enthusiast; Professional Pokémon trainer. Thank you to Mike and Hope, our lovely leaders in this wonderful journey that is HDA; the cast and crew of The Crucible: the freshmen stepping onto the stage for Hopkins way before I ever could; the sophomores reveling in the bliss of high school, seemingly having no cares in the world; the juniors who have my utmost confidence will step up next year to fill in the void left by the wonderful seniors who run this show and have from their first play to their last; and all the people who have supported me in my premiere and my finale as a member of HDA.

Raffi Donatich (Sarah Good) is so proud of everyone who worked on The Crucible. She is a co-head of Hopkins Drama Association and Student Productions, and cannot believe this is her last show at Hopkins! Favorite past productions include Dancing at Lughnasa, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Urinetown, Vanities, and Gypsy. She’d like to thank Mike and Hope for making the drama department the most important aspect of Hopkins for her. And a huge thank you to all of the incredible friends she has made on stage. So much love!

John Josephson (Giles Corey) is a 6 year inmate at Hopkins School, who has come upon his last term. He has been part of HDA throughout his sentence, being part of the school play, going to Edinburgh to perform over the summer of 9th grade, and doing tech work in his sophomore year. After not doing any full length shows in 11th grade to see how much they would miss him, John returned his senior year to perform in the fall and spring show, and the musical. He is excited to end his sentencing, but will miss his HDA cell mates.

William Lowrie (John Proctor): After a fall dedicated to football and a winter dedicated to wrestling, Will decided to sign up for the spring play his freshman year because he did not want to play lacrosse nor did he want to row. Even though he had been participating in theatre years before Hopkins, he was not the best actor as his directors might attest to. However, as he continued with his dedication to HDA, he found himself nestled in a unique community in which he was comfortable to express his emotions whether on or off the stage. Therefore, he participated in the last four spring plays at Hopkins (A Servant of Two Masters, The Tempest, Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Crucible) and cannot thank enough people for their unrivaled support...But let’s try: Thank you to Mike, Hope, the cast and crew of The Crucible, my friends, but most importantly my parents and family. They have been there every step of the way. Thanks again!

Karma Masselli (Elizabeth Proctor) is one of three heads of HDA, as well as Student Productions. She has participated in twenty-one productions at Hopkins School, with roles ranging from director to running crew to star of the yet-to-be-produced one-woman show KARMA: a musical. Her favorite performance roles have been in HDA productions of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Merry Wives of Windsor, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Urinetown. She has directed Monologues, Vanities, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]. Thank you to Mike, Hope, and the crew and cast of the Crucible. My last gift to you all is how much money this program will be worth when I’m famous. (THANK YOU, HDA!)

Neha Patel (Martha Corey) could not be more excited to be a part of The Crucible. Although she has had the pleasure of participating in HDA for the past four years with the musicals and One Acts (one of her more notable roles being a Hollywood Blonde: one of her childhood aspirations,) this is her first time participating in the spring show! She would like to thank Mike, Hope, Cathy, Sarah and the entire cast and crew for making both this production and the last four years so memorable!

Noah Riley (Rev. Samuel Parris) is a 4 year passerby of the Hopkins machine.  He’s pitched in on a few HDA shows here and there.  Most notably, he enjoyed Dancing at Lughnasa and The Crucible, because they were opportunities for him to hang out with the folks of HDA and learn about performing.  He’s had fun, and is looking forward to having more fun down the road.


Special Thanks
This production benefited greatly through the talents and generosity of time of so many:  The Visual Art Dept. for poster graphic suggestions; The Mighty Men and Women of Maintenance; The Flaumenhaft, Hagani, Ayres-Brown, and Donatich Families for hosting Cast Dinners; The Calderone Girls; Mr. Bill Scheer, blacksmith of Mystic Seaport, for the authentic shackles; Jemma Williams for poster, program and tickets! And anyone else we may have overlooked.

A bittersweet “thank you” to the graduating seniors, some of whom I have worked with for the past six years.  
I shall miss thee:
But yet thou shalt have freedom: so, so, so.
~Prospero, The Tempest

Upcoming Hopkins Arts Events
Spring Choral Concert
May 3rd 7:00 pm, Battell Chapel, Yale University

The Junior School Spring Play
Friday and Saturday, May 15th & 16th
7:00 pm Lovell Auditorium

Exhibition: Artwork by the Class of 2015
May 15th – June 15th Keator Gallery, Baldwin Hall